Image-Based Tool Tracking for Precise Bolt Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for accurately tracking the location of tools, especially in confined or production environments, face challenges in achieving high precision and reliability, particularly when bolts are closely spaced or obscured, requiring a solution that can determine the tool's position with centimeter-level accuracy in real-time.
Innovation Solution
A system where a tool equipped with an imaging device captures images of its environment and transmits them to a remote image processor for comparison with pre-stored reference data, using geometric transformations to identify matches and determine the tool's location, allowing for precise identification of the bolt being engaged.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If satellite positioning systems are used to track object location, then the system is simple to implement, but the positioning accuracy deteriorates to a few metres which is insufficient for indoor or high-precision applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary positioning system consisting of fixed transmitters and receivers that mediate between satellite positioning and the tool's location. The transmitters are positioned at known locations throughout the workspace and transmit signals that are received by the tool's receiver, creating an intermediary reference framework that enables centimeter-level accuracy without requiring direct satellite visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the satellite-based electromagnetic positioning system with a local electromagnetic field-based system. Instead of relying on distant satellite signals, the system uses locally generated electromagnetic fields from fixed transmitters to establish position references, substituting a mechanical/satellite system with a localized field-based system that provides higher precision.
2Measurement precision
If fixed cameras and image processing systems are used to track object location, then positioning accuracy improves to a few tens of centimetres, but the device complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the mechanical camera-based visual system with an electromagnetic signal-based system. Instead of using cameras to capture images and process them computationally, the system uses electromagnetic transmitters and receivers to directly measure position through signal time-of-flight or phase differences, replacing a complex optical-mechanical system with a simpler electromagnetic field system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces fixed electromagnetic transmitters as intermediaries at known positions throughout the workspace. These transmitters serve as reference points that mediate between the tool's receiver and the positioning calculation, providing a simplified intermediary framework that reduces complexity compared to camera-based systems while achieving comparable or superior accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If high-precision positioning systems are implemented to track tool location accurately, then measurement precision improves to centimeter-level accuracy, but the cost and complexity of the system increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the positioning system into fixed infrastructure components (transmitters at known locations) and mobile components (receiver on the tool). This segmentation allows the complex positioning function to be distributed, with the fixed transmitters providing reference signals and the mobile receiver processing those signals to determine position, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for determining the location of a toolpiece, the system comprising: a tool carrying a toolpiece and comprising an imaging device for capturing images of the environment around the tool, the tool being actuable to manipulate the toolpiece to work on a workpiece; and an image processor remote from the tool and communicatively coupled to the imaging device for receiving images therefrom and having access to reference data representing an expected environment, the image processor being configured to compare an image captured by the imaging device with the reference data to identify a match therebetween and to determine in dependence on characteristics of that match the location of the toolpiece; wherein the system is configured to cause the tool to transmit images captured by the imaging device to the image processor in response to actuation of the tool.