Develop a Robot-Aided Area Sensing System for 3D Shape Inspection

Dimensional inspection using a contact-based coordinate measurement machine (CMM) is time consuming because the part can only be measured point-by-point. A 3D sensor may replace the traditional CMM technology because it can measure a surface patch-by-patch. Therefore, the automotive industry has been seeking a practical solution for rapid surface inspection using a 3D sensor. However, the challenge is the capability to meet all the requirements including sensor accuracy, resolution, system efficiency, and system cost. In this paper, we develop a robot-aided 3D sensing system, which can automatically allocate sensor viewing points, measure the freeform part surface, and generate an error map for quality control. The measurement accuracy meets the industrial standards. This paper briefly describes the system architecture, design principle, calibration methods, and the present results.