Active Force-Controlled Conveyor-Belt Manipulator for Accurate Stop-Based Parcel Rotation

Abstract

In intralogistics, reorienting parcels is often required for barcode scanning. Industrial solutions, such as rotating conveyors, activate roller belts, pivots, and vision-based systems, suffer from large footprints, high cost, limited precision, or abrupt impacts that affect parcel integrity. This work presents the design, modeling, and experimental validation of a conveyor-belt-based non-prehensile manipulator for controlled 90 deg reorientation of boxes in logistics environments. The system integrates a compact conveyor-belt end-effector with a high-friction surface, distributed load-cell sensing, and force-based control mounted on a collaborative robot. An analytical formulation describing the transition from linear to rotational motion was developed and validated, establishing torque demands, expected behavior in pressure, and tangential force applied to the box. Based on these criteria, a prototype was built and tested on three standard parcel geometries. Primary tests measured contact pressure distribution, force transmission, and rotational tracking when the transport conveyor remained static. The final tests confirmed that the manipulator performs reliable and smooth 90 deg rotations when the box is stationary on the conveyor. The measured dynamics followed the analytical trends, with a final damping effect caused by continuous belt contact that minimized impact at completion. These results validate the proposed system as a compact and repeatable solution for stop-based non-prehensile parcel reorientation, providing a basis for extending the method to moving-belt conditions and higher-capacity robotic platforms.