Fanuc Corporation

Katsutoshi Takizawa

Kazunori Ban

Gang Shen

Atsushi Watanabe

Hidetoshi Kumiya

Ichiro Kanno

Makoto Yamada

Yoshiharu Nagatsuka

Akihiro Terada

Fumikazu Warashina

Tetsuya Kosaka

Mitsuhiro Okuda

Keisuke Watanabe

Hirohiko Kobayashi

Gang Fanucmanshonharimomi Shen

A measurement apparatus for determining a position of a tool center point () of a tool (), which is attached to a tool attachment surface () of a robot (), with respect to the tool attachment surface () includes: a camera () attached to the arm tip portion of the robot (); a touch-up point (an origin of &#x3a3;m) disposed in a working space of the robot; a measurement section () for measuring the position of the touch-up point by using the robot and the camera; a first storage section () for storing the measured position of the touch-up point; a second storage section () for storing a position of the robot () when the tool center point is aligned with the touch-up point by moving the robot; and a calculation section () for calculating the position of the tool center point with respect to the tool attachment surface of the robot by using the stored positions of the touch-up point and the robot. Therefore, the position of the tool center point with respect to the tool attachment surface is measured with high accuracy in a short period of time without using a substitution jig.

Apparatus and method for measuring tool center point position of robot

A calibrating device for calibration of an image measurement system. The calibrating device includes a main body having an upper surface, and a characteristic portion, which serves as a benchmark for calibration and is in the form of a recess formed in the upper surface of the main body, wherein the characteristic portion includes a side surface extending in a direction crossing the upper surface, and a bottom surface extending in a direction crossing the side surface, the bottom surface has an optical reflectance lower than an optical reflectance of the upper surface in relation to light identical to each other. This can provide a calibrating device for calibration of an image measurement system, which can detect the characteristic portion on the calibrating device stably, precisely and independent of the illumination conditions, which is less costly and can be easily handled.

Calibrating device for calibration and image measurement system comprising calibrating device

A teaching position correcting apparatus corrects plural teaching point positions of a robot in a robot operation program, by sequentially moving the robot to each of the plural teaching points and by sequentially reading a current position of the robot at each of the plural teaching points. The apparatus includes: a position correction amount calculating unit that calculates a position correction amount, based on corrected teaching point positions and teaching point positions before correction; and a corrected-position calculating unit that calculates corrected positions of teaching point positions before correction out of the plural teaching points, based on the position correction amount. At the time of moving the robot to uncorrected teaching points, a moving unit moves the robot to corrected positions of the teaching point positions before correction.

Teaching position correcting apparatus and teaching position correction method

A measuring system and a calibration method for automatically calculating errors of mechanical parameters with high accuracy and correcting the parameters, by means of a relatively small and inexpensive measuring device. In relation to a plurality of positions of measurement, a robot is automatically moved such that, on a light receiving surface of a camera, the distance between the centers of an ellipse indicating a mark of a target and a circle of representing the shape of the target, and the difference between the length of the long axis of the ellipse and the diameter of the circle are within a predetermined error range.

Measuring system and calibration method

A calibration device and method for automatically determining the position and the orientation of a robot used for measurement. First, an initial position of a preliminary position is generated based on a designated basic position, and it is judged whether the initial position is within an operation range of the robot. If the robot cannot reach the initial position, the preliminary position is adjusted close to the basic position. Otherwise, the preliminary position is evaluated by calculating an evaluation index of the preliminary position. When the evaluation index does not satisfy a predetermined condition, an initial value of an posture angle is increased.

Calibration device and method for robot mechanism

A robot control apparatus includes a control apparatus body fixedly installed and connected to a robot and a portable teaching pendant connected to the control apparatus body to operate the robot through the teaching pendant. The teaching pendant includes an imaging device connector for connecting an imaging device to the teaching pendant so as to enable the image picked up by the imaging device to be directly input to the teaching pendant through the imaging device connector.

Robot control apparatus

A first masking image of an input image is created by assuming that pixels in an area including the area of a target in all sample images are valid pixels while pixels in the remaining area are invalid pixels. The first masking image is used in a first comparison between the input image and each sample image to select an image that provides a best match as a provisionally selected sample image. In a second comparison, a second masking image corresponding to the provisionally selected sample image is used to select a final sample image. The second masking image is created from an individual sample image by assuming that pixels in an area including the area of the target are valid pixels while pixels in the remaining area invalid pixels.

