High speed 3D robot vision system - Ref. WSSS08

This project will involve the development of a very high speed active 3D vision system, and investigation of potential high value manufacturing applications such as robotic machining and assembly. Traditional 3D systems based on the ‘projected fringes’ technique, manufactured by companies such as Zeiss and GOM, deliver dense ‘clouds’ of coordinate data, but are too slow to provide the necessary real-time feedback for robot control. This project aims to provide a step change in the performance of such systems (over two orders of magnitude increase in data acquisition rate) through innovative optical system design, and novel fringe analysis algorithms implemented on high speed embedded processors.

The successful applicant will become a member of the £30m EPSRC- and industry-funded Advanced Metrology hub, which is a collaboration between the universities of Huddersfield (lead), Loughborough, Sheffield and Bath. He/she will be based in the recently refurbished laboratories of the Optical Engineering research group at Loughborough, which has a long history of innovative development in applied optics technologies, and won a Queens Anniversary Prize in 2001. A dedicated KUKA KR16 robot is available for the project, and access will be provided to the outstanding facilities of the EPSRC Intelligent Automation Centre which is also located on campus. A total of 40 industrial collaborators, including the National Physical Laboratory, Renishaw and Rolls Royce, provide opportunities for eventual commercialisation of the developed technology.

Find out more:
Please follow this link for a summary of current projects and staff within the Optical Engineering Research group:
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/meme/research/research-groups/optical-engineering/

Loughborough University

Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%.

Find out more: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/supporting-you/research/

Entry requirements:

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in a physical sciences, engineering, or related subject. Experience in one or more of the following areas will be an advantage: optical design, signal processing, robotics, good working knowledge of one or more programming languages (C++, MATLAB).

Contact details:

Name: Dr Pablo Ruiz/Jon Huntley
Email address: [Email Address Removed]
Telephone number: +44 1509 227660

How to apply:

All applications should be made online at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/apply/research/. Under programme name, select ‘Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering’

Please quote reference number: WSSS08