A VISION-AUGMENTED CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ROBOTIC MANIPULATORS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VISION-AUGMENTED CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ROBOTIC MANIPULATORS IS PLANNED. THE SYSTEM EMPLOYS A NOVELSTRUCTURE, WHICH PLACES THE VISION SYSTEM CAMERA ON ITS OWN MANIPULATOR ARM, ALLOWING THE CAMERA TO SEEK POSITIONS OF OPTIMAL VISIBILITY FOR CONTROL OF COARSE-TO-INTERMEDIATE MANIPULATOR MOVEMENTS. FURTHERMORE, IT PERMITS THE CAMERA TO USE MULTIPLE VIEWS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES TO GAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. ROBUSTNESS IS ADDED TO THE SYSTEM BY INCLUDING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, SUCH AS ELECTRONIC BLUEPRINTS,OF THE ENVIRONMENT WITHIN WHICH THE MANIPULATOR ARMS OPERATE. THE VISION SYSTEM THUS SERVES AS A DRIVER FOR THE DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING ALGORITHMS THAT PROVIDE SPATIAL PLANNINGAND CONTROL OF THE ROBOT MANIPULATOR ARMS.