Autonomous 3D Robotic Inspection Path Planning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Human inspection of industrial assets is often difficult, dangerous, and inefficient, especially in harsh environments, due to the need for manual data collection and lack of pre-planning in robotic inspection methods, which can lead to time-consuming and costly processes.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for generating a virtual 3D robotic inspection plan that allows an unmanned robot to autonomously inspect assets by creating a virtual 3D travel path based on a digital replica of the asset, enabling precise and efficient data collection without human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If human inspectors manually inspect assets, then inspection flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but inspection safety deteriorates and inspection efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables autonomous self-service inspection where the robotic vehicle independently navigates to the asset, captures images, processes them through AI algorithms, and generates inspection reports without human intervention, thereby improving safety while maintaining efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection with an automated robotic system equipped with cameras and AI processing, substituting human physical presence with mechanical automation to eliminate safety risks while enhancing inspection speed and consistency
2Productivity
If robotic inspection is performed without pre-planning, then inspection adaptability is maintained, but inspection time and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-generating a 3D model of the asset and creating an optimized inspection path before the actual inspection occurs, allowing the robotic vehicle to execute predefined routes efficiently while maintaining the ability to adapt to actual conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy (3D model) of the physical asset that serves as a virtual template for planning the inspection path, allowing complex path optimization to be performed insilico before physical execution, thereby reducing on-site inspection time
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive asset inspection is performed, then measurement precision is improved, but inspection time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by concentrating inspection resources on specific regions of interest identified through the 3D model, adjusting camera parameters and inspection depth locally based on asset criticality rather than applying uniform inspection across the entire asset
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs AI-based image processing and automated defect recognition algorithms that rapidly analyze inspection images with high precision, replacing slow manual analysis while maintaining or improving detection accuracy through machine learning capabilities
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are systems and methods for generating an autonomous 3D inspection plan for an unmanned robot. In an example, the method may include receiving a selection of a plurality of regions of interest with respect to a virtual asset displayed in virtual space, detecting a 3D position of the regions of interest within a coordinate frame of the virtual space, auto-generating a travel path about a physical asset corresponding to the virtual asset by generating a virtual 3D travel path with respect to the virtual asset based on the detected 3D positions of the selected regions of interest within the coordinate frame, aligning the virtual 3D travel path in the virtual space with a physical travel path in a physical space, and outputting a robotic inspection plan comprising the auto-generated physical travel path for the unmanned robot.