International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2018)

Hand fans are an accessory used among all cultures from East to West, from Ancient Egypt, China, Japan, and England to Spain, where they have been very popular since the XIV century and massively used up to today. Spanish fans are also an undisputed part of the Flamenco dance where the dancer may have to dance while using props such as a fan.

Its daily use is for refreshing by opening and producing a periodical motion. Its correct manipulation is not easy and needsto be taught in a special way. The fan needsto be maintained in the appropriate plane respect to face and then revolve around a pivot so that it can be opened or closed when in use or not in use.

This common object in Spanish culture has some serious challenges from the point of view of robotic perception and manipulation: recognition and localization, grasp planning, stable holding, opening and closing strategies, etc. The fan problem is open to many approaches, and the aim is to exploit the research community creativity, so imaginative solutions are expected.

Figure 1 shows frames from a video illustrating the opening and closing of a typical Spanish fan.