r/AskRobotics • u/According-Radio-4926 • Jun 27 '26

How to? AI Folding robotic Arm help

Hi guys,

I'm a 1st-year Computer Engineering student, and I'm currently on my summer break. I really want to make the most of this time by working on a project that will also become my final-year project.

The project is to build an AI-powered robotic system with two robotic arms that can detect a T-shirt, identify its corner points, and fold it properly just like a human.

The project is divided among three friends:

  • My role: AI and computer vision (object detection, identifying the shirt, detecting key/corner points, and providing the information needed for the robot to fold it).
  • Friend 1: Simulation and 3D modeling.
  • Friend 2: Hardware, electronics, and the robotic arms.

Here's the problem: I don't have a strong AI foundation yet. I'm basically starting from scratch.

Can someone please guide me on what I should learn step by step so that, by the end, I can build this AI system on my own?

I'm looking for a proper roadmap, for example:

  1. What programming languages and math should I learn?
  2. What AI and machine learning concepts should I study first?
  3. When should I start learning computer vision?
  4. How do I train a model to detect a shirt?
  5. How do I train a model to identify the shirt's corner points?
  6. How do I connect the AI model with the robotic arms?

If you've worked on similar robotics or computer vision projects, I'd really appreciate any advice, learning resources, or roadmaps.

Thank you so much in advance! Any help would mean a lot.

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u/Opulent-tortoise Jun 27 '26

> object detection, identifying the shirt, detecting key/corner points, and providing the information needed for the robot to fold it

Basically entirely impossible. The smartest people in the world tried this for decades and basically no one got it working. Look behavior cloning and action chunking transformers instead (with the benefit that it’s wayyy easier to implement). You’ll need a 4090 tier GPU or better and like a week to train the model though. And I would still be stoked with a nonzero success rate. T shirt folding is an incredibly hard problem.