Vision guided robotics (VGR) is an automation technology well-recognized for enabling greater flexibility and higher productivity in a diverse set of manufacturing tasks over a wide range of industries. The project scope in practical implementation of VGR can range from very straightforward to extremely complex. Keys to a successful and efficient VGR project rollout can be found in a few system design and implementation “best practices” that can help avoid costly and time-consuming trial-and-error in the integration process.
Although this discussion focuses exclusively on the implementation of robotic guidance for operations involving picking and placing objects in an automated process, some of these principles will be transferrable to other types of robotic guidance applications as well. VGR in this context then is the use of one or more imaging systems which are configured to provide the location of an object relative to a physical, real-world coordinate system defined by a robot arm. This location might be used for gripping and picking/placing the part or even for other operations like welding, assembly, and other tasks. The part location can be provided by the machine vision system as either a 2D position or 3D pose depending on the imaging component.