Robot tracking device
OwnerJohn Tyson, IIinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tracking device that is mountable to a robot, the tracking device has a plurality of faces that contain marking indicia thereon that is used by an imaging apparatus to track the position of a robot. The robot is not required to be at a fixed location, and may have mobility features, such as drives that move the robot along a path of travel, surface, or in space. The tracking devices do not consume or require power to operate. A plurality of tracking devices may be installed on a robot and an imaging apparatus is used to image the field of view in which the robot operates. Discrete locations of the robot in real time or any point in time are ascertained through the positioning of the tracking device. Tracking devices may be installed on robots used for assembly or defect monitoring.
Claims21
A device for tracking a robot in a field of view, the device comprising:
- a) a structure having a plurality of surfaces that include flat surfaces or flat surface portions thereof;
- b) marking indicia provided on said plurality of surfaces;
- c) a mounting mechanism configured for attachment of said structure to the robot;
- d) wherein said plurality of surfaces comprise at least a number of surfaces that are in different planes from each other;
- e) wherein the robot being tracked includes a head that lays up thermoformable tapes and moves its location when laying up the thermoformable tapes, and wherein the mounting mechanism attaches the structure to the robot to track the robot head;
- f) wherein of the plurality of the surfaces having indicia thereon that are in different planes, at least two are within the imaging apparatus field of view during the movement of the robot head when laying up the thermoformable tapes;
- and
- g) wherein the robot, irrespective of reference, is tracked to track the location of the robot head in 3D coordinate space as the robot head moves its location when the robot head is moving or when the robot is on a mobile platform or floating in space.
A system for tracking a robot, comprising:
- a) a tracking device for tracking a robot in a field of view, the tracking device comprising:
- i) a structure having a plurality of surfaces that include flat surfaces or flat surface portions thereof;
- ii) marking indicia provided on said plurality of surfaces;
- iii) a mounting mechanism configured for attachment of said structure to the robot;
- iv) wherein said plurality of surfaces comprise at least a number of surfaces that are in different planes from each other;
- b) a robot, said robot being mobile and including a drive mechanism for moving the robot, said tracking device being mounted by said mounting mechanism to said robot;
- c) an imaging apparatus comprising a camera positioned to image a field of view;
- d) wherein said robot is movable within said field of view;
- e) wherein said imaging apparatus includes software configured to process the image and the marking indicia provided on said plurality of surfaces to determine the position of the robot;
- f) wherein the robot is configured with instructions to carry out a robotic process that includes one or more of monitoring, inspecting or constructing a structure;
- g) wherein said instructions to carry out said robotic process include instructing one or more robotic operations, and wherein said instructions to carry out said one or more robot operations utilize the robot position determined using the marking indicia of the robot tracking device and the software configured to process the image and the marking indicia provided on said plurality of surfaces, and wherein said instructions instruct the robotic operation based on the determined location of the robot;
- and
- h) wherein the robot, when monitoring, inspecting or constructing a structure within the field of view, irrespective of reference, is tracked to determine the location of the robot in 3D coordinate space as the robot moves its location when the robot is moving or when the robot is on a mobile platform or floating in space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.