Image stitching for footwear component processing
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsHoward Fu, Guo-Chang Wang, Sunye Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A multiple camera vision system captures discrete images having overlapping fields of view. Each of the cameras is calibrated and the images from the cameras are stitched together as a stitched image. A stitched image from the multiple cameras is then used in a calibration process to prepare the multiple camera vision system to be used in connection with a processing operation. A stitched image is used as an input for identifying a feature of the material and for determining a tool path for the material. The tool path determined with the stitched image is provided to a process station to perform an operation on the material.
Claims20
An image stitching and manufacturing system, comprising:
- a conveyance system, the conveyance system moves a material in a process direction;
- a plurality of cameras, wherein a first camera of the plurality of cameras has a first field of view (“FOV”) including an area relative to the conveyance system that overlaps a portion of a second FOV of a second camera of the plurality of cameras;
- a process station, wherein the process station is after the plurality of cameras in the process direction of the conveyance system;
- and
- a computing device, the computing device is logically coupled with the plurality of cameras to receive a first image from the first camera having the first FOV and a second image from the second camera having the second FOV, wherein the computing device stitches the first image and the second image to form a stitched image, the stitched image is an input for the computing device to provide instructions to the process station.
An image stitching and manufacturing method, the method comprising:
- capturing a first image with a first camera of a first material portion of a material;
- capturing a second image with a second camera of a second material portion of the material, wherein the first material portion and the second material portion include a first common portion of the material;
- stitching the first image and the second image as a stitched image;
- identifying a first pattern in the stitched image;
- determining a first tool path based on the identified first pattern;
- and
- instructing a process station to perform an operation on the material based on the first tool path.
A calibration method of a vision system for using image stitching with a manufacturing process, the method comprising:
- calibrating a first camera having a first field of view (“FOV”) from the vision system;
- calibrating a second camera having a second FOV from the vision system, wherein the first FOV and the second FOV include a common area;
- capturing a first image from the first camera;
- capturing a second image from the second camera;
- identifying a consensus feature in the first image and the second image;
- adjusting an offset of the first camera and the second camera based on the identified consensus feature;
- generating a first stitched image from the first camera and the second camera after adjusting the offset;
- calibrating the vision system based on the first stitched image;
- generating a second stitched image of a material after calibrating the vision system based on the first stitched image;
- identifying a pattern in the second stitched image;
- determining a tool path based on the identified pattern;
- and
- instructing a process station to perform an operation on the material based on the tool path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.