Automobile Component Quality Assurance Using Marker-Based Image Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current quality assurance methods for automobile components are inefficient due to human error, lack of transparency, and difficulty in detecting small component omissions, leading to inaccurate measurements and delayed quality issue identification, which affects productivity and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus using a marker with a high-resolution camera and image analysis techniques for quality assurance, allowing for user-oriented displays and distortion correction of images to measure component dimensions accurately, eliminating the need for contact-type measuring instruments and enabling data sharing across manufacturing companies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual inspection methods are used to measure component dimensions, then measurement can be performed with simple equipment, but measurement precision deteriorates due to human error and subjective judgment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical measurement methods with an automated image processing system. A camera captures images of components, and software algorithms automatically measure dimensions by detecting edges and calculating distances between features, eliminating human error while maintaining operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy (image) of the physical component and performs measurements on this copy through image processing. This allows multiple measurements to be taken from the same image without physically contacting or moving the component, improving both precision and efficiency.
2Reliability
If contact-type measuring instruments are used, then measurement can be performed on small components, but the components may be damaged or deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces contact-type mechanical measuring instruments with a non-contact optical measurement system. A camera captures images from multiple angles, and image processing algorithms calculate precise dimensions without physically touching the component, thereby preventing deformation while maintaining measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-point contact measurement to multi-angle imaging, capturing the component in three-dimensional space. By analyzing the spatial relationships in captured images, the system achieves precise measurements without physical contact, preserving component integrity.
3Productivity
If quality information is stored locally without a database system, then data storage is simple, but information sharing and analysis efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a centralized database system that serves multiple functions: storing quality data, enabling sharing across departments, supporting statistical analysis, and generating reports. This single system replaces multiple isolated data storage locations, improving productivity while managing complexity through integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback loop where quality data is continuously collected, stored in a database, analyzed, and used to improve manufacturing processes. The system automatically compares measured values against specifications and provides feedback for quality improvements, enhancing overall productivity.
4Measurement precision
If image distortion is not corrected in captured images, then image processing is simpler and faster, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs image distortion correction as a preliminary step before measurement. By correcting geometric distortions and perspective effects early in the processing pipeline, the system ensures accurate measurements without requiring excessive processing time later, as the foundation for measurement is already established.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms image parameters through geometric correction algorithms that adjust for camera angle, lens distortion, and perspective effects. By changing the geometric parameters of the captured image to match the actual component geometry, the system achieves precise measurements while optimizing processing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for assuring quality of a component, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for quality assurance of an automobile component using a marker, that can remove human error and apply a user-oriented display method, by utilizing image analysis techniques, such as a compensation technique according to shooting distance of a high-resolution camera of a terminal having a shooting function, a reference measurement technique where a marker itself includes information such as spatial information and measurement specifications and the like, and distortion correction of a taken image.