IVIS: an integrated volumetric inspection system

Presents a novel approach to automated visual inspection based on comparing volumetric models of a reference object to a model of an actual object iteratively created from sensor data. The use of volumetric models gives this approach a number of distinct advantages over more traditional surface-based methods. First, there is no need to identify “features” which is important when inspecting objects whose features are difficult to identify. Second, volumetric inspection lends itself naturally to multi-sensor applications. Finally, true 3-D comparisons of the reference and sensed objects can be easily carried out using volumetric models