Robot Camera Timing Correction for High-Speed Workpiece Imaging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robot systems face challenges in accurately capturing images of workpieces with high operating velocities, as the initial image-capturing timing settings often result in the workpiece being displaced from the field of view, especially when the field of view decreases, leading to incomplete captures without the need to halt or decelerate the robot.
Innovation Solution
A robot system equipped with a first camera mounted on the robot's wrist and a second camera positioned to capture the relative positional relationship, which processes images in synchronization to correct the image-capturing timing of the first camera using an image-processing unit and correcting unit, ensuring the workpiece is captured within the first camera's field of view by calculating and adjusting the timing based on detected positional displacement and robot velocity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the robot operates at high velocity to improve productivity, then the cycle time is reduced, but the workpiece becomes displaced from the field of view of the first camera due to timing errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the second camera to capture the actual position of the workpiece and feeds this information back to the correcting unit. The correcting unit calculates the displacement between the workpiece and the first camera's field of view, then adjusts the image-capturing timing accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables precise timing correction even at high robot velocities.
Solution Approach 2:
The second camera acts as an intermediary device that indirectly measures the workpiece position and relative movement. Instead of relying solely on the first camera's direct capture, the system uses the second camera's broader field of view to detect workpiece position, which then informs the timing correction for the first camera. This intermediary measurement approach enables accurate synchronization without limiting robot speed.
2Measurement precision
If the robot decelerates or halts to ensure accurate image capture, then the image-capturing accuracy is improved, but the cycle time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurement of the workpiece position and relative movement using the second camera before the first camera captures the image. By advance detecting the workpiece position and calculating the required timing correction, the system eliminates the need for robot deceleration or halting during the actual image capture, thus maintaining high productivity while ensuring capture accuracy.
3Manufacturing precision
If the field of view of the first camera is reduced to capture only the workpiece, then the image quality is improved, but the tolerance for timing errors decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system adds a temporal dimension to the solution by introducing timing correction based on second camera measurements. Instead of relying solely on spatial factors (robot position, camera field of view), the system corrects the timing parameter dynamically. This temporal adjustment compensates for the reduced timing error tolerance caused by the narrow field of view, enabling precise capture even with minimal margin for error.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is a robot system including a robot that performs work on a workpiece; a controller that controls the robot; a first camera that captures an image of the workpiece while being moved relative to the workpiece by means of the operation of the robot; and a second camera that is capable of acquiring, in synchronization with image capturing by the first camera, an image that represents the relative positional relationship between the first camera and the workpiece. The controller includes a correcting unit that corrects, on the basis of the image acquired by the second camera, the image-capturing timing of the first camera so that an image is captured at a position at which the workpiece is appropriately captured in the field of view of the first camera.