BUILDING CARS WITH MACHINES THAT SEE

This article discusses how the automobile manufacturers are using machine vision as a technique to improve the quality of their cars and the efficiency of their plants. Before machine vision was developed, robots were dependent on skilled human workers to make the necessary correction when a car came down the conveyor slightly skewed in its cradle. Now with machine vision robots and other sophisticated industrial machines have the ability to "see" what they are doing and to adapt to the vagaries of a world where things don't always show up exactly where they should be. The author of this article observed firsthand the following application: welding body seams of varying widths; tightening imprecisely located bolts; laser-marking identification numbers on engines and transmissions; arranging car hoods on racks that have unevenly spaced slots; and gauging precise body dimensions using lasers and video cameras.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01617370
• Corporate Authors:

  Times Mirror Magazines, Incorporated

  380 Madison Avenue
  New York, NY  United States  10017
• Authors:
  • BROWN, S F
• Publication Date: 1985-9

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: 4 p.
• Serial:
  • Popular Science
  • Volume: 227
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Times Mirror Magazines, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0161-7370

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile industry; Economic efficiency; Machine vision; Quality control; Robots
• Uncontrolled Terms: Efficiency; Quality
• Subject Areas: Economics; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00453189
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-039 354
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 1986 12:00AM