A Robot System for Automatic Missile Loading

The proposed work will investigate the feasibility of using a robotic device to automate loading or off-loading of missiles. The objective of the effort is to evaluate the utility of a teach-by-showing technique that learns from the methods and strategies of a teleoperator, and to eventually produce a sensor-driven program that can run a robot without operator intervention. In essence, a robot initially controlled in a teleoperated manner could then be run semiautonomously by unskilled personneL This technology would permit support personnel who are not skilled in conventional robot programming languages to develop and use sensor-driven robot programs. The technique generates a procedural program, identical in function to a procedural program developed in a conventional robot programming language, that can be easily reused in similar but different application tasks. A second innovation offered by this proposal is the use of a simple, high-speed vision system to assist with missile location and acquisition. The vision system uses a specially designed target label consisting of a bar code and framing border to simplify the location and acquisition of missiles Immediate benefits can be realized at commercial and military installations where robots are currently used in unstructured environments. Examples include: terrestrial construction; space and underwater construction, maintenance, or exploration; transport and handling of hazardous materials; tasks in environments hazardous to humans such as nuclear facilities, munitions handling, and firefighting; and in automated manufacturing.