Reliable vision-guided grasping

Automated assembly of truss structures in space requires vision-guided servoing for grasping a strut when its position and orientation are uncertain. This paper presents a methodology for efficient and robust vision-guided robot grasping alignment. The vision-guided grasping problem is related to vision-guided 'docking' problems. It differs from other hand-in-eye visual servoing problems, such as tracking, in that the distance from the target is a relevant servo parameter. The methodology described in this paper is hierarchy of levels in which the vision/robot interface is decreasingly 'intelligent,' and increasingly fast. Speed is achieved primarily by information reduction. This reduction exploits the use of region-of-interest windows in the image plane and feature motion prediction. These reductions invariably require stringent assumptions about the image. Therefore, at a higher level, these assumptions are verified using slower, more reliable methods. This hierarchy provides for robust error recovery in that when a lower-level routine fails, the next-higher routine will be called and so on. A working system is described which visually aligns a robot to grasp a cylindrical strut. The system uses a single camera mounted on the end effector of a robot and requires only crude calibration parameters. The grasping procedure is fast and reliable, with a multi-level error recovery system

Real-TV : RTP/L3\u27s visual monitor

Today many real-world activities are being monitored and controlled by some type of micro-processor based system. Emphasis is placed on manufacturing and controlling through the use of computers. The inherent nature of these real-world applications makes them difficult to control and monitor. They must be built meeting strict timing constraints and must be predictable. We need to develop simplistic, reliable, and cost effective methods for building, evaluating, monitoring and controlling these complex systems. These tools should provide the user with system insight. At the New Jersey Institute of Technology Real-Time Computing Laboratory, we are building a system that will provide the aforementioned tools in a complete real-time environment. This paper gives the user a brief overview of the system that is currently under construction and gives a detailed look into the component called Real-TV. Real-TV is a software component that will be used as a monitoring tool to provide users with system insight. Processes and other system statistics, occurring within the simulated predictable real-time software/hardware environment, can be tracked and monitored

Emerging Trends in Instrumentation in Rocket Motor Testing

Rocket motors are designed, developed, and evaluated for performance, and after repeated tests, are qualified for use in a spacecraft or missile system. Comprehensive instrumentation measurement plan is made to record physical parameters during evaluation and testing. In the last thirty years, a revolution has happened in the field of electronics that has benefited instrumentation in terms of accuracy, bandwidth, capacity, reliability and analysis. This paper describes the improvements in instrumentation that have happened in the field of rocket motor testing over a period of last three decades.Defence Science Journal, Vol. 65, No. 1, January 2015, pp.63-69, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.65.794