Foreign object video detection and alert system and method
AssigneeMcDonnell Douglas Corporation
InventorsJohn Huntley Belk, Michael Tony Gaston
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A foreign object video detection system comprises a television camera for producing a digital color image of a work surface, a converter having direct memory access to a computer, color detection and color image processing software, logic for discriminating objects deemed to be a foreign object on the work surface or upon a layer of material on the work surface, logic for providing appropriate warning to the operator, and input controls for selecting the area of interest for detection and for optimizing the detection technique based upon the manufacturing situation.
Claims22
A detector for finding foreign objects lying on a work surface of a composite structure and providing warning, the detector comprising:
- a light source for illuminating the work surface with diffuse light;
- a video camera having a field of view, said video camera oriented such that the work surface is in the field of view for producing a color image of the work surface;
- a color image processing system, responsive to said video camera, for analyzing a predefined area of interest within the field of view of the video camera, said color image processing system comprising means for accepting a definition of the area of interest, said color image processing system also comprising means for discriminating a foreign object within the area of interest of the color image based on visual attributes of the foreign object including differences in the color of the foreign objects and the work surface, said color image processing system further comprising means for determining a location of the foreign object on the work surface;
- and
- a warning mechanism, responsive to said color image processing system, for alerting an operator when a foreign object is present on the work surface of the composite structure, said warning mechanism comprising an optical pointing device for illuminating at least a portion of the foreign object.
A method for detecting a foreign object during manufacturing of composite structures that include one or more layers of material and for warning an operator of the detected foreign object, said process comprising the steps of:
- illuminating the work surface with diffuse light;
- obtaining a video representation of a work surface;
- transmitting the video representation as a video signal;
- converting the video signal to a digital color image;
- defining an area of interest, said defining step comprising subtracting predefined areas outside of the area of interest in which the presence of foreign objects is unimportant form the digital color image;
- detecting a foreign object within the area of interest based upon the color of the foreign object relative to the colors of one or more layers of material;
- warning the operator of the presence of the foreign object;
- and
- removing the foreign object before any further manufacture of the composite structure.
A detector for finding foreign objects laying on a work surface of a composites structure and providing warning, the detector comprising:
- a light source for illuminating the work surface with diffuse light;
- a video camera having a field of view, said video camera oriented such that the work surface is in the field of view for producing a video signal thereof;
- a converter, responsive to said video camera, for iteratively transforming the video signal to a digital color image;
- a video signal carrier extending between said video camera and said converter for transferring the video signal to the converter;
- a color image processing system, responsive to said video camera, for analyzing a predefined area of interest within the field of view of the video camera, said color image processing system comprising means for discriminating a foreign object within the area of interest of the color image based on visual attributes of the foreign object including differences in the color of the foreign objects and the work surface, said color image processing system further comprising means for determining a location of the foreign object on the work surface;
- and
- a warning mechanism, responsive to said color image processing system, for alerting an operator when a foreign object is present on the work surface of the composite structure;
- said warning mechanism comprising an optical pointing device for illuminating at least a portion of the foreign object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.