A measuring apparatus for measuring a planar relative motion between a tool attacher and a work attacher of a machine tool includes at least one image capturing element capable of performing image capturing at a first position, a second position, and a third position, which are not located on the same line. The image capturing elements at the first position, the second position, and the third position are caused to capture a first point, a second point, and a third point, respectively, arranged on at least one plane of an XY-plane, an XZ-plane, and a YZ-plane. The image capturing element at the second position and the image capturing element at the third position are caused to capture the first point, the image capturing element at the first position and the image capturing element at the third position are caused to capture the second point, and the image capturing element at the first position and the image capturing element at the second position are caused to capture the third point. Based on the image capturing result, a value indicating the planar relative motion between the tool attacher and the work attacher is calculated.

The information processing apparatus includes an estimation unit to estimate information indicating a holding success possibility from an image of a plurality of the target objects by using a pre-trained model that estimates the information indicating the holding success possibility in at least one or more partial regions, a determination unit to determine a holding region for the robot to hold the target object among the partial regions based on the information indicating the holding success possibility, and a control unit to move the robot based on the holding region and cause the robot to perform a holding operation on the target object. In a case where the holding operation performed on the target object by the robot is failed, the determination unit determines a partial region, among the partial regions, satisfying a predetermined condition as a next holding region based on the information indicating the holding success possibility.

An inspection system makes image inspection on an inspection target. The inspection system includes: an image capture device that captures an image of the inspection target; a blower with a blow nozzle from which clean gas is blown out to the inspection target; a robot with an arm tip to which the image capture device and the blow nozzle, or the inspection target is attached; and as inspection device that makes image inspection on the inspection target based on an image captured by the image capture device. The inspection device generates an operation program for a robot based on the position of the image capture device and that of the blow nozzle relative to each other so as to move the blow nozzle ahead of the image capture device relative to the inspection target.

A robot service providing system includes a table monitoring terminal associated with one of a plurality of tables in a venue, a central control terminal, and a movable waiter robot. The central control terminal includes a communication interface, a display, an operation panel, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the display to display a screen including an image including a consumable item captured by a camera of the table monitoring terminal based on image data received by the communication interface, and control the communication interface to transmit a service instruction in response to a user operation on the operation panel. The movable waiter robot is configured to move to said one of the tables based on the service instruction.

Methods of operating a gripper are provided. The methods include providing a robot including the gripper, the gripper moveable by the robot and including gripper fingers, providing a sample rack including receptacles accessible by the gripper, at least some of the receptacles adapted to contain specimen containers, providing data, obtained by imaging, regarding the sample rack and the specimen containers therein, and determining, based on the data, an accessible target receptacle for one of a pick operation or a place operation. Apparatus and systems configured to carry out the methods are provided, as are other aspects.

A method and apparatus for generating machining code of workpieces from a paper engineering drawing are provided. The method includes processing the paper engineering drawing to be a binary image; extracting dimension features and shape features of the workpieces from the binary image; and generating the machining codes of the workpieces based on the extracted dimension features and shape features of the workpieces. The machining codes indicate the dimension and shape of the workpieces. Machining codes of workpieces are generated from a paper engineering drawing directly without manual involvement.

Methods of positioning a gripper to pick or place a specimen container from a sample rack. One method includes providing a robot including the gripper, the gripper moveable in a coordinate system by the robot and including gripper fingers, providing a sample rack including receptacles containing specimen containers, providing data, obtained by imaging, regarding the specimen containers in the sample rack, and dynamically orienting the gripper based upon the data. The data may include population and/or configuration data and the dynamic orientation may include gripper finger opening distance, gripper finger rotational position, and/or gripper offset distance. Gripper positioning apparatus for carrying out the method are disclosed, as are other aspects.

A method determines position data of a platform at a plate of an additive manufacturing device, having scanner optics for scanning a laser. The plate has holes that receive a holder, marks on the plate, and receptors for receiving laser target parts. A first position dataset is obtained with a position of a holder inserted in a hole with respect to the marks. After mounting the plate and inserting the platform into the holder, a laser mark is marked on the laser target parts using the laser at laser mark positions in the scanner optics' coordinate system. A pre-manufacturing image of the support plate is acquired with the laser marks on the laser target parts. A second position dataset having positions of the marks with respect to the laser marks is obtained from the pre-manufacturing image. The position data is determined from the position datasets and the laser mark positions.

The invention relates to a method, a computer program product and a machine vision system (30), comprising at least one lighting device (34), at least one image sensor (31 a-c) and a data processing device (32), the system in a first mode illuminating a first object (35) using a first type of illumination and capturing images of the first object at a first image capturing frequency, when the first object (35) is on a second object (33), transmitting the captured image data to the data processing device for analysis, and changing the system for monitoring the second object in a second mode, if absence of the first object on the second object is detected from the image data, wherein said at least one image sensor (31 a-c) is reconfigured to capture images at a second image capturing frequency from the second object.

An inspection system makes image inspection on an inspection target. The inspection system includes: an image capture device that captures an image of the inspection target; a blower with a blow nozzle from which clean gas is blown out to the inspection target; a robot with an arm tip to which the image capture device and the blow nozzle, or the inspection target is attached; and as inspection device that makes image inspection on the inspection target based on an image captured by the image capture device. The inspection device generates an operation program for a robot based on the position of the image capture device and that of the blow nozzle relative to each other so as to move the blow nozzle ahead of the image capture device relative to the inspection target.