Robot Mounted Laser Scanner For Paint Inspection

The final inspection of manufactured goods is a labour intensive activity. The use of human inspectors has a number of potential disadvantages; it can be expensive, the inspection standard applied is subjective and the inspection process can be slow compared with the production process. The use of automatic optical and electronic systems to perform the inspection task is now a growing practice but, in general, such systems have been applied to small components which are accurately presented. Recent advances in vision systems and robot control technology have made possible the installation of an automated paint inspection system at the Austin Rover Group's plant at Cowley, Oxford.