Welding Torch Marker Tracking for Occlusion-Resistant Training
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current welding training systems are expensive and often inadequate in training operators to perform high-quality welds, limiting their effectiveness in preparing operators for industrial applications.
Innovation Solution
A welding system that incorporates advanced sensing devices, including cameras and depth sensors, integrated with a welding torch and helmet, along with augmented reality and virtual reality modes, to provide immersive training and real-time feedback, enabling precise tracking and calibration of welding operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional welding training systems are used, then training coverage is limited due to high cost, but training quality and operator proficiency remain inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses visual markers (LEDs) that create optical copies of the welding torch position and orientation, allowing the system to track and analyze welding operations without requiring expensive complex sensing equipment on the torch itself. The markers serve as lightweight, cost-effective proxies for complex sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical sensing systems with an optical tracking system using cameras and LED markers. Instead of using expensive mechanical sensors, accelerometers, or gyroscopes in the torch, the system uses visual recognition of LED patterns to determine torch position and orientation, significantly reducing device complexity and cost.
2Measurement precision
If visual markers are used for torch tracking, then tracking accuracy is improved, but marker visibility may be compromised when the torch is close to or touching the workpiece
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the visual marker system into multiple separate LED markers distributed around the torch rather than using a single centralized marker. This segmentation ensures that at least some markers remain visible even when the torch is in close proximity to or contacting the workpiece, as markers positioned at different locations have different occlusion characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent arranges LED markers in three-dimensional space around the torch in specific geometric patterns (such as tetrahedral or pyramidal configurations). This spatial distribution in multiple dimensions ensures that markers are visible from various angles and that occlusion by the workpiece affects only a portion of the markers, not the entire system.
3Reliability
If multiple LED markers are distributed around the torch, then tracking reliability is improved through redundancy, but power consumption and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic activation of LED markers rather than continuous operation. The controller activates specific subsets of LEDs in sequence or at different times, allowing the camera to capture multiple images over time to reconstruct torch position. This periodic action maintains tracking reliability through temporal redundancy while significantly reducing power consumption compared to continuous LED operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses partial action by activating only a subset of available LED markers at any given time rather than all markers simultaneously. The system can determine torch position from partial marker sets, using statistical or geometric algorithms to reconstruct full position information from incomplete data, thereby reducing total LED power consumption while maintaining adequate tracking reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enhances the training process by offering cost-effective, high-quality welding education, improving operator proficiency and consistency through immersive and data-driven training methods.
Implementation Method 1
a first visual marker comprising a first plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged in a first pattern about a first portion of the welding torch
Implementation Method 2
a camera integrated with the welding helmet, the camera configured to capture images of the visual markers
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2A~3
AI summary
A welding system includes one or more cameras and a controller coupled to the one or more cameras. The one or more cameras are configured to detect a plurality of sets of visual markers of a welding device, where each each set is oriented in a respective marker direction. The controller is configured to determine one or more marker directions of one or more respective sets of visual markers based on a detected set of visual markers, to select one of the sets of visual markers as a tracked set of visual markers based at least in part on a determined marker direction of the tracked set of visual markers, to associate a rigid body model to the tracked set of visual markers, and to determine a position and an orientation of the welding device based on the associated rigid body model of the tracked set of visual markers.