# US 2018/0321671 A1 · Verification system for manufacturing processes > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0321671 A1 - Document ID: US20180321671A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/588,448 - Filed: 2017-05-05 - Published: 2018-11-08 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-05 - Assignees: The Boeing Company - Applicants: The Boeing Company - Inventors: John Matthew Pistorius; Michael Bodach; Jonathan Fulton; Shibin Mathew; Nathan Lee Petty - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180321671A1 ## CPC - B25J 15/0019: {End effectors other than grippers} - B25J 11/005: {Manipulators for mechanical processing tasks} - B25J 19/021: {Optical sensing devices} - B64F 5/00: Designing, manufacturing, assembling, cleaning, maintaining or repairing aircraft, not otherwise provided for; Handling, transporting, testing or inspecting aircraft components, not otherwise provided for - B64F 5/10: Manufacturing or assembling aircraft, e.g. jigs therefor - G05B 19/4068: Verifying part program on screen, by drawing or other means - G05B 19/409: characterised by using manual data input [MDI] or by using control panel, e.g. controlling functions with the panel; characterised by control panel details or by setting parameters (G05B19/408, G05B19/4093 take precedence) - G05B 19/4183: {characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification} - G05B 2219/31304: Identification of workpiece and data for control, inspection, safety, calibration - G05B 2219/37558: Optical sensor, scanner - G06K 7/10297: {arrangements for handling protocols designed for non-contact record carriers such as RFIDs NFCs, e.g. ISO/IEC 14443 and 18092 (cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; network security protocols H04L63/00; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; network protocols for data switching network services H04L67/00)} - G06K 7/1413: {1D bar codes} - Y02P 80/40: Minimising material used in manufacturing processes - Y02P 90/02: Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] - Y10S 901/41: Tool - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) - B64F: GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT; DESIGNING, MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING, CLEANING, MAINTAINING OR REPAIRING AIRCRAFT, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, TESTING OR INSPECTING AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) - G06K: GRAPHICAL DATA READING (image or video recognition or understanding G06V); PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS - Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS ## Abstract Systems, methods, and software products that provide enhanced efficiency in automated and semi-automated manufacturing processes by employing process intelligence to verify that a user-selected manufacturing process to be applied to a workpiece corresponds to the manufacturing process actually designated for that workpiece, thereby avoiding potentially costly manufacturing errors. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A manufacturing system, comprising: a manufacturing apparatus configured to perform a manufacturing process on a workpiece in a workspace; a scanner configured to identify the workpiece in the workspace; a robotic controller configured to control the manufacturing apparatus to perform a desired manufacturing process by executing a corresponding control program; a user interface configured to permit a user to identify, from a plurality of control programs, a desired control program for execution by the robotic controller; a process controller that is in communication with the robotic controller, the user interface, a data server that contains a plurality of control programs, and a manufacturing database that contains a plurality of work orders; wherein the process controller is configured to: receive the identification of the user-identified control program; identify the workpiece in the workspace using the scanner; retrieve a work order for the identified workpiece from the manufacturing database that specifies a designated control program for an appropriate manufacturing process for the identified workpiece; and validate whether or not the desired control program matches the designated control program. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the process controller is further configured so that if the desired control program does not match the designated control program, the process controller prevents execution of the desired control program and provides an alert to the user that the desired control program is incorrect. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the process controller is further configured so that if the desired control program matches the designated control program, the process controller sends the desired control program to the robotic controller for execution. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the scanner includes one or more of a camera, a barcode scanner, and an RFID scanner that is configured to detect identifying indicia associated with the workpiece positioned in the workspace. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The manufacturing system of claim 4, wherein the process controller is further configured to receive the detected identifying indicia and correlate the indicia with the identity of the workpiece. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The manufacturing system of claim 5, wherein the scanner is a camera configured to capture image data of the workpiece, and the process controller is configured correlate the image data with the identity of the workpiece using image recognition. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The manufacturing system of claim 5, wherein the scanner is an RFID scanner, and the RFID scanner is configured to detect an RFID tag associated with the workpiece, and the process controller is configured to correlate the RFID tag with the identity of the workpiece. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The manufacturing system of claim 5, wherein the scanner is a barcode scanner, and the barcode scanner is configured to read a barcode associated with the workpiece, and the process controller is configured to correlate the barcode with the identity of the workpiece. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is associated with the robotic controller. ### Claim 10 A method for validating a control program for a manufacturing apparatus, comprising: receiving at a process controller user-input of an identification of a desired control program for a robotic controller of a manufacturing apparatus; receiving at the process controller an identification of a workpiece positioned within a workspace of the manufacturing apparatus; retrieving by the process controller from a database containing a plurality of work orders a work order for the identified workpiece that specifies a designated control program for an appropriate manufacturing process; and validating by the process controller whether or not the desired control program matches the designated control program. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein when the desired control program does not match the designated control program, the method further comprises preventing an execution of the desired control program. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising providing an alert to a user that the desired control program is incorrect. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein providing the alert includes generating a notification that the identified workpiece is at an inappropriate manufacturing apparatus, generating a notification that the desired control program is an inappropriate control program for the identified workpiece, and providing an identification of the designated control program for the identified workpiece. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein validating whether or not the desired control program matches the designated control program includes retrieving by the process controller the desired control program from a remote data server and comparing the desired control program with the designated control program. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein receiving an identification of a workpiece positioned within the workspace of the manufacturing apparatus includes detecting and interpreting an identifying indicium associated with the workpiece. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein detecting the identifying indicia includes one or more of capturing an image of the workpiece using a camera, detecting an RFID tag using an RFID scanner; and reading a barcode using a barcode scanner. ### Claim 17 A computer program product, comprising: at least one computer readable storage medium having computer readable program instructions embodied therewith, the computer readable program instructions, when read by a processor, being configured to: receive user-input of an identification of a desired control program for a robotic controller of a manufacturing apparatus; receive a scanner input of an identification of a workpiece positioned within a workspace of the manufacturing apparatus; retrieve from a database containing a plurality of work orders a work order for the identified workpiece that designates a control program for an appropriate manufacturing process; and determine whether or not the desired control program matches the designated control program, and responsive to a match generate an output for transmitting the desired control program to the robotic controller for execution, to thereby cause the robotic controller to control the manufacturing apparatus to perform a desired manufacturing process on the identified workpiece. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the computer readable program instructions, when read by the processor are further configured to prevent an execution of the desired control program when the desired control program fails to match the designated control program. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the computer readable program instructions, when read by the processor are further configured to provide an alert that the desired control program is incorrect. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the computer readable program instructions, when read by the processor are further configured to transmit the desired control program to the robotic controller for execution.