Computerized sewing apparatus was introduced more than a decade ago. Conventional systems perform sewing operations along a predetermined path using a sewing program. The main drawback of such systems lies in the fact that these systems are blind, i.e., they cannot see the work piece which is being sewn. This blindness is a severe handicap for present generation sewing systems. Leather and textiles are flexible materials which can change their size and position before and during the sewing operation. Hence, occasionally, the predetermined sewing path does not match the actual piece being sewn, and the pieces must be disqualified and rejected by quality inspectors.
A further drawback rests in the fact that, in an attempt to maintain accurate positioning of the pieces to be sewn relative to the sewing head, the sewn pieces are firmly held in a complicated workholder. This workholder aims to avoid, with limited success, the potential inaccuracy of pieces placement. Furthermore, the placement of the pieces in this workholder is complicated and, therefore, today is done manually by a trained operator.