Approaches to low level image processing for vision guided seam tracking systems

Vision systems based on triangulation with active laser light sources are becoming widely used in robot arc welding. The sensor and preprocessing hardware provide a one-dimensional signal representing a cross section of the seam being tracked. This work describes and compares two different approaches to analyzing these signals as a precursor to matching them to predefined templates. One approach uses an expert systems methodology, while the other uses scale-space filtering