Cartman: The low-cost Cartesian Manipulator that won the Amazon Robotics Challenge
It addresses the problem of cost-effective robotic pick-and-place for autonomous warehousing, though it is incremental as it builds on existing competition frameworks.
The paper presents Cartman, a low-cost Cartesian manipulator that won the Amazon Robotics Challenge by stowing 14 out of 16 items and picking all 9 items in 27 minutes, scoring 272 points.
The Amazon Robotics Challenge enlisted sixteen teams to each design a pick-and-place robot for autonomous warehousing, addressing development in robotic vision and manipulation. This paper presents the design of our custom-built, cost-effective, Cartesian robot system Cartman, which won first place in the competition finals by stowing 14 (out of 16) and picking all 9 items in 27 minutes, scoring a total of 272 points. We highlight our experience-centred design methodology and key aspects of our system that contributed to our competitiveness. We believe these aspects are crucial to building robust and effective robotic systems.