Adaptive tracking vision and guidance system

A component for a robotic system having a central control for controlling the movement of the robot system, said component comprising,

• a platform under central control of the robotic system,
• a vision system connected to the platform and having means for scanning a scanning path on a workpiece to determine the position of a feature on the workpiece as the platform advances generally along the feature, and with means for generating a signal representing the position of the feature on the workpiece for a given location of the vision system,
• adaptive stage means connected to the platform for moving with respect to the platform and including an end effector tool for performing a work function on the workpiece along said feature, generally not on the same path as the platform, and
• adaptive stage controller means including computer means, for receiving signals from the vision system representing the position of the feature and for accordingly adjusting the adaptive stage means and end effector tool relative to the platform in real time as the platform progresses to correctly perform the work function on the feature,
• thereby allowing single-pass operation under the central robotic control and avoiding reliance on long-distance repeatability of the robot under central control.

A component for a robotic system having a central control for controlling the movement of the robot system, said component comprising,

• a platform under central control of the robotic system, with means associated with the central control for keeping a record of the position of the platform at a series of points along its path of movement,
• a vision system connected to the platform and having means for scanning a scanning pattern on a workpiece to determine the position of a feature on the workpiece as the platform advances generally along the feature, and with means for generating a signal representing the position of the feature on the workpiece for a given location of the platform,
• vision system computer means for controlling the vision system including the scanning means and for storing said signals relating to the location of the feature, and
• wherein the vision system signal generating means including means for generating a signal that a feature is not found in a particular scan when that is the case, and said vision system computer means including adaptive means for causing the scanning means to try any of several different scanning modes to recover the feature.

A component for a robotic system having a central control for controlling the movement of the robot system, said component comprising,

• a platform under central control of the robotic system, with means associated with the central control for keeping a record of the position of the platform at a series of points along its path of movement,
• a vision system connected to the platform and having means for scanning a scanning pattern on a workpiece to determine the position of a feature on the workpiece as the platform advances generally along the feature, and with means for generating a signal representing the position of the feature on the workpiece for a given location of the platform, and
• vision system computer means for controlling the vision system including the scanning means and for storing said signals relating to the location of the feature, and
• the vision system computer means including adaptive means with predictive means for predicting the probable position of the feature in the feature's path ahead of the platform, based on determined characteristics of the feature's path behind and at the platform, and for causing the scanning means, when scanning for the feature in said path ahead, to first try scanning a relatively narrow scan pattern or window based on a predicted probable position of the feature.

A method of tracking a feature on a workpiece for a robotic system, the system including a platform manipulated under central control of the robotic system and an end effector tool supported by the platform for performing a selected work function along the tracked feature on the workpiece, the method comprising:

• moving the platform through a predetermined path under central control of the robotic system, with the path approximating the actual path taken by the feature on the workpiece,
• scanning a scan pattern on the workpiece with a computer-controlled vision system mounted on the platform to identify and find the feature on the workpiece and to generate a signal representing the position of the feature on the workpiece for that location of the vision system relative to the location of the platform,
• receiving the signal representing the position of the feature on the workpiece by an adaptive control system which controls in real time the end effector tool mounted on the platform,
• controlling the position at which the end effector tool acts, in real time as the platform progresses, by correcting or adjusting the end effector tool subsequently to act correctly on the feature at said location where the signal was generated, with the end effector tool following a path different from that of the platform.

A method of adaptively tracking a feature on a workpiece, for a robotic system having a platform which is movable under central control of the robotic system, comprising the steps of:

• moving the platform along a predetermined path with the central control of the robotic system, the path approximating the actual path f the feature on the workpiece which is being tracked,
• repeatedly scanning a scan pattern on the workpiece with a vision system mounted on the platform to identify and find the feature on the workpiece,
• generating with the vision system a signal representing the position of the feature on the workpiece with respect to the position of the platform at the time of the scan, and
• adaptively varying the position and number of data points of each scan and the frequency of scans with a computerized vision control system based on characteristics of the feature's path determined from prior scans, such that the feature is located with a minimum amount of data and processing time.

A method of adaptively tracking a feature on a workpiece, for a robotic system having a platform which is movable under central control of the robotic system, comprising the steps of:

• moving the platform under direction of the central control of the robotic system, without following any pre-set overall path and without intervantion of a human operator,
• repeatedly scanning scan patterns on the workpiece with a computerized vision system mounted on the platform to identify and find the feature on the workpiece as the platform progresses,
• generating with the vision system a signal representing the position of the feature on the workpiece with respect to the position of the platform at the time of each scan,
• feeding the signal back to the robotic system central control and accordingly adjusting automatically the direction of movement of the platform by the central control in "real time," and
• recording the actual path of the feature as determined by a series of points on the feature detected by the vision system.