A Robot Uses Two XY Gantries to Weave Daisy Chains One Flower at a Time
For his student final project, Jude Robinson built Daisy, a robot that automatically makes literal daisy chains. Two opposing XY gantries with grippers alternate handling flowers, taking each daisy from a conveyor and threading its stem through the previous flower.
The machine makes a short slit in each newly added stem, then places a thin threading post through the opening to prepare for the next flower. Because daisy stems vary in shape and diameter, V-shaped grippers and other mechanical constraints keep the process aligned without relying on sensing.
A daisy chain is about as simple and pastoral as a handmade object gets, yet automating it calls for two XY gantries and a conveyor. The delicacy of the result and the seriousness of the machinery barely match.