A robot by NTU Singapore autonomously assembles an IKEA chair

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have developed a robot that can autonomously assemble an IKEA chair without interruption.

Designed by Assistant Professor Pham Quang Cuong and his team from NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the robot comprises a 3D camera and two robotic arms equipped with grippers to pick up objects. The team coded algorithms to help the robot put together the IKEA chair.

Asst Prof Pham said’ “We are looking to integrate more artificial intelligence into this approach to make the robot more autonomous so it can learn the different steps of assembling a chair through human demonstration or by reading the instruction manual, or even from an image of the assembled product.”

Now that the team has achieved its goal of demonstrating the assembly of an IKEA chair, they are working with companies to apply this form of robotic manipulation to a range of industries.

The results are published in the journal Science Robotics.