Position/attitude recognizing method, part holding method, part arranging method, part assembling method, position/attitude recognizing apparatus, part holding apparatus, part arranging apparatus and part assembling apparatus

• US 8,194,929 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2009
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Koike, Naoki, Wakabayashi, Kimihiro, Hotta, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Azarian, Seyed
• Application Number:
  US12/543,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20100246895A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382106-108, 382140-143, 382/154, 382/162, 382/168, 382/173, 382/181, 382191-199, 382/209, 382219-224, 382/232, 382/254, 382/274, 382/276, 382285-291, 382/305, 382/312, 382/321, 348/86, 700/245, 347/242, 356/498, 356/615, 356/4.1
• US Class Current: 382/106
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/00 Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor

Abstract

A group of light spots dispersed and disposed three-dimensionally to be disposed not in one plane on an object-to-be-measured are shot by a camera. A position and an attitude of the object-to-be-measured are recognized based on an optical image representing each of the light spots included on a shot image by the camera.

Claims

1. A position/attitude recognizing method comprising:

a first shooting process of shooting, by a camera, a group of light spots on an object-to-be-measured on which the group of light spots are arranged, the group of light spots including a plurality of light spots which are dispersed and disposed three-dimensionally to be disposed not on one plane; and

a first recognizing process of recognizing a position and an attitude of the object-to-be -measured based on an optical image representing each of the plurality of light spots included in the group of light spots on a first shot image obtained by the shooting in the first shooting process, wherein the object-to-be-measured is an object in which a group of light spots including three first light spots arranged at mutually separated positions and one second light spot arranged at a position which is separated away in a perpendicular direction from a triangular reference surface whose apexes are respectively the three first light spots are arranged.

2. The position/attitude recognizing method according to claim 1, wherein the first shooting process is a shooting process in which the camera is arranged at a first position where a normal of the reference surface passing through the second light spot and a shooting optical axis do not match with each other, and the group of light spots on the object-to-be-measured is shot by the camera.

3. The position/attitude recognizing method according to claim 2, wherein the first shooting process is a shooting process in which the camera is arranged at the first position and in an attitude in which the camera is directed to the reference surface, and the group of light spots is shot by the camera.

4. The position/attitude recognizing method according to claim 2, wherein the first shooting process is a shooting process in which the camera is arranged at the first position and in an attitude in which the camera is directed in a direction parallel to the normal, and the group of light spots is shot by the camera.

5. The position/attitude recognizing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

a second shooting process in which the camera is arranged at a second position and the group of light spots is shot by the camera; and

a second recognizing process of recognizing the position and the attitude of the object-to-be-measured based on an optical image representing the light spots included in the group of light spots on a second shot image obtained by the second shooting process, wherein the second shooting process and the second recognizing process are performed before shooting in the first shooting process,

wherein the first shooting process is a shooting process in which the camera is moved to the first position where the normal of the reference surface passing through the second light spot and the shooting optical axis do not match with each other and where it is possible to perform shooting for recognizing more accurately than recognizing in the second recognizing process with respect to the position and the attitude of the object-to-be-measured, and the group of light spots may be shot by the camera.

6. A part holding method comprising:

a position/attitude recognizing process of recognizing a position and an attitude of the object-to-be-measured by the position/attitude recognizing method according to claim 1; and

a part holding process of causing a robot which holds a part to a position to be right opposed to the part which is formed from the object-to-be-measured itself or which is arranged at a predetermined position and in an attitude relative to the object-to-be-measured, based on the position and the attitude of the object-to-be-measured recognized by the position/attitude recognizing process.

7. A part arranging method comprising:

a position/attitude recognizing process of recognizing a position and an attitude of the object-to-be-measured by the position/attitude recognizing method according to claim 1; and

a part arranging process of causing a robot to hold a part, the robot being for arranging the part at a position and in an attitude both being relatively predetermined to the object-to-be-measured, causing the part to a position to be right opposed to the predetermined position and attitude based on the position and attitude of the object-to-be-measured recognized in the position/attitude recognizing process, and arranging the part at the predetermined position and attitude.

