Inline Inspection with an Industrial Robot (IIIR) for Mass-Customization Production Line.

Area of Science:

• Robotics and Automation
• Industrial Engineering
• Computer Vision

Background:

• Industry 4.0 requires autonomous robots for customizable production.
• Accurate geometric and orientation recognition of objects is crucial for autonomous robot control.
• Existing inspection methods may not meet the demands of mass-customization production lines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel inline inspection with an industrial robot (IIIR) methodology.
• To enable autonomous robot control for mass-customization production.
• To ensure accurate geometric and orientation recognition of arbitrarily shaped objects.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 3D scanner to capture object geometry and orientation.
• Integrated a camera on the robot's end effector for optical inspections.
• Developed a system where the end effector follows the object within the robot's working range.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a stable relative movement between the moving object and the following camera (0.34 mm/s, worst case 0.94 mm/s).
• Achieved a relative speed of approximately 6 microns (worst case 16 microns) for a 60 frames per second camera.
• Confirmed the system's stability for most industrial production inspections.

Conclusions:

• The developed IIIR method is suitable for mass-customization production lines.
• The system provides sufficient accuracy and stability for inline object inspection.
• This approach contributes to the advancement of autonomous robot control in Industry 4.0.