Robotic Wire Insertion Using Connector Segmentation
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsWyatt Spalding McAllister, Joshua Daniel Lampkins, Darren Michael Chan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for inserting a wire. An image of a connector is generated using a camera system connected to an end effector. The end effector is at a connector pose facing the connector. A region in the image encompassing the connector is selected. An initial mask is created using the image and the region. The initial mask comprises a background region and a connector region. A segmentation mask is created using the initial mask and the image, wherein the segmentation mask includes edges for the connector. Thresholding is applied to the segmentation mask to recover pixels for the connector and generate a final mask. The final mask is used to insert the wire into the connector.
Claims20
A robotic system comprising:
- an end effector;
- a camera system connected to the end effector;
- and
- a controller, wherein the controller is configured to:
- generate an image of a connector using the camera system with the end effector at a connector pose facing the connector;
- select a region in the image encompassing the connector;
- create an initial mask using the image and the region, wherein the initial mask comprises a background region and a connector region;
- create a segmentation mask using the initial mask and the image, wherein the segmentation mask includes edges for the connector;
- and
- apply thresholding to the segmentation mask to recover pixels for the connector and generate a final mask.
A method for inserting a wire, the method comprising:
- generating an image of a connector using a camera system connected to an end effector, wherein the end effector is at a connector pose facing the connector;
- selecting a region in the image encompassing the connector;
- creating an initial mask using the image and the region, wherein the initial mask comprises a background region and a connector region;
- creating a segmentation mask using the initial mask and the image, wherein the segmentation mask includes edges for the connector;
- and
- applying thresholding to the segmentation mask to recover pixels for the connector and generate a final mask, wherein the final mask is used to insert the wire into the connector.
A wire assembly system comprising:
- a computer system;
- and
- a controller in the computer system, wherein the controller is configured to:
- generate an image of a connector using a camera system connected to an end effector at a connector pose facing the connector;
- select a region in the image encompassing the connector;
- create an initial mask using the image and the region, wherein the initial mask comprises a background region and a connector region;
- create a segmentation mask using the initial mask and the image, wherein the segmentation mask includes edges for the connector;
- apply thresholding to the segmentation mask to recover pixels for the connector and generate a final mask;
- and
- insert a wire into the connector using the end effector and the final mask.
A computer program product for wire assembly, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage media having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computer system to cause the computer system to:
- generate an image of a connector using a camera system connected to an end effector at a connector pose facing the connector;
- select a region in the image encompassing the connector;
- create an initial mask using the image and the region, wherein the initial mask comprises a background region and a connector region;
- create a segmentation mask using the initial mask and the image, wherein the segmentation mask includes edges for the connector;
- apply thresholding to the segmentation mask to recover pixels for the connector and generate a final mask;
- and
- insert a wire into the connector using the end effector and the final mask.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.