Optical High Speed Dimensional Inspection

Images are two dimensional and the world is three dimensional. This fundamental difference greatly limits the utility of image processing in many potential applications. Intelligent Automation has designed and is currently building an entirely new type of electronic camera. Our camera will generate 3 dimensional images in real-time. By "3 Dimensional Image" we mean that the value of each pixel in the image will represent the distance from the camera's focal point to the corresponding point in the scene. We call this type of image a "range image." Our camera will be able to produce RSI70 compatible range images at 60 frames per second, or many times faster for special applications. Under other funding we are building a prototype range camera for long range applications, and for applications where ambient light cannot be controlled. Under the work herein proposed, we will develop and validate approaches to increase the accuracy of the range camera to where it will have sufficient accuracy for application in real-time dimensional inspection, and even more importantly, real-time process control. For those inspection applications requiring the camera to be moved, we propose to exploit a hexapod structure as a motion stage for the camera, yielding a new class of Coordinate Measuring Machine. Anticipated Benefit: Closed-loop in-process control of many manufacturing process requires real-time dimensional inspection, and IAI's range camera makes this feasible for applications where it was not previously feasible. When configured as a coordinate measuring machine (CMM), the camera will make 3,900,000 measurement per second, as compared to several seconds per measurement for a conventional CMM.