<title>Visual Control For Robot Handling Of Unoriented Parts</title>

Abstract

Robots guided by image analysis have successfully acquired parts from bins, computed part position and orientation, and performed manipulation to bring parts to the same position and orientation. This task is common to many workstations in manufacturing industries since parts are often supplied in bins and must be oriented before insertion into a machine. Systems which are currently technically demonstrated as feasible have profitable applications now, but the number of suitable applications now is small when compared to those which will be appropriate in several years. More research is needed to make such robot systems fast, easily programmed, inexpensive, reliable, and applicable to a wider variety of parts. The roles of vision include directing a hand into a bin to grasp a single piece, computing the orientation of a piece in a robot's hand, piece guidance into a fixture, verification of placement in a fixture, and inspection for piece integrity.