Tracking and Classifying Objects on a Conveyor Belt Using Time-of-flight Camera

The ability to obtain 3D information is vital for many applications in construction, manufacturing, and vehicle automation and autonomy. TOF (Time-of-Flight) sensors, which provide depth information at each pixel in addition to intensity, are becoming more widely available and more affordable. This paper examines the applicability of TOF sensors to several real world problems that can be relevant in automated assembly or sorting applications. The setting is an indoor environment, and the experiments investigate the ability of TOF sensors to provide sensing for a robot whose task is to handle products moving on a conveyor belt. The range information is used to compute the dimensions ofand to recognizeobjects moving on a conveyor belt. The geometric and recognition information is then passed on to the robot for further action. The results indicate that there are immediate opportunities for the use of TOF sensors in automating such applications.