Method and system for depalletizing tires using a robot

A method for robot-implemented depalletizing of tires on a carrier, comprising repeated implementation of the steps of:

• at a depalletizing site at which an aggregation of tires on a carrier is located, with respective positions and orientations of individual tires in said aggregation being initially unknown at said depalletizing site, operating a sensor to detect sensor data representing said position and orientation of outer tires in said aggregation;
• supplying said sensor data to a processor and, in said processor, automatically identifying the position and orientation of each outer tire in said aggregation and automatically determining therefrom one tire, among said outer tires, that is to be gripped with a gripping tool of a robot, according to predetermined criteria;
• in said processor, automatically calculating movement paths of said gripping tool to grip and depalletize said one tire for each of a plurality of different grip positions of said gripping tool;
• using 3D models of said gripping tool, said one tire, and said carrier, and the position and orientation of said outer tires, testing, in said processor, collisions between said carrier and said gripping tool that occur in the respective movement paths;
• in said processor, automatically determining whether a collision-free movement path exists among said plurality of calculated movement paths, in which no collision between said gripping tool and said carrier occurs and, if no collision-free movement path exists, selecting a different tire, from among said outer tires, to be gripped and repeating calculation of said movement paths and testing of collisions between said gripping tool and said carrier, for said different tire, until a tire is determined for which a collision-free movement path exists;
• and
• operating said industrial robot to grip said tire for which said collision-free movement path exists with said gripping tool, and depalletizing said tire for which said collision-free movement path exists by moving said gripping tool with said industrial robot along said collision-free movement path.