Contact Us | About Us

Vision and guidance systems are becoming more attractive to the food-processing industry due to a decrease in cost and improvements in integration to current robotic systems.  Robotic vision systems are now being used for inspection, pick-and-placement, and even for harvesting in fields. 

• We, at BluePrint Robotics, specialize in food packing robotics.   
  
• The robotics company is a member of the BluePrint Automation Group, based in Boulder, Colorado. Kit assemblies are made of several components that a robot inserts into trays, containers, boxes or cartons.   
  
• Primary packaging has robots taking unwrapped product and putting it into machines that put on initial packaging
• Components come on a belt, where delta robots find the tops of cookies and puts them on the bottoms
• ‘‘In food processing there are two things to keep in mind,'‘ said Edward Roney of FANUC Robotics America, Inc.
• Roney is Manager of Development for Vision Products and Applications at FANUC Robotics, a robot manufacturer and systems integration firm located in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
• Integrators have to couple the vision system to the robot in a way that cameras can take an image of a part that is moving and then provide the position of that object to the robot further down the belt.
• FANUC Robotics' Ed Roney addressed this. ‘‘Typically, vision systems can locate objects faster than a single robot can pick them.
• Generally, robots have a longer cycle time than vision systems because a robot has to physically pick up objects, place them, and return to its original position for another cycle.
• The largest use for robotic vision is guidance, which utilizes a camera in a work cell or a within a tool that the robot holds.
• In inspection and measurement, vision is not really adding value to the robot, just using the robot in a functional way. Robots have no way of changing their path without input.
• Already tested in commercial greenhouse applications and also being developed for long-range space missions, vision-guided six-axis Motoman robots perform intelligent tomato harvesting without damaging the plants or the produce.
• Working together, the 2-D vision system and robot controller guide the robot, equipped with a four-finger prosthetic hand, to the target (ripe tomato).   
  
• The sensing and picking capability of the units has been demonstrated in the laboratory and also in commercial greenhouse environments where the Motoman robot is mounted on a mobile platform
• Other than performing guidance and inspection tasks, robotic vision systems realize other advantages when they are deployed.   
  
• Experts in robotic vision systems will have a chance to network and share ideas at the Automated Imaging Association (AIA) sponsored Machine Vision for Robot Guidance Workshop.   
  
• First, I will review a few case examples. Secondly, I will do a quick overview of robots and vision, covering what the combination can do.   
  
• I will ask ‘If robots continue to be flexible, why do end-users need vision?
  

 

Contact Us | Education | Site Map | Welding Links | Welding Glossary | Disclaimer

Worldwide