Real-Time Detection of Arbitrary Objects in Alternating Industrial Environments

Abstract

Consider the following problem: How to detect objects of undetermined and unequal shape, size and color in front of an alternating but repeating background in real-time? In addition, the objects may slightly overlap each other but have to be considered as separate objects. Also, the repeating background may change in time because of variations of the illumination or staining of the environment. This problem arises from industrial applications and requires a very robust and fast solution. Some hundreds of objects have to be detected and analyzed for overlapping within a second. The presented solution has already been used successfully in several automatic sorting techniques for recyclable materials, where the objects to be sorted are placed on a very fast conveyor belt and a perfect distribution of the objects cannot be guaranteed. The solution is based on the following principles: