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Described are the development, integration and industrial implementation of flexible vision inspection systems using a commercial industrial robot. Recent advances in robot and vision technology, as well as related software have made such integration practical and successful in the production environment. A fully integrated system is described, with vision processing resident in the robot controller. This integrated system reduces floor space requirements and improves data acquisition rates relative to non-integrated systems. Also, a temperature compensation methodology has been implemented with the system to eliminate errors due to thermal changes in the robot due to both internal heat generation and changes in the operating environment. Implementation examples of systems applied to both off-line and in-line stations are provided. Off-line system applications include replacement of multiple check fixtures to reduce cost and floor space requirements.

Earlier papers have described new approaches to in-tool monitoring, based on non-contact sensors mounted right in the assembly weld tools. The current paper describes new approaches to broadly distributed sensor implementation, developed and field tested in the past year. Integration of flexible robot vision based stations into the distributed architecture is described. Commercially available networking of multiple sensor stations allows connection of information from broadly distributed sensor locations to PC/Windows based centralised data analysis and display units. Networking of information displays, in simple graphical form, allows this same information to be made available on the plant Intranet/Internet so that it is available throughout the enterprise, even through the supplier chain. Implementation of such systems, including linking of in-tool information, end of line stations, and flexible robotic-based stations on a common network is described.

A new approach to in-process monitoring has been described in earlier papers, based on non-contact sensors mounted right in the assembly weld tools. The current paper describes new approaches to sensor implementation, which have been developed and field tested in the past year. Several cases of broad distribution of sensors throughout assembly lines are described. These implementations include use of sensors both in-tool and at end of line stations. The networking of multiple stations to present data at multiple locations, as well as use of plant networks to allow users to view and analyse information at their desks is described. Recently, similar sensors have been applied with robots to provide multi-function inspection capability in a programmable station, ideal for use in a stamping facility. Such systems reduce the need for visual inspection as well as eliminating the need for individual part check fixtures.