Toolpiece Position Tracking Using On-Tool Image Matching
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current object location systems, such as satellite positioning, are inadequate for achieving high accuracy indoors and in applications requiring precision, such as assembly of complex machinery, due to signal interference and obscuration of objects during assembly processes.
Innovation Solution
A system equipped with an imaging device on a tool that captures images of the environment and compares them to reference images to determine the tool's location with high accuracy, using geometric transformations and visual similarity analysis, allowing for precise identification of tool position relative to workpieces, even when objects are obscured.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If satellite positioning systems are used to determine object location, then the system is simple and provides outdoor coverage, but the accuracy is only a few metres and it fails indoors or when signals are blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of fixed cameras positioned around the environment and image processing software that mediates between the object's location needs and the visual field data. This intermediary system processes images to recognize the object and calculate its position, thereby resolving the limitation of satellite positioning in signal-blocked environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the satellite-based electromagnetic signal system with a visual-mechanical system using fixed cameras and image processing. This substitution enables accurate indoor and obstructed-environment positioning by using visual field analysis instead of satellite signal reception.
2Measurement precision
If fixed cameras and image processing are used to track object position, then indoor and obstructed environment accuracy improves to tens of centimetres, but the accuracy is still insufficient for applications requiring centimetre-level precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the positioning function from the complex fixed-camera system and relocates it to a portable device carried by or attached to the object. This extraction simplifies the overall system by eliminating the need for multiple fixed cameras and complex image processing infrastructure, while achieving the required centimetre-level accuracy through onboard sensors and algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable device performs self-positioning by carrying its own sensing and processing capabilities. Instead of relying on external fixed cameras to track it, the object's device independently determines its location using onboard sensors, processors, and algorithms, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining high accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If a portable device with sensors is carried by the object to determine position, then accuracy reaches centimetre level, but the device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses partial action by selectively activating sensors and processing operations only when needed for position determination. Instead of continuous full-power operation, the system activates components intermittently based on motion detection and positioning requirements, thereby reducing overall power consumption while maintaining centimetre-level accuracy when required.
Data Source
AI summary
TOOL TRACKING A system for determining the location of a toolpiece, wherein: the toolpiece is carried by a tool and the tool comprises an imaging device for capturing images of the environment around the tool; and the system comprises an image processor communicatively coupled to the imaging device for receiving images therefrom and having access to one or more reference images of an expected environment, the image processor being configured to compare an image captured by the imaging device with at least one reference image to identify a match therebetween and to determine in dependence on characteristics of that match the location of the toolpiece.