Deformation Estimation of Textureless Objects from a Single Image.

Deformations introduced during the production of plastic components degrade the accuracy of their 3D geometric information, a critical aspect of object inspection processes. This phenomenon is prevalent among primary plastic products from manufacturers. This work proposes a solution for the deformation estimation of textureless plastic objects using only a single RGB image.

Practical Applications of a Set-Based Camera Deployment Methodology.

This work establishes a complete methodology for solving continuous sets of camera deployment solutions for automated machine vision inspection systems in industrial manufacturing facilities. The methods presented herein generate constraints that realistically model cameras and their associated intrinsic parameters and use set-based solving methods to evaluate these constraints over a 3D mesh model of a real part. This results in a complete and certifiable set of all valid camera poses describing all possible inspection poses for a given camera/part pair, as well as how much of the part's surface is inspectable from any pose in the set.

Synthesis of Valid Camera Poses for the Inspection of Triangular Facets in a 3D Mesh.

Automation of visual quality inspection tasks in manufacturing with machine vision is beginning to be the de facto standard for quality inspection as manufacturers realize that machines produce more reliable, consistent and repeatable analyses much quicker than a human operator ever could. These methods generally rely on the installation of cameras to inspect and capture images of parts; however, there is yet to be a method proposed for the deployment of cameras which can rigorously quantify and certify the performance of the system when inspecting a given part. Furthermore, current methods in the field yield unrealizable exact solutions, making them impractical or impossible to actually install in a factory setting.

Architecture for a Mobile Robotic Camera Positioning System for Photogrammetric Data Acquisition in Hydroelectric Tunnels.

The structural condition of hydroelectric tunnels is important to the overall performance, safety, and longevity of generating stations. Significant effort is required to inspect, monitor, and maintain these tunnels. Photogrammetry is an effective method of collecting highly accurate visual and spatial data.

Finite element based model predictive control for active vibration suppression of a one-link flexible manipulator.

This paper presents a unique approach for active vibration control of a one-link flexible manipulator. The method combines a finite element model of the manipulator and an advanced model predictive controller to suppress vibration at its tip. This hybrid methodology improves significantly over the standard application of a predictive controller for vibration control.

Identification and adaptive neural network control of a DC motor system with dead-zone characteristics.

In this paper, an adaptive control approach based on the neural networks is presented to control a DC motor system with dead-zone characteristics (DZC), where two neural networks are proposed to formulate the traditional identification and control approaches. First, a Wiener-type neural network (WNN) is proposed to identify the motor DZC, which formulates the Wiener model with a linear dynamic block in cascade with a nonlinear static gain. Second, a feedforward neural network is proposed to formulate the traditional PID controller, termed as PID-type neural network (PIDNN), which is then used to control and compensate for the DZC.

Well-conditioned model predictive control.

Model-based predictive control is an advanced control strategy that uses a move suppression factor or constrained optimization methods for achieving satisfactory closed-loop dynamic responses of complex systems. While these approaches are suitable for many processes, they are formulated on the selection of certain parameters that are ambiguous and also computationally demanding which makes them less suited for tight control of fast processes. In this paper, a new dynamic matrix control (DMC) algorithm is proposed that reduces inherent ill-conditioning by allowing the process prediction time step to exceed the control time step.