Vision system for automatic capturing a moving object by the robot manipulator

The paper contents description of the experiments on capturing the moving object by means of a robot manipulator RM-01 (like PUMA 560) with vision system. The object to be grasped is the rod on a bifilar suspension. The upper ends of the fibers are attached to the stable beam which holds a TV camera connected to a computer. Data processing results in the coordinates of the end points of the rod. The algorithm developed gives the possibility to obtain up to 25 pairs of end points per second. The data are subjected to statistical analysis taking into account the dynamic model of the rod motion. The results obtained for the 0.5 s interval allow us to calculate the initial conditions of the rod motion and to predict the motion to several seconds ahead. Analysis of the predicted motion allows us to determine the proper moment of capture, and the position of the manipulator grip at that moment. The capture is implemented in 2-5 s after the start of the process, within 1-2 periods of longitudinal and lateral modes of the rod oscillation.