Contactless object manipulation using multiple air jets on planar surface (Experimental case studies of control method for the multiple objects using four air jets nozzles)

Abstract

We present a method for contactless manipulation of multiple small objects in a plane using multiple air jets. When the objects are initially clustered as a group, the group's center of gravity is used as a representative point and the entire group is manipulated. When the objects are initially scattered, the object farthest from the goal is selected and individually controlled. Four jets allowing control of airflow rate and angle are used for a position manipulation experiment with five small balls, and the efficacy of the proposed method is compared and discussed.