As the successor to the existing iVY2, in addition to new functionality, this new model features a high-performance camera and improved processing power, enabling a reduction in detection time of up to 45% compared to the current model.
A key feature of Yamaha Motor's vision system is its integration with robots through the incorporation of a vision board, lighting board, and tracking board into the RCX3 series multi-axis robot controller. This advanced integration enables unified management of robot control, image processing, lighting control, and conveyor tracking data processing using only the robot program, significantly reducing equipment setup time. The addition of "spot detection" functionality means the system can now handle products such as food and clothing, which tend to have greater variation in shape and size compared to industrial products, expanding its potential range of applications.
■ Market Background
The industrial robot market continues to grow due to a shrinking workforce and rising wages, which are driving the demand for greater factory automation. In addition to the automotive, electrical, and electronics industries, the use of industrial robots has also increased in recent years in industries such as food, apparel, and cosmetics. In response, Yamaha Motor has developed vision systems optimized for detecting irregularly shaped objects, which are common in industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, apparel, and cosmetics.
■ New features of the RCXiVY2+
- Spot detection excels at recognizing irregularly shaped objects. The word "spot" evokes the image of a lump or amorphous mass. Spot detection functions take grayscale images (including variations in light and shadow) captured by cameras and apply certain threshold criteria, converting them into black and white gradations through binary-coded processing. This detection method can recognize the presence/absence, number, size, etc., of spots.
The RCXiVY2+'s spot detection can recognize workpieces two to ten times faster than the edge detection capabilities of previous models. This upgrade means the new model can handle tasks such as picking, presence recognition, and high-speed counting of multiple workpieces of irregularly shaped objects, such as food and clothing. The combination of the RCXiVY2+ and SCARA robots is ideal for monitoring high-speed conveyors.
- Performance Improvements:
Search speed has been improved by 8 to 45% due to CPU upgrades. Additionally, the adoption of a high-performance camera has improved pixel count and frame rate.
■ Other Features
- Simple self-calibration function:
Calibration of the high-precision camera can be completed simply by following an easy-to-use wizard.
- Simple part registration function:
Registering the workpiece requires only three steps: image capture, contour setting, and detection position registration.
- Integrated control of the vision program using only the robot program.
There is no need to create a coordinate conversion program thanks to the unified management of the robot program.
- It also handles mobile cameras.
The coordinates can be automatically converted to adapt to the movements of a robot when a camera is installed on the robot.
- Wide range of product registration possibilities:
254 types of products can be registered for use in detection, meaning that changeover work can be carried out simply by changing the product number.
- Monitoring detection status while robots run in automatic mode
With the RCXiVY2 + Studio and an external monitor, it is possible to monitor the detection status while robots are running in automatic mode, as well as the detection status of the reference mark during calibration setup.
