Vision based system for welding groove measurements for robotic welding applications
Electric arc welding is a complex task that demands a high degree of control in order to meet the international standards for fusion welding. We present a Vision Based Measurement (VBM) system and evaluate how different conditions and algorithms impact the measuring of beveled edges. The proposed system integrates hardware and software to image the welding plates using a single CMOS camera as visual sensor, run computer vision algorithms on a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) board, controls the robot movements and adjust the weld pattern and welder equipment parameters. A complete prototype, using a commercial linear welding robot is presented. The evaluation of the system as a groove mapping equipment, considering different processing algorithms combined with noise removal and line segment detection techniques, shows the potential of the approach for shop floor operation.
2016 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)