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Publications

Publications by Luís Freitas Rocha

2013

Recognizing Industrial Manipulated Parts Using the Perfect Match Algorithm

Authors
Rocha, LF; Ferreira, M; Veiga, G; Moreira, AP; Santos, V;

Publication
ROBOTICS IN SMART MANUFACTURING

Abstract
The objective of this work is to develop a highly robust 3D part localization and recognition algorithm. This research work is driven by the needs specified by enterprises with small production series that seek for full robotic automation in their production line, which processes a wide range of products and cannot use dedicated identification devices due to technological processes. With the correct classification of the part, the robot will be able to autonomously select the correct program to execute. For this purpose, the Perfect Match algorithm, which is known by its computational efficiency, high precision and robustness, was adapted for object recognition achieving a 99.7% of classification rate. The expected practical implication of this work is contributing to the integration of industrial robots in highly dynamic and specialized lines, reducing the companies' dependency on skilled operators.

2013

Stereoscopic Vision System for Human Gesture Tracking and Robot Programming by Demonstration

Authors
Ferreira, M; Rocha, L; Costa, P; Moreira, AP;

Publication
ROBOTICS IN SMART MANUFACTURING

Abstract
This paper presents a framework for robot programming by demonstration using gesture. It is based on a luminous multi-LED marker which is captured by a pair of industrial cameras. Using stereoscopy the marker supplies a complete 6-DoF human gesture tracking output with both position and orientation. Tests show that the developed setup is industrial grade, being precise for many industrial applications and robust particularly to lighting conditions. Attaching the marker to an operator work tool provides an efficient way to track the human movements without further intrusion in the process. The resulting path is used to generate a program for an industrial manipulator ending the cycle in an human-robot skill transfer framework.

2017

Beam for the steel fabrication industry robotic systems

Authors
Rocha, LF; Tavares, P; Malaca, P; Costa, C; Silva, J; Veiga, G;

Publication
ISARC 2017 - Proceedings of the 34th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction

Abstract
In this paper, we present a comparison between the older DSTV file format and the newer version of the IFC standard, dedicating special attention of its impact in the robotization of welding and cutting processes in the steel structure fabrication industry. In the last decade, we have seen in this industry a significant increase in the request for automation. These new requirements are imposed by a market focused on the productivity enhancement through automation. Because of this paradigm change, the information structure and workflow provided by the DSTV format needed to be revised, namely the one related with the plan and management of steel fabrication processes. Therefore, with this work we enhance the importance of the increased digitalization of information that the newer version of the IFC standard provide, by showing how this information can be used to develop advanced robotic cells. More in detail, we will focus on the automatic generation of robot welding and cutting trajectories, and in the automatic part assembly planning during components fabrications. Besides these advantages, as this information is normally described having as base a perfect CAD model of the metallic structure, the resultant robot trajectories will have some dimensional error when fitted with the real physical component. Hence, we also present some automatic approaches based on a laser scanner and simple heuristics to overcome this limitations.

2018

Offline Programming of Collision Free Trajectories for Palletizing Robots

Authors
Silva, R; Rocha, LF; Relvas, P; Costa, P; Silva, MF;

Publication
ROBOT 2017: THIRD IBERIAN ROBOTICS CONFERENCE, VOL 2

Abstract
The use of robotic palletizing systems has been increasing in the so-called Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. However, because of the type of solutions developed, focused on high performance and efficiency, the degree of adaptability of packaging solutions from one type of product to another is extremely low. This is a relevant problem, since companies are changing their production processes from low variety/high volume to high variety/low volume. This environment requires companies to perform the setup of their robots more frequently, which has been leading to the need to use offline programming tools that decrease the required robot stop time. This work addresses these problems and, in this paper, is described the solution proposed for the automated offline development of collision free robot programs for palletizing applications. © Springer International Publishing AG 2018.

2016

Stereo-based real-time 6-DoF work tool tracking for robot programing by demonstration

Authors
Ferreira, M; Costa, P; Rocha, L; Paulo Moreira, AP;

Publication
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Abstract
This contribution presents a new system for fast and intuitive industrial robot reprogramming. It is based on a luminous marker built with high-intensity LEDs, which are captured by a set of industrial cameras. Using stereoscopy, the marker supplies 6-DoF human wrist tracking with both position and orientation data. This marker can be efficiently attached to any working tool which then provides a way to capture human skills without further intrusion in the tasks. The acquisition technique makes the tracking very robust against lighting conditions so no environment preparation is needed. The robot is automatically programmed from the demonstrated task which delivers complete abstraction of programming concepts. The system is able to perform in real time, and is low-cost starting with a single pair of industrial cameras though more can be used for improved effectiveness and accuracy. The real-time feature means that the robot is ready to perform as soon as the demonstration is over which carries no overhead of reprogramming times. Also, there is no interference with the task itself since the marker is attached to the work tool and the tracking is contactless; the human operator can then perform naturally. The test bed is a real industrial environment: a spray painting application. A prototype has been developed and installed, and is currently in operation. The tests show that the proposed system enables transferring to the machine the human ability of manipulating a spray gun.

2018

Automatic generation of disassembly sequences and exploded views from solidworks symbolic geometric relationships

Authors
Costa, CM; Veiga, G; Sousa, A; Rocha, LF; Oliveira, EC; Cardoso, HL; Thomas, U;

Publication
2018 IEEE International Conference on Autonomous Robot Systems and Competitions, ICARSC 2018, Torres Vedras, Portugal, April 25-27, 2018

Abstract
Planning the optimal assembly and disassembly sequence plays a critical role when optimizing the production, maintenance and recycling of products. For tackling this problem, a recursive branch-and-bound algorithm was developed for finding the optimal disassembly plan. It takes into consideration the traveling distance of a robotic end effector along with a cost penalty when it needs to be changed. The precedences and part decoupling directions are automatically computed in the proposed geometric reasoning engine by analyzing the spatial relationships present in SolidWorks assemblies. For accelerating the optimization process, a best-first search algorithm was implemented for quickly finding an initial disassembly sequence solution that is used as an upper bound for pruning most of the non-optimal tree branches. For speeding up the search further, a caching technique was developed for reusing feasible disassembly operations computed on previous search steps, reducing the computational time by more than 18%. As a final stage, our SolidWorks add-in generates an exploded view animation for allowing intuitive analysis of the best solution found. For testing our approach, the disassembly of two starter motors and a single cylinder engine was performed for assessing the capabilities and time requirements of our algorithms. © 2018 IEEE.

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