Real-time 3D model-based tracking of work-piece with monocular camera

The tracking of 3D work pieces with real-time speed is becoming more and more important for some industrial tasks, such as work pieces grasping and assembly, especially in complex environment. In this paper, we propose a novel real-time 3D model-based tracking method for work pieces with monocular camera, which can provide accurate 3D location information of the tracking object continuously. Three processes are designed in the proposed method, i.e., the offline global model library generation process, the online dynamic library updating and selection process, and the 3D work piece localization process. The method is suitable for the texture-less work-pieces in industrial applications. In the offline global model library generation process, the CAD models of the work piece are used to generate a set of discrete 2D views matching libraries. In the online dynamic library updating and selection process, the previous 3D location information of the work piece is used to predict the following location range, and a dynamic discrete views library with a small number of models is selected for localization. Then, the work piece is localized with high-precision and real time speed in the 3D work piece localization process. The small range of the library enables a real-time matching. Experimental results demonstrate the high accuracy and high efficiency of the proposed method.