Object tracking-based control of manufacturing processes in the metalworking industry

A manufacturing control system for controlling manufacturing processes in a manufacturing hall, comprising:

• a plurality of image acquisition devices installed in the manufacturing hall and configured to acquire image sequences of allocated observation areas within the manufacturing hall;
• and
• an analysis unit configured to determine, exchange, and provide data on the position of an object to be tracked in the manufacturing hall and to perform a method comprising:
• identifying an object to be tracked in a first image of the image sequences using at least one object feature in the first image;
• determining a processing plan that relates to the object to be tracked;
• determining positions of the object feature in image sequences acquired temporally after the first image;
• determining a current position of the object to be tracked by localizing the object feature in a temporally current image of one of the image sequences and assigning the current position of the object feature in the temporally current image to a current position within the observation area of the image sequence that includes the temporally current image;
• and
• integrating the determined current position of the object to be tracked into a manufacturing control of the manufacturing hall for manufacturing the end product.

A method for industrial manufacturing of an end product in a manufacturing hall using a manufacturing control system, the method comprising:

• receiving a manufacturing order for manufacturing an end product from a workpiece with a machine control system (MES) of the manufacturing control system implemented in a data processing device;
• selecting individual processing steps with the MES;
• determining an order of the processing steps with the MES, wherein the processing steps include one or more of cutting, cutting, punching, bending, drilling, threading, grinding, joining, welding, riveting, screwing, pressing, treating edges, or treating surfaces;
• assigning the manufacturing steps to a machine or a workstation unit;
• assigning the manufacturing order to an object to be tracked in the MES;
• manufacturing a workpiece by processing the workpiece into a part of the end product after a first of the processing steps on the machine or workstation unit assigned to the processing step;
• storing a status change of the manufacturing order in the MES;
• transporting the manufactured workpiece to the next machine or workstation unit in the predetermined steps;
• performing the processing step on the next machine or workstation unit;
• storing a status change of the manufacturing order in the MES;
• and
• performing the processing steps of the manufacturing order with the MES, wherein the position of the object to be tracked is determined by:
• providing in the manufacturing hall a plurality of image acquisition devices configured to acquire image sequences of allocated observation areas within the manufacturing hall;
• identifying the object to be tracked in a first image of the image sequences using at least one object feature in the first image;
• determining a processing plan that relates to the object to be tracked;
• determining positions of the object feature in image sequences acquired temporally after the first image;
• and
• determining a current position of the object to be tracked by localizing the object feature in a temporally current image of one of the image sequences and assigning the current position of the object feature in the temporally current image to a current position within the observation area of the image sequence that includes the temporally current image, such that the MES has at any time data on the current status and current position of the object to be tracked for integrating the determined current position of the object to be tracked into a manufacturing control for manufacturing the end product.