US 11,875,502 B2
Production-speed component inspection system and method
Brodie Schultz, Ferndale, MI (US); Elizabeth Bullard, Royal Oak, MI (US); and Francis Maslar, Grosse lle, MI (US)
Assigned to Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US)
Filed by Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US)
Filed on Apr. 8, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/225,403.
Prior Publication US 2022/0327688 A1, Oct. 13, 2022
Int. Cl. G06T 7/11 (2017.01); G06T 7/00 (2017.01); G06T 17/20 (2006.01); G06F 30/15 (2020.01); G06N 3/08 (2023.01); G06F 30/23 (2020.01); G06F 119/18 (2020.01)
CPC G06T 7/0008 (2013.01) [G06F 30/15 (2020.01); G06F 30/23 (2020.01); G06N 3/08 (2013.01); G06T 7/001 (2013.01); G06T 17/20 (2013.01); G06F 2119/18 (2020.01); G06T 2207/20081 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20084 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30164 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An inspection system for automotive components comprising:
one or more multi-dimensional cameras configured to collect images corresponding to a selected automotive component;
a network of three-dimensional (3D) scanners configured to scan the selected automotive component;
a conveyor structure operable to transport the selected automotive component; and
a controller communicably coupled to the cameras and the network of 3D scanners to receive the images from the cameras and receive a data set that collectively represent the structure of the selected automotive component from the network of 3D scanners, wherein each data of the data set corresponds to a point image of the selected automotive component,
wherein the network of 3D scanners comprises a first group of scanners having a first angle and a first orientation relative to the conveyor structure and a second group of scanners having a second angle and a second orientation relative to the conveyor structure and different from the first angle and the first orientation, and within each group;
wherein the multi-dimensional cameras are arranged relative to the network of 3D scanners, the conveyor structure, and the selected automotive component;
wherein the controller is configured to:
reconstruct a 3D model of the selected automotive component based on the image data from the cameras and the data set from the network of 3D scanners;
determine whether an anomaly is present with respect to the selected automotive component based on an artificial intelligence based recognition; and
generate, at a production speed, an output indicative of the selected automotive component with or without anomaly.