Title :
Mobile robot for automatic installation of floor tiles
Author :
Apostolopoulos, D. ; Schempf, Hagen ; West, Jay
Author_Institution :
Robotics Inst., Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Abstract :
This paper describes the configuration of a floor-tile installation robot for commercial buildings. The research is motivated by the need to reduce the installation time and cost while guaranteeing consistent quality. An autonomous, electrically-powered mobile robot with omnidirectional locomotive capability, and stereo cameras and light-striper for sensing has been developed. High resolution imaging is needed to identify tile seams and edges, assess the quality of automatic installation, and locate where the next tile should be placed. A mechanically compliant placement device would place the tile quickly and accurately without damaging the placed and surrounding tiles, emulating a human capability. Vinyl/ceramic tiles, adhesives, and grout are carried onboard the robot and replenished by the operator. Navigation and positioning are performed through a laser-based triangulation system, and by detecting, counting and dead-reckoning off of tiles placed on the floor. Tile and installation quality are continuously monitored and errors corrected for, based on an overall layout map
Keywords :
building; compliance control; edge detection; mobile robots; navigation; position control; robot vision; stereo image processing; buildings; compliant placement device; dead-reckoning; floor tiling; floor-tile installation robot; grouting; high resolution imaging; laser-based triangulation; mobile robot; navigation; omnidirectional locomotion; position control; robot vision; stereo cameras; Cameras; Costs; Floors; High-resolution imaging; Humans; Mobile robots; Robot sensing systems; Robot vision systems; Robotics and automation; Tiles;
Conference_Titel :
Robotics and Automation, 1996. Proceedings., 1996 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Minneapolis, MN
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-2988-0
DOI :
10.1109/ROBOT.1996.509269