Methods, apparatus and computer program products for automated visual inspection
First Claim
1. A method of automated visual inspection of regions of interest of a product utilizing an automated visual inspection device including a viewing device having a viewing area for acquiring images of regions of interest of a product being inspected, wherein said viewing area is constrained in size and has a predetermined geometric shape, and wherein said method comprises the steps of:
- selecting a plurality of views for viewing the regions of interest in the constrained viewing area, wherein said selecting step comprises;
generating an initial set of views wherein every region of interest is included in at least one view based on the constraints of the viewing area and the predetermined geometric shape of the viewing area and wherein the regions of interest are capable of being included in more than one view of the initial set of views; and
performing a set-covering on the initial set of views from said generating step to select a plurality of views; and
performing relaxed traveling salesman problem on the selected plurality of views to select the path of movement between the selected plurality of views.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus and computer program products for automated visual inspection of regions of interest of a product utilizing an automated visual inspection device having a constrained viewing area are provided according to the present invention. Particularly, inspection of regions of interest on a product utilizing a constrained viewing area characterized as a view minimization problem is minimized by translating the view minimization problem into a set-covering problem and a traveling salesman problem. Known heuristics are applied to the set-covering problem and the traveling salesman problem to minimize the number of views required to view the regions of interest and to minimize the distance of travel between the views. Apparatus and computer programs products are also provided which minimize inspection time in a like manner.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of automated visual inspection of regions of interest of a product utilizing an automated visual inspection device including a viewing device having a viewing area for acquiring images of regions of interest of a product being inspected, wherein said viewing area is constrained in size and has a predetermined geometric shape, and wherein said method comprises the steps of:
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selecting a plurality of views for viewing the regions of interest in the constrained viewing area, wherein said selecting step comprises; generating an initial set of views wherein every region of interest is included in at least one view based on the constraints of the viewing area and the predetermined geometric shape of the viewing area and wherein the regions of interest are capable of being included in more than one view of the initial set of views; and performing a set-covering on the initial set of views from said generating step to select a plurality of views; and performing relaxed traveling salesman problem on the selected plurality of views to select the path of movement between the selected plurality of views. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus for automated visual inspection of regions of interest of a product comprising:
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a viewing device having an image acquiring mechanism including an image acquiring viewing area configured to view regions of interest of a product, wherein said image acquiring viewing area of said image acquiring mechanism has a constrained size and a predetermined geometric shape; means for moving said constrained viewing area of the viewing device relative to the regions of interest; means for generating an initial set of views wherein every region of interest is included in at least one view based on the constraints of the viewing area and the predetermined geometric shape of the viewing area, and wherein the regions of interest are capable of being included in more than one view of the initial set of views; means for performing a set-covering on the initial set of views to select a number of views for viewing the regions of interest in the constrained viewing area; and means for performing a relaxed traveling salesman problem on the selected number of views to select a path of movement between the selected number of views; and wherein the moving means is responsive to the relaxed traveling salesman problem to move along the selected path of movement. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer program product for controlling automated visual inspection of regions of interest of a product utilizing an automated visual inspection device including a viewing device for acquiring images of regions of interest being inspected, wherein said viewing device has a viewing area that is constrained in size and has a predetermined geometric shape, and wherein the computer program product comprises:
a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code means comprising; computer-readable program code means for generating an initial set of views wherein every region of interest is included in at least one view based on the constraints of the viewing area and the predetermined geometric shape of the viewing area, and wherein the regions of interest are capable of being included in more than one view of the initial set of views; computer-readable program code means for performing a set-covering on the initial set of views to select a number of views for viewing the regions of interest in the constrained viewing area; and computer-readable program code means for performing a relaxed traveling salesman problem on the selected number of views to select a path of movement between the selected number of views. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
Specification