Robot Assisted 3D shape acquisition by optical systems

Book Description

The proposed procedures are absolutely non-invasive since they do not involve any modification of the scene; in fact no markers with features visible by both the camera and the laser, or any other device, are required. As for the first results of the new method for real time shape acquisition by a laser scanner , it must be said that, although the test rig has been conceived just to validate the method (hence no high resolution cameras were adopted), the tests have showed encouraging results. These results can be summarized as follows. 1. It is possible to calibrate the intrinsic parameters of the video system, the position of the image plane and the laser plane in a given frame, all in the same time. 2. The surface shapes can be recognized and recorded with an appreciable accuracy. 3. The proposed method can be used for robotic applications such as robotic kinematic calibration and 3D surfaces recognition and recording. For this last purpose the test rig was fitted on a robot arm that permitted to the scanner device to `observe' the 3D object from different and known position. A detailed analysis of the sources of errors and the verification of the accuracy has been also carried on. As far as the latter aspect is concerned, the authors believe that a better system for tracking the position of the robot arm could enhance accuracy. Finally, the authors would like to point out that the solution proposed is relatively low cost, scalable and flexible. It is also suitable for applications other than RE, like robot control or inspection.