A clustering algorithm for path planning of SMT inspection machines

We propose a path planning method to reduce the inspection time of AOI (automatic optical inspection) machines in SMT (surface mount technology) in-line system. Inspection windows of board should be clustered to consider the FOV (field-of-view) of camera. The number of clusters is desirable to be minimized in order to reduce the overall inspection time. We newly propose a genetic algorithm to minimize the number of clusters for a given board. Comparative simulation results are presented to verify the usefulness of proposed algorithm.