Braintech granted US patent for core 3-D vision-guided robotic technology

NOVEMBER 10--Braintech Inc. (North Vancouver, BC, Canada; www.braintech.com) announced that the US Patent & Trademark Office has granted the company patent #6,816,755 for its Single Camera 3-D (SC3D) Vision Guided Robotics (VGR) technology. Systems that combine Braintech's technology with industrial robots from global automation company ABB Inc. are already in operation at major automotive manufacturing facilities, including those at Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Delphi, Pullman Industries, ZF Group, TI Automotive Group, and Toyota Motors.

Babak Habibi, Braintech president and chief operating