Cognex Corporation

Cognex Technology and Investment Corporation

Mikhail Akopyan

Robert A Wolff

Michael C Moed

Aaron S Wallack

Lowell D Jacobson

Robert Tremblay

Willard P Foster

Lei Wang

Matthew R Reome

Mark D Johnson

This invention provides a system and method for determining the location and characteristics of certain surface features that comprises elevated or depressed regions with respect to a smooth surrounding surface on an object. A filter acts on a range image of the scene. A filter defines an annulus or other perimeter shape around each pixel in which a best-fit surface is established. A normal to the pixel allows derivation of local displacement height. The displacement height is used to establish a height deviation image of the object, with which bumps, dents or other height-displacement features can be determined. The bump filter can be used to locate regions on a surface with minimal irregularities by mapping such irregularities to a grid and then thresholding the grid to generate a cost function. Regions with a minimal cost are acceptable candidates for application of labels and other items in which a smooth surface is desirable.

System and method for determining 3D surface features and irregularities on an object

This invention provides a system for measuring displacement of an object surface having a displacement sensor that projects a line on the object surface and receives light from the projected line at an imager in a manner defines a plurality of displacement values in a height direction. A vision system processor operates on rows of imager pixels to determine a laser line center in columns of imager pixels in each of a plurality of regions of interest. Each region of interest defines a plurality of rows that correspond with expected locations of the projected line on the object surface. A GUI can be used to establish the regions. In further embodiments, the system generates grayscale images with the imager. These grayscale images can be compared to a generated height image to compensate for contrast-induced false height readings. Imager pixels can be compared to a reference voltage to locate the line.

System and method for efficient surface measurement using a laser displacement sensor

A system and method for determining volume of a runtime object with a vision system is provided. A plurality of vision sensors are arranged so that the fields of view (FOVs) of the plurality of vision sensors collectively view features associated with volume determination of a runtime object. Each of the displacement sensors generates range images from sequences of analyzed images, each producing a single row of the range image. An ignoring volume is subtracted from the measured range image based upon one or more dividing planes as they appear in the viewing/imaging perspective of each displacement sensor. Negative subtraction results are substantially nulled. The resulting representative range images are used to calculate the volume of a portion of the object, as sectioned by the diving planes. Each volume result is summed/added to derive the overall summed volume of the runtime object.

System and method for determination of object volume with multiple three-dimensional sensors

This invention provides a system and method for capturing, detecting and extracting features of an ID, such as a 1D barcode, that employs an efficient processing system based upon a CPU-controlled vision system on a chip (VSoC) architecture, which illustratively provides a linear array processor (LAP) constructed with a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) architecture in which each pixel of the rows of the pixel array are directed to individual processors in a similarly wide array. The pixel data are processed in a front end (FE) process that performs rough finding and tracking of regions of interest (ROIs) that potentially contain ID-like features. The ROI-finding process occurs in two parts so as to optimize the efficiency of the LAP in neighborhood operations&#x2014;a row-processing step that occurs during image pixel readout from the pixel array and an image-processing step that occurs typically after readout occurs. The relative motion of the ID-containing ROI with respect to the pixel array is tracked and predicted. An optional back end (BE) process employs the predicted ROI to perform feature-extraction after image capture. The feature extraction derives candidate ID features that are verified by a verification step that confirms the ID, creates a refined ROI, angle of orientation and feature set. These are transmitted to a decoding processor or other device.

System and method for capturing and detecting symbology features and parameters

An embodiment of the invention provides a method for training a system to inspect a spatially distorted pattern. A digitized image of an object, including a region of interest, is received. The region of interest is further divided in to a plurality of sub-regions. A size of each of the sub-regions is small enough such that a conventional inspecting method can reliably inspect each of the sub-regions. A search tool and an inspecting tool are trained for a respective model for each of the sub-regions. A search tree is built for determining an order for inspecting the sub-regions. A coarse alignment tool is trained for the region of interest. Another embodiment of the invention provides a method for inspecting a spatially distorted pattern. A coarse alignment tool is run to approximately locate a pattern. Search tree information and an approximate location of a root image, found by the coarse alignment tool, is used to locate sub-regions sequentially in an order according to the search tree information. Each of the sub-regions is inspected, the sub regions being small enough such that a conventional inspecting method can reliably inspect each of the sub-regions.

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Sudbury, MA, United States of America

Mikhail Akopyan