SUPPLEMENT Robotics & Motion Controly
Robot depalletising A Czech automotive manufacturer solves a geometry puzzle with ‘snapshot’ vision from SICK S
crews, mirrors, instrument panel components – in the goods- receiving area of a major Czech automotive manufacturer,
cartons containing all these parts have to be unloaded from pallets by truck at goods inwards. Until recently, unloading remained a slow, manual process. But, for this major OEM, effi ciency depends on an operational logistics system that completely integrates the receiving area, high-bay warehouse and production. Investing in robot depalletising was essential to close a gap in the automation chain and enable a fully-automated goods receipt system. The robot solution had to be able to detect, independently and reliably, the position of cartons of various shapes and sizes, stacked ergonomically on the pallet in diff ering orientations. The solution needed to calculate the position and shape of the cartons, decide which one to pick next, grip it accurately and place it on a conveyor that connects the receiving area to the intralogistics warehouse.
3D technology Previous unsuccessful attempts to automate the depalletising process had relied on 2D imaging. SICK’s Visionary snapshot camera technology, combined with intelligent algorithms from Neadvance, a specialist machine- vision software developer, provided the technology breakthrough that enabled a high-speed, reliable and robust robot guidance solution. It is working so well that the OEM is planning to implement it in its other plants. The SICK Visionary-T camera is positioned on the robot arm. The camera takes a 3D snapshot image as the robot moves over the pallet, and 3D point cloud data of the entire pallet is delivered to a PC-based controller that hosts the Neadvance algorithms. The processed data is then sent to the robot controller, providing the target coordinates of the next carton for the robot to grip. Because it is fi tted to the robot’s articulated arm, the camera is like a steady eye that always moves with the robot and directly follows its accelerations, reversing movements and vibrations, so that it can deliver accurate information.
34 October 2020 | Automation
Single-shot time of flight The SICK Visionary-T uses the time-of- fl ight measurement where a light signal between the device and the target is refl ected to create each point of the image. Unlike 3D vision systems based on laser triangulation, which need to profi le a moving image, the 3D image is captured with one shot of light.
In this application, the SICK Visionary-T CX, Gigabit Ethernet version of the snapshot camera is used, so 3D point clouds can be streamed directly to the PC controller that hosts the Neadvance algorithms.
Visionary-T logistics application
Trouble-free and stable An important goal of this project was to design the processes to be trouble-free and stable, and the project team was able to focus its engineering eff orts on refi ning the complex gripping processes. The 3D data and the corresponding point clouds also provided detailed information that enabled adjustments to be made during the project development. This fl exibility proved particularly valuable during commissioning on site. The Visionary-T’s ability to operate in
Visionary-T products
Neadvance recognised the benefit of the camera’s CCD/CMOS imager which develops a pixel matrix, with each pixel containing both depth and intensity information. The SICK Visionary-T can combine different aspects of the light scattered on the target to build up a detailed picture of shape, distance, reflectivity and object depth. The camera is designed to capture more than 25,000 measurements in a single shot with a high frame rate of 50 shots per second.
robust industrial conditions was also an important consideration. The powerful active lighting system integrated into the camera ensures consistent illumination that can even operate in complete darkness and detect objects with very low refl ection properties. Because the Visionary-T does not use any moving components, the camera is also resilient to external vibrations and impacts, especially important in a receiving area where automated picking needs to be performed at high speeds. The general contractor and system integrator who worked on the project also saw the benefi ts with the 3D time-of-fl ight snapshot principle of the Visionary-T CX and now plan to integrate it as standard in other depalletising processes.
CONTACT:
SICK
www.sick.com
automationmagazine.co.uk
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