Abb Schweiz Ag

Hitachi Energy Switzerland Ag

Abb Power Grids Switzerland Ag

Hitachi Energy Ltd

Ford Motor Company Limited

Abb Research Ltd.

Abb Technology Ag

Biao Zhang

Thomas A Fuhlbrigge

Jianjun Wang

Remus Boca

Daniel T Lasko

William John Eakins

Luiz V Cheim

Poorvi Patel

Carlos Winsor Morato

Gregory A Cole

Harshang Shah

Carlos Martinez

George Q Zhang

Saumya Sharma

Gregory F Rossano

Sangeun Choi

Andrew Salm

Tomas Groth

Will J Eakins

Jordi Artigas

Sanguen Choi

Sang Joon Choi

Harald Staab

Jan Nyqvist

Yixin Liu

Ramon Casanelles

Jorge Vidal-Ribas

Heping Chen

Soenke Kock

Xiongzi Li

Stefan Rakuff

Harald Josef Staab

Arnold Bell

Johnny Holmberg

Jeremy Newkirk

Ramon Casanelles Moix

Jinmiao Huang

Roger Pons Bertran

Marek Budyn

Jorge Vidal Ribas

Zhou Teng

Daniel X Wappling

David P Gravel

Yun Hsuan Su

Anders Spaak

Nolan W Nicholas

Carlos W Morato

Andrew M Salm

Thomas Groth

An inspection device for use in a fluid container having at least an opening includes a housing sized to fit through the opening. The housing has at least two fluid flow channels extending therethrough, each having an inlet and an outlet, and a pump maintained in the housing within each fluid flow channel. The pumps are selectively controlled to maneuver the housing within the fluid container. The inspection device continues with a method of in-situ inspection of a container having at least one opening to receive a fluid, that includes up-loading a virtual model of the container into a computer, inserting the device into the container, generating a position signal by the device and receiving the position signal on a computer. A virtual image of the device in the virtual model of the container is generated to determine an actual position of the device within the container.

Device and method for transformer in-situ inspection

An inspection system for inspecting a machine includes an inspection vehicle constructed for wireless operation while submersed in a dielectric liquid medium. The inspection vehicle is self-propelled. A controller is operative to direct the activities of the inspection vehicle. A plurality of status interrogation systems is disposed on the inspection vehicle. The status interrogation systems are operative to capture inspection data regarding a plurality of inspection procedures performed on the machine.

Systems and methods for inspecting a machine

A method for assembling parts in an assembly line, such as an automotive final assembly line, is disclosed. The method includes advancing a part along the assembly line with an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV), arranging a first real time vision system to monitor the position of the AGV in at least two directions, and providing the readings of the first real time vision system to a controller arranged to control an assembly unit of the assembly line to perform an automated operation on the part that is advanced or supported by the AGV. An assembly line is also disclosed.

Assembling parts in an assembly line

A submersible inspection drone used for inspection of liquid cooled electrical transformers can include a number of separate cameras for imaging the internal structure of the transformer. The submersible can be configured to communicate to a base station using a wireless transmitter and receiver. The cameras on the submersible can be fixed in place and can be either static or motion picture cameras. The submersible can include an input/output selector capable of switching between the camera images, either through commanded action of a user or through computer based switching. In one form the input/output selector is a multiplexer. The base station can be configured to display images from the cameras one at a time, or can include a number of separate viewing portals in which real time images are displayed. The base station can include a demultiplexer synchronized to the multiplexer of the submersible.

Submersible inspection device and wireless communication with a base station

A system and method that automatically resolves conflicts among sensor information in a sensor fusion robot system. Such methods can accommodate converging ambiguous and divergent sensor information in a manner that can allow continued, and relatively accurate, robotic operations. The processes can include handling sensor conflict via sensor prioritization, including, but not limited, prioritization based on the particular stage or segment of the assembly operation when the conflict occurs, overriding sensor data that exceeds a threshold value, and/or prioritization based on evaluations of recent sensor performance, predictions, system configuration, and/or historical information. The processes can include responding to sensor conflicts through comparisons of the accuracy of workpiece location predictions from different sensors during different assembly stages in connection with arriving at a determination of which sensor(s) is providing accurate and reliable predictions.

Automatic sensor conflict resolution for sensor fusion system

A tether control system for an inspection vehicle operable in a housing having a liquid medium is disclosed in the present application. The tether system includes a tether connected between the inspection vehicle and an electronic controller. A controllable buoyancy system associated with the tether is operable for moving the tether in a desired location. The controllable buoyancy system includes one or more floating bodies having a propulsion system and one or more buoyant elements having variable buoyancy capabilities.

