Recognition and Handling of Tableware by Using a Robot Based on RECS Concept

摘要

For the purpose of realizing a task of clearing the table by a robot, a recognition and handling system of tableware is developed based on the “RECS” (Robot Environment Compromise System) concept. RECS concept makes it possible to develop the multipurpose robot by setting the environment so as that the robot can recognize and act skillfully to the object needed. As the setting of the environment, in this paper barcode marks are attached to tableware in order to simplify the image processing and realize the reliable and fast recognition of tableware. A position and orientation measuring method is proposed, which utilizes image data of four barcode marks and can calibrate camera parameters rapidly in every time when the camera position is changed. By using four marks, the reliability of reading barcode is also improved. A grasping hand is newly developed, which is composed of a simple link mechanism and is controlled easily by only driving the last joint of an articulated robot. This hand can cope with the change of configuration and size of the tableware and can allow the positioning error of an articulated robot, which is mainly caused by the image processing error. Experiments of recognizing and handling tableware are carried out and it is proved that this system is effective to a practical task of cleaning the table.