Remus Boca

Automated bin picking system for randomly located industrial parts

Bin picking has been a research topic for years because of the challenges in image processing, robot motion planning and tool system. However, much of the existing work is not applicable to most real world bin picking problems because they are too simplistic or not robust enough for industrial use. In this paper, we developed a robust random 3D bin picking system by integrating the vision system with the robotics system. The vision system identifies the location of candidate parts, then the robot system validates if one of the candidate parts is pickable; if a part is identified as pickable, then the robot will pick up this part and place it accurately in the right location. An ABB IRB2400 robot with an IRC5 controller was chosen for picking up the parts. A 3D vision system was used to locate the parts. Experimental results demonstrated that the system can successfully pick up randomly placed parts in an industrial setting. This system provides a practical and robust solution for the industrial applications that require 3D random bin picking.

Automated 3D vision guided bin picking process for randomly located industrial parts

Bin picking has been a research topic for years because of the challenges in image processing, robot motion planning and tool system. However, much of the existing work is not applicable to most real world bin picking problems because they are too simplistic or not robust enough for industrial use. In this paper, we developed a robust random 3D bin picking system by integrating the vision system with the robotics system. The vision system identifies the location of candidate parts, then the robot system validates if one of the candidate parts is pickable; if a part is identified as pickable, then the robot will pick up this part and place it accurately in the right location. An ABB IRB2400 robot with an IRC5 controller was chosen for picking up the parts. A 3D vision system was used to locate the parts. Experimental results demonstrated that the system can successfully pick up randomly placed parts in an industrial setting. This system provides a practical and robust solution for the industrial applications that require 3D random bin picking.

Ultra-flexible production systems for automated factories

Conveyor based transportation systems are used in today manufacturing environments. The main concept we introduce in this paper is using mobile platforms to move parts, tools and fixtures between workstations in a manufacturing environment instead of conveyors. A conveyor-based production system is a fixed transportation system, hard mounted and not reconfigurable, any change in the conveyors path is costly, time-consuming and difficult. Mobile platforms allow for a more flexible manufacturing environment as it only requires a change in the software to reroute the transportations paths and accommodate the changes to the production flow and workstations. This concept paper addresses two objectives: 1) describe some of the existing mobile platform used in industry today 2) introduce the concepts and a simulation of the ultra-flexible production system.