Vision systems, acting as the intelligent eyes of industrial machines, are increasingly involved in industrial automation, particularly in automated production processes such as identification, detection, and measurement. Compared to human vision, machine vision offers significant advantages:
High precision
Human vision has 64 gray levels and is weak at distinguishing tiny targets; machine vision can significantly improve the gray level (up to 256 gray levels) and can observe targets at the micrometer level; based on this advantage, it is widely used in sorting processes in fields such as precision electronics.
Fast
Humans cannot clearly see fast-moving targets, while machine shutter speeds can reach the microsecond level;
High stability and reliability
Machine vision solves the problems of instability and error-proneness in human inspection. For example, manual visual inspection is a very tedious and arduous job, and no matter how careful a person is, a relatively high rate of missed inspections will occur. However, machine vision inspection equipment does not suffer from fatigue or emotional fluctuations, which can greatly improve the controllability of results in quality control.
Information integration and retention
The human brain has a very limited capacity to store information, while machine vision acquires comprehensive and traceable information, and related information can be easily integrated and retained.
In the field of mobile robotics, what kind of sparks will fly when vision systems are integrated?
Achieve 3D obstacle avoidance
Typical laser-guided mobile robots can only detect obstacles on a horizontal plane, making it difficult to detect three-dimensional obstacles. In the complex environments of factories, encountering three-dimensional obstacles can lead to unpredictable and dangerous situations such as collisions.
Based on laser SLAM navigation, Xianzhi Robotics can detect three-dimensional obstacles in the mobile robot's operating path by loading 3D vision sensors, such as potholes and protruding obstacles on the ground, and choose to stop or detour according to the configuration, thereby achieving safe and efficient transportation.
Enabling composite robots to achieve intelligent grasping
Taking a project implemented by Xianzhi Robotics as an example, since the user did not have an MES system, Xianzhi equipped a composite robot based on AMB with a vision recognition system, enabling the robot to read the quantity information displayed on the user's production line. This gave the robot the same observation ability as a human, guiding the robotic arm to achieve intelligent grasping of materials on the production line.
By replacing manual picking and handling with AMB-based composite robots, workers are freed from tedious and boring tasks, greatly improving the automation and intelligence of logistics while reducing the risk of human error.
Assist forklifts to pick up objects precisely
In factory production, there will always be varying degrees of positional deviation when manually placing racks (cages) or pallets. Traditional mobile robot products usually require limit devices to ensure that the racks (cages) or pallets are placed accurately so that the traditional robot can accurately pick up materials.
Xianzhi Robotics' laser SLAM-based automated forklifts, equipped with visual recognition sensors, can autonomously identify racks (cages) and pallets, enabling precise item retrieval. Thanks to the stability and reliability of the visual sensors, even slight misalignments in the placement of racks (cages) or pallets by manual placement will not affect the robot's accurate item retrieval. This eliminates the need for limiting devices and significantly improves production flexibility.
Whether it's 3D obstacle avoidance, intelligent grasping by composite robots, or precise picking by SRC-based laser SLAM automated forklifts, machine vision has greatly improved the efficiency and safety of logistics transportation.
With technological innovation and advancements, machine vision will have even more applications and usage scenarios in the field of mobile robots. At the "Beijing Machine Vision Empowering Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation and Development Conference" to be held from August 21st to 22nd, Xianzhi will be a speaker, sharing its technological advantages and one-stop mobile robot solutions. Stay tuned!
