Imagine trying to thread a floppy charging cable through a tiny hole — now imagine doing that thousands of times a day on an assembly line. That's what workers in automotive, aerospace, and appliance factories deal with when they route and connect wiring harnesses. REMODEL taught dual-arm robots to grab, bend, and route flexible cables the way human hands do, using cameras and smart learning instead of rigid programming. The result is robots that can handle the messy, unpredictable job of wiring — something that until now only humans could do.
Manufacturing industries across Europe are losing cable and wire assembly work to low-cost regions because these tasks are labor-intensive, repetitive, and cause high psychophysical stress in workers. At the same time, sectors like aerospace and switchgear need greater production flexibility, traceability, and reliability — but robots have never been able to handle floppy, unpredictable cables the way human hands can.
REMODEL delivered a dual-arm robotic platform capable of grasping, manipulating, and routing deformable cables and wires. Concrete outputs include cable grasping systems, bimanual cable manipulation strategies, wiring harness manipulation tools, a skill-based teaching-by-demonstration system, a validated user interface, and safety-tested robot controllers — all documented across 25 deliverables.
If you are an automotive wiring harness manufacturer losing production to low-cost regions outside Europe — this project developed dual-arm robotic systems with cable grasping and wiring harness manipulation capabilities, validated across 4 industrial use cases. The robots handle unpredictable cable configurations and reduce the psychophysical stress on workers performing repetitive routing tasks.
If you are an aerospace manufacturer needing higher production flexibility, reliability, and traceability in wiring harness assembly — REMODEL built skill-based teaching-by-demonstration tools that let robots learn cable routing tasks from human operators. The system was tested with safety validation and covers bimanual cable manipulation for complex aerospace-grade assemblies.
If you are a switchgear manufacturer struggling with labor costs and time-to-market pressure on custom wiring jobs — this project created a robot platform with a validated user interface that supports collaborative wiring operations. The system includes safety-tested controllers designed for human-robot collaboration on the shop floor.
The project data does not include specific pricing or licensing costs. As a Research and Innovation Action with 11 consortium partners across 6 countries, commercialization terms would need to be negotiated with the technology holders. Contact the coordinator at University of Bologna for licensing discussions.
REMODEL specifically targeted mass production scenarios such as automotive wiring harness manufacturing. The project validated 4 industrial use cases across 5 different domains including automotive and appliance production. The dual-arm robot platform was designed for industrial manufacturing environments with safety-tested controllers.
The consortium of 11 partners — including 5 industry partners and 2 SMEs — developed the technology under EU Horizon 2020 funding. IP ownership typically follows the EU grant agreement terms where each partner owns their contributions. The coordinator, University of Bologna, can guide you through licensing options.
REMODEL developed a dedicated User Interface validated through testing, plus a skill-based teaching-by-demonstration system. Workers can teach the robot new cable manipulation tasks rather than programming it. The platform includes safety controllers tested and documented for human-robot collaboration.
The system was designed for deformable linear objects with unpredictable configurations, large deformability, and plasticity. Validated applications include electrical wires, wiring harnesses for automotive and aerospace, switchgear cables, and medical consumable manufacturing components.
The project closed in October 2023 with completed demo deliverables including cable grasping, bimanual cable manipulation, wiring harness manipulation, and safety-tested robotic platforms. Based on available project data, the technology has been validated in industrial use cases but may require integration engineering for specific production lines.
REMODEL produced a dedicated report on robot safety tests, including safety controller documentation and implementation in the robotic platform. An updated safety validation was submitted at month 48 of the project, covering the final platform configuration.
REMODEL's consortium of 11 partners across 6 European countries (Germany, Spain, Finland, Italy, Poland, Slovenia) is well-balanced for industrial deployment — 5 industry partners and 5 universities split nearly evenly, with a 45% industry ratio that signals real manufacturing involvement rather than a purely academic exercise. The 2 SMEs in the mix suggest agile technology transfer potential. The coordinator, University of Bologna, built on their earlier WIRES project, bringing continuity and deep expertise in robotic wire manipulation. With 1 dedicated research organization completing the team, the consortium covers the full chain from fundamental robotics research through industrial validation.
University of Bologna (Italy) — search for REMODEL project robotics lab contacts
Want to explore how REMODEL's robotic cable handling technology fits your production line? SciTransfer can connect you with the right consortium partner for your specific use case.
