This paper surveys publications, reports, and articles dealing with automated visual inspection for industry The references are organized according to their contents: overview and discussions, rationales, components and design considerations, commercially available systems, applications A number of applications and their inspection methodologies are discussed in detail: the inspection of printed circuit boards, photomasks, integrated circuit chips Other inspection applications are listed as a bibliography A list of selectively annotated references in commercially available visual inspection tools is also included

Automated Visual Inspection: A Survey

A NASA/ASEE Summer Study conducted at the University of Santa Clara in 1980 examined the feasibility of using advanced artificial intelligence and automation technologies in future NASA space missions. Four candidate applications missions were considered. (1) An intelligent Earth-sensing information system, (2) an autonomous space exploration system, (3) an automated space manufacturing facility, and (4) a self-replicating, growing lunar factory. The study assessed the various AI and machine technologies which must be developed if such sophisticated missions are to become feasible by century's end.

Advanced automation for space missions

robots that \"see\" and \"feel\" can perform more complex tasks, industry has employed various computer vision techniques to enhance the abilities of intelligent machines. The recent widespread interest in robotics and automation in the US originates from American industry's most fundamental problem: a staggering drop in productivity. From 1947 to 1965, US productivity increased at an average rate of 3.4 percent a year. The growth rate decreased to 2.3 percent in the following decade, then dropped to below one percent in the late 1970's and down to-0.9 percent in 1980. Japan's productivity growth, the contrasting example most often cited in the literature, has been climbing at an average annual rate of about 7.3 percent. ' Although there are many ways to influence manufacturing productivity and product quality-regulatory, fiscal, and social-the emphasis in the following discussion is technological. In particular, we are interested in the computer vision aspects of industrial inspection and robot control. The principal motivation behind computer vision is increased flexibility and lower cost. The use of sensing technology to endow-a machine with a greater degree of \"intelligence\" in dealing with its environment is receiving increased attention. A robot that can \"see\" and \"feel\" should be easier to train in the performance of complex tasks while at the same time requiring less stringent control mechanisms than preprogrammed machines. A sensory, trainable system is also adaptable to a much larger variety of tasks, thus achieving a degree of universality that ultimately translates into lower production and maintenance costs. The computer vision process can be divided into five principal areas: sensing, segmentation, description, recognition , and interpretation. These categories are suggested to a large extent by the way computer vision systems are generally implemented. It is not implied that human vision and reasoning can be so neatly subdivided nor that these processes are carried out independently of each other. For instance, we can logically assume that recognition and interpretation are highly interrelated functions in a human. These relationships, however, are not yet understood to the point where they can be mod-eled analytically. Thus, the subdivision of functions discussed below can be viewed as a practical (albeit limited) approach for implementing state-of-the-art computer vision systems, given our level of understanding and the analytical tools currently available in this field. Visual sensing Imaging devices. Visual information is converted to electrical signals by visual sensors. The most commonly used visual sensors are vidicon cameras …

Computer Vision Techniques for Industrial Applications and Robot Control

SUMMARY The industrial robot, already an accepted element in modern manufacturing, when coupled with sensors and controlled by a computer, is better modelled as an operator than as a machine. In this paper the basic characteristics of sensor controlled robots are defined : workspace, actuation, positioning, orientation, sensing and decision making. Actual values of these characteristics are given for the Stanford Arm running under the WAVE system. In order to compare a robot to a human operator we consider each of the task elements defined in an established methodology for human work analysis, method time measurement (MTM). We translate each of these work elements into robot program statements. From this comparison we find that a robot can be modelled as an operator but that a different set of work elements is appropriate. We develop a new methodology, which we call RTM (robot time and motion) and describe an actual robot assembly operation. The same assembly task is described using MTM for a human operat...

Work methods measurement—a comparison between robot and human task performance

Programmable industrial automation can help meet the socioeconomic needs for increased productivity and job enrichment in labor-intensive industries. Characterized by production flexibility and ease of setup for new products, programmable automation is especially adaptable to manufacturing a variety of products in variable lot sizes at mass-production costs. Programmable, automated hardware/software systems existing in industry today include numerical control of machine tools, computer-aided design and manufacturing, production information and control, and industrial robots. These systems are being advanced by ongoing research and development activities; one major activity entails the application of robots with sensors to material-handling, inspection, and assembly operations. The ultimate goal of programmable automation is an essentially unmanned, computer-integrated automatic factory.

Programmable Industrial Automation

If previous studies1-4 are any indication, there is a national need to develop advanced automation techniques to increase industrial productivity and to enhance the well-being of workers by eliminating hard, dangerous, and dull jobs. Although an ultimate goal might be a completely automated factory in which design, planning, scheduling, and manufacturing are all under computer control, automation will probably evolve slowly with the development of the appropriate technology.

C.A. Rosen

Papers

Use of Sensors in Programmable Automation