Tether for an inspection vehicle

A submersible remotely operable vehicle used for inspection of liquid cooled electrical transformers can include a number of separate cameras and sensors for mapping and navigating the internal structure of the transformer with liquid coolant remaining in the transformer. The remotely operable vehicle can be wirelessly controlled to perform various inspection functions while the number of cameras provide video streams for processing to produce a three dimensional field of view based on an observation position of the remotely operable vehicle.

Submersible inspection vehicle with navigation and mapping capabilities

A robotic system is provided for assembling parts together. In the assembly process, both parts are moving separately with one part moving on an assembly base and another part moving on a moveable arm of a robot base. Motion data is measured by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor. Movement of the robot base or moveable arm is then compensated based on the measured motion to align the first and second parts with each other and assemble the parts together.

System and method for robotic assembly

A submersible vehicle which includes a plurality of cameras can be used to collect visual images of an object of interest submerged in a liquid environment, such as in a tank (e.g. transformer tank). In one form the submersible vehicle is remotely operated such as an ROV or an autonomous vehicle. Image information from the submersible along with inertial measurements in some embodiments is used with a vision based modelling system to form a model of an internal object of interest in the tank. The vision based modelling system can include a number of processes to form the model such as but not limited to tracking, sparse and dense reconstruction, model generation, and rectification.

Submersible inspection device and vision based modelling

An inspection vehicle operable for performing one or more maintenance and repair operations in a housing filled at least partially with a liquid medium is disclosed in the present application. The inspection vehicle includes a propulsion device operable in the liquid medium and includes at least one sensor operable for sensing and transmitting data associated therewith. A control system including an electronic controller is in electronic communication with the inspection vehicle to transmit and receive communication signals to/from the inspection vehicle. One or more maintenance tools operable with the inspection vehicle are configured to perform maintenance and/or repair operations within the liquid filled housing.

Inspection vehicle with maintenance tools

A robot is configured to perform a task on an object using a method for generating a 3D model sufficient to determine a collision free path and identify the object in an industrial scene. The method includes determining a predefined collision free path and scanning an industrial scene around the robot. Stored images of the industrial scene are retrieved from a memory and analyzed to construct a new 3D model. After an object is detected in the new 3D model, the robot can further scan the image in the industrial scene while moving along a collision free path until the object is identified at a predefined certainty level. The robot can then perform a robot task on the object.

Method and system to generate a 3D model for a robot scene

A system and method for predicting the location at which a feature that is being tracked during a robotic assembly operation will be located within one or more images captured by a vision device. A vision device can be mounted to a robot such that the location of the vision device as the robot moves can be known or determined. In the event of an interruption of the tracking of the feature by the vision device as the corresponding workpiece is moving, the location of the feature relative to a vision device can be predicted, such as, via use of current or past historical movement information for the feature and/or the associated workpiece. Using the predicted location of the feature and the known location of the vision device, the location at which the feature will be located in an image(s) captured by the vision device can be predicted.

Method and system for object tracking in robotic vision guidance

Apparatus and method is disclosed for determining position of a robot relative to objects in a workspace which includes the use of a camera, scanner, or other suitable device in conjunction with object recognition. The camera, etc is used to receive information from which a point cloud can be developed about the scene that is viewed by the camera. The point cloud will be appreciated to be in a camera centric frame of reference. Information about a known datum is used and compared to the point cloud through object recognition. For example, a link from a robot could be the identified datum so that, when recognized, the coordinates of the point cloud can be converted to a robot centric frame of reference since the position of the datum would be known relative to the robot.

Robot localization in a workspace via detection of a datum

A method and system for acquiring, manipulating and displaying inspection data obtained by sensors associated with submersible inspection vehicle within a housing having a liquid medium is disclosed in the present application. A control system including an electronic controller is operably coupled with the inspection vehicle and is configured to display data transmitted from the sensor and overlay input data from an operator on the display to facilitate real time analysis during the inspection event.

System and method for handling and charting data obtained by an inspection vehicle

A launching tube for use with a liquid filled tank can be sized to accommodate a submersible vehicle for dispensing into the liquid tank. The tank can be an electrical transformer or any other liquid containing tank such as but not limited to a chemical tank. The launching tube can include a valve for insertion into a launching chamber, and a tank side valve for launching of the submersible into the tank. In one form the launching tube includes an antenna for communication with the submersible and/or a base station. The launching tube can also include a sensor such as a camera, as well as an agitator. The agitator can be used to facilitate bubble removal from the inside of the launching tube.

Liquid tank inspection including device for launching submersible

Growing community of inventors

West Hartford, CT, United States of America

Biao Zhang