Welding Head-Mounted Display for Arc-Safe Augmented Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Weld operators face obscured vision in harsh arc welding environments due to intense light contrast, fumes, and spatter, making it difficult to see seams, electrode placement, and weld quality, and there is a need for effective training and guidance to improve operator skills.
Innovation Solution
A mediated reality welding user interface using a head-mounted display that renders 3D augmented reality images, combining holographic processing and depth cameras to enhance visibility, provide real-time guidance, and simulate welding processes, allowing for improved training and quality control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional welding helmets with dark lenses are used, then operator protection from arc radiation is improved, but vision clarity and visibility of weld details deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a head-mounted display device as an intermediary between the welder and the welding environment. The HMD captures images through the dark lens, processes them to enhance visibility, and presents them to the operator. This mediator allows the operator to maintain protection from arc radiation while achieving clear visibility of weld details through the processed visual feed.
2Manufacturing precision
If real-time visual feedback and guidance are provided through HMD, then weld quality and operator performance are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The HMD system is designed to perform multiple functions: capturing welding environment images, processing and enhancing visual data, providing real-time feedback, displaying guidance information, and recording welding processes. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single head-mounted device, the system achieves improved weld quality without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The HMD system provides self-service capabilities by automatically capturing images, processing visual data, and generating feedback without requiring external equipment or operators. The system autonomously monitors welding parameters, compares them against target values, and provides corrective guidance to the welder in real-time, reducing the need for additional complex external systems.
3Measurement precision
If high-resolution depth sensing and holographic processing are implemented, then spatial awareness and training effectiveness are improved, but computational requirements and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements depth sensing and holographic processing at appropriate levels of resolution and complexity for the specific welding application. Rather than using maximum possible resolution and processing power continuously, the system adjusts the level of detail and computational intensity based on the immediate needs of the welding task, optimizing the balance between measurement precision and energy consumption.
Data Source
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AI summary
Sensor assisted head mounted displays for welding are disclosed. Disclosed example head mounted devices include an optical sensor, an augmented reality controller, a graphics processing unit, and a semi-transparent display. The optical sensor collects an image of a weld environment. The augmented reality controller determines a simulated object to be presented in a field of view, a position in the field of view, and a perspective of the simulated object in the field of view. The graphics processing unit renders the simulated object based on the perspective to represent the simulated object being present in the field of view and in the weld environment. The display presents the rendered simulated object within the field of view based on the position. At least a portion of the weld environment is observable through the display and the lens when the display is presenting the rendered simulated object.