Applying 3-D vision to robotic manufacturing automation

Some 3-D sensing techniques and the design of 3-D vision sensors are reviewed. Several robotic turnkey manufacturing automation systems developed and being developed that use 3-D vision technology in the field of robotic inspection for measurement and quality control are described. Robotic guidance and control for assembly, welding, sealing, grinding, and drilling applications are discussed along with 3-D modeling for NC programming and parts replication. Some advanced R&D tasks in vision-guided adaptive robotic techniques for mail handling, multiview imaging for address reading, and range image acquisition/interpretation for mail-pieces singulation at the US Postal Service are examined