Image processing apparatus

An offline programming device capable of automatically generating a measuring program by which the time and the workload for making an offline program may be greatly reduced. The offline programming device includes a storing part for storing a plurality of data in relation to a plurality of measurement points of the object and the position and the orientation of a vision sensor relative to the movable part of the robot; a calculating part for calculating the position and the orientation of the vision sensor relative to each measurement point when the measurement point is measured; a measuring program making part for making at least one measuring program, based on the plurality of data stored in the storing part, by means of which the position and the orientation of the vision sensor may be achieved; an evaluating part for evaluating the at least one measuring program according to a predetermined evaluative criteria; and a selecting part for selecting a measuring program, from the at least one measuring program, which satisfies the predetermined evaluative criteria.

Offline programming device

(1) Orthogonal transformation is applied to sample images based on the images of a normalized orthogonal system, and component groups are determined. A plurality of comparison target images are selected from an input image, and a partial normalized orthogonal system is created from the normalized orthogonal system by decreasing the dimensions. (2) Based on the partial normalized orthogonal system, orthogonal transformation is applied to the comparison target images, so as to determine the partial component group for each comparison target image. A comparison target image having high consistency with one of the sample images is extracted by comparison and collation between these partial component groups and the partial component groups which include each element of each partial normalized orthogonal system among component groups of each sample image. And a new comparison target image group is selected near the extracted image, and a new partial normalized orthogonal system is created by increasing the dimensions. Then (2) is repeated.

Image processor

The entire region of variation in the viewing range of the attitude of a workpiece is divided roughly, and images of the workpiece are captured from each direction. The images are stored together with imaging direction data as a first teaching model. Images captured by varying the imaging direction at a narrow pitch within a predetermined range of attitude variation in the workpiece are then stored together with imaging direction data as a second teaching model. Images of the workpiece are captured and compared with the teaching models. The position and attitude of the workpiece are determined by the imaging direction and imaging position of the selected teaching model.

Upon reception of a work sensing command from a robot controller, an image processing unit obtains a two-dimensional image of thee whole work pallet including a work, with a CCD camera (a first sensor means). A line of sight is calculated based on the work position on the sensed two-dimensional image. The robot controller determines the destination of movement of the robot such that a crossing line LC of slit beams LBLBof a laser sensor (a second sensor means) can agree with the calculated line of eight. The image processing unit operates the laser sensor so as to surely irradiate the laser slit beams LBLBto the target work, permitting the laser sensor to sense the three-dimensional positional and orientation of the target work.

Position-orientation recognition device

A position detecting device and a takeout apparatus capable of obtaining information on height or stage number of an object in a stack of objects by a two-dimensional image capturing device for an operation of taking out the object by a robot. A CCD camera is arranged at a position above a place where workpieces stacked in multiple stages are provided. An image processing device determines a size of the image of the uppermost workpiece in a two-dimensional image captured by the camera. The height or stage number of the workpiece is determined from the size of the workpiece image using a stored relation table or arithmetic expression representing relationship between the height or stage number of the workpiece and the size of the workpiece. For a plurality of kinds of workpieces, the relation table/arithmetic expression is stored for each kind of workpiece and selectively used in accordance of a mark on the workpiece which indicate the kind of workpiece. The obtained positional information on height or stage number is sent to a robot controller so that a robot is operated to a takeout position which is corrected based on the positional information for taking out the workpiece from a stack of workpieces.

Position detecting device and takeout apparatus with position detecting device

An image of a reference object is captured using a camera and displayed. A measurement starting point is pointed by an image position pointing device. A corresponding view line is obtained using a position on the image and a position and a direction of the camera, a robot approaches to the reference object such that it does not deviate from a projecting direction to move to a position suitable for measurement. A light is projected on the reference object and measurement of an inclination of a face of the object in the vicinity of a measuring point is started. An image including a bright line image on the reference object is photographed and 3-dimensional positions of points sequentially measured along a working line. A movement path of a robot is created using these positions as teaching points for a working robot.

Robot teaching apparatus

A workpiece is gripped and unloaded by moving workpiece unloading means based on the results of measuring the workpiece position and orientation with a visual sensor. When a plurality of loaded workpieces are unloaded in a regular order one by one, or in groups, the position and orientation of the workpiece which is to be unloaded next change for each unloading. However, since a visual sensor is moved when necessary to the position appropriate for measuring the workpiece position and orientation, measurements of the workpieces with the visual sensor are conducted accurately. Therefore, the workpiece unloading is conducted reliably.

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Tokyo, Japan

Katsutoshi Takizawa