Toolpiece Position Tracking Using Reference Image Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for accurately tracking the location of tools, especially in high-precision applications like assembly of helicopter gearboxes or car production, face challenges in achieving sub-centimeter accuracy and reliability, especially when bolts are obscured or in close proximity, due to limitations in existing satellite positioning and imaging technologies.
Innovation Solution
A system equipped with an imaging device that captures images of the environment and uses an image processor to compare them with reference images, applying geometric transformations to determine the tool's location with high accuracy, and automatically adjusts its operating mode based on the identified location, while also considering obscured parts of the environment.
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 limited to a few metres and fails indoors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary positioning system consisting of fixed transmitters and mobile receivers that operates independently of satellite signals. This intermediary system provides the necessary measurement capability in environments where GPS fails, achieving centimeter-level accuracy through local infrastructure rather than relying on external satellite signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning function is segmented into two distinct systems: a satellite-based system for outdoor use and a local infrastructure-based system for indoor or high-precision applications. Each system operates independently in its optimal domain, allowing the overall system to achieve high accuracy where needed without requiring complete replacement of existing infrastructure.
2Reliability
If image processing software is used to recognize objects in video feeds, then object identification is achieved, but the system complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using complex image processing to recognize and identify objects, the system uses simpler visual detection to locate distinctive markers or features. The position is then determined through geometric calculation based on the known positions of fixed transmitters and the detected marker locations, replacing complex recognition software with simpler detection and calculation.
3Measurement precision
If acoustic transmitters are used for positioning, then three-dimensional location can be estimated, but the accuracy is limited to a few tens of centimetres
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces acoustic positioning with an optical/image-based positioning system. By using cameras or image sensors to detect the positions of markers on tools and workpieces, and correlating these with the known positions of fixed transmitters, the system achieves higher accuracy (centimeter or sub-centimeter level) compared to acoustic methods, enabling precise verification of assembly operations.
4Measurement precision
If radio receivers detect multiple parameters to estimate transmitter location, then positioning is achieved, but the accuracy remains at tens of centimetres level
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses visual copying of marker positions through image capture devices rather than radio parameter detection. By capturing images of markers with known geometries and positions, and processing these images to determine tool and workpiece locations, the system achieves higher precision without the complexity of detecting and processing multiple radio parameters simultaneously.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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. Figure