Industrial Inspection and Previous: Model-Building Experiment

Summary

We propose a new strategy for inspection and/or reverse engineering. We use a recursive DEDS agent with some sensing capabilities to control the inspection and reverse engineering of mechanical parts. Geometric descriptions of the objects under analysis are generated and expressed in terms of a Computer Aided Design system. The geometric design can then be used to construct a prototype of the object. The manufactured prototypes are then to be inspected and compared with the original object using the sensing interface and refinements made as necessary.

We also describe a framework on which a full inspection and reverse engineering. environment could be constructed. In it, the problem is divided into sensing, design, and manufacturing components with an underlying software and hardware backbone. The developed framework utilizes existing knowledge to formulate an adaptive and goal-directed strategy for exploring mechanical parts.

We consider the following tasks to constitute completed work in this project:

• Designed the DRFSM DEDS framework for recursive inspection.
• Implemented image processing modules for recognizing features and probe position with respect to parts composed of them.
• Designed and implemented visual structure recovery techniques for machine parts and implemented calibration routines.
• Designed and implemented a sensing CAD interface for generating _1code for bodies from depth, contour, and recursive feature relationships.
• Implemented the DRFSM DEDS automata for recursive inspection using a robot-held camera, probe and actual parts.
• Designed and implemented a modification to an existing reactive behavior design tool (GIJoe) to accommodate the graphical design of DRFSM DEDS.

The application environment we eventually intend to develop consists of three major working elements: the sensing, design, and manufacturing modules. The ultimate goal is to establish a computational framework that is capable of deriving designs for machine parts or objects, inspect and refine them, while creating a flexible and consistent engineering environment that is extensible. The control flow is from the sensing module to the design module and then to the manufacturing component. Feedback can be supplied to the sensing agent to inspect manufactured parts, compare them to the originals and continue the flow in the loop until a certain tolerance is met. The system is ultimately intended to be as autonomous as possible.

Industrial Inspection and Previous: Model-Building Experiment