8. A part assembling method comprising:

a position/attitude recognizing process of recognizing a position and an attitude of the object-to-be-measured by the position/attitude recognizing method according to claim 1; and

a part assembling process of causing a robot to hold a second part to be assembled to a first part, causing the second part to be right opposed to the first part which is formed from the object-to-be-measured itself or to the first part which is arranged at a predetermined position and in an attitude relative to the object-to-be-measured based on the position and the attitude of the object-to-be-measured recognized in the position/attitude recognizing process, and causing the robot to assemble the second part to the first part.

9. A position/attitude recognizing apparatus comprising:

a camera;

a camera control section that performs a first shooting process of causing the camera to shoot a group of light spots on an object-to-be-measured on which the group of light spots are arranged, the group of light spots including a plurality of light spots dispersed and disposed three dimensionally to be disposed not on one plane; and

a position/attitude recognizing section that performs a first recognizing process of recognizing a position and an attitude of the object-to-be-measured based on an optical image representing each of the plurality of the light spots included in the group of light spots on a first shot image obtained by the shooting operation in the first shooting process, wherein the object-to-be-measured is an object in which a group of light spots including three first light spots disposed at mutually separated positions and one second light spot arranged at a position being separated away in a perpendicular direction from a triangular reference surface whose apexes are respectively the three first light spots are arranged.

10. The position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the camera is a camera which is arranged at a first position where a normal of the reference surface passing through the second light spot and a shooting optical axis do not match with each other.

11. The position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the camera is a camera which is arranged at the first position and in an attitude in which the camera is directed to the reference surface.

12. The position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the camera is arranged at the first position and in an attitude in which the camera is directed in a direction parallel to the normal.

13. The position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the camera is a camera whose position and attitude of the camera may be changed,

the camera control section arranges the camera in a second position before the shooting in the first shooting process and performs a second shooting process of causing the camera being in the second position to shoot the group of light spots by,

the position/attitude recognizing section performs a second recognizing process of recognizing a position and an attitude of the object-to-be-measured based on an optical image representing light spots included in the group of light spots on a second shot image obtained in the second shooting process, and

the camera control section moves the camera to the first position where the normal of the reference surface passing through the second light spot and the shooting optical axis do not match with each other and where it is possible to perform shooting for recognizing more accurately than recognizing in the second recognizing process with respect to the position and the attitude of the object-to-be-measured, and causes the camera to shoot the group of light spots.

14. The position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the camera and the robot are fixed to each other, and the positions and the attitudes of the camera and the robot may be changed only integrally.

15. The position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the positions and the attitudes of the camera and the robot may be changed independently from each other.

16. The position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the light spot is a light-emitting diode.

17. The position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the light spot is a retroreflector which reflects incident light in an incident direction.

18. A part holding apparatus comprising:

the position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9;

a robot to hold a part which is formed from the object-to-be-measured itself or which is arranged at a predetermined position and in a predetermined attitude relative to the object-to-be-measured; and

a robot control section that causes the robot to be right opposed to the part based on the position and the attitude of the object-to-be-measured recognized in the position/attitude recognizing process, and to hold the part.

19. A part arranging apparatus comprising:

the position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9;

a robot that holds a part, and arranges the held part at a predetermined position and in a predetermined attitude relative to the object-to-be-measured; and

a robot control section that causes the robot to hold the part, causes the part to be right opposed to the predetermined position and attitude based on the position and attitude of the object-to-be-measured recognized by the position/attitude recognizing apparatus, and arranges the part at the predetermined position and in the predetermined attitude.

20. A part assembling apparatus comprising:

the position/attitude recognizing apparatus according to claim 9;

a robot that holds a second part to be assembled to a first part and assembles the held second part to the first part, and

a robot control section that causes the robot to hold the second part, causes the second part to be right opposed to the first part which is formed from the object-to-be-measured itself or to the first part which is arranged at a predetermined position and in an attitude relative to the object-to-be-measured based on the position and attitude of the object-to-be-measured recognized by the position/attitude recognizing apparatus, and causes the robot to assemble the second part to the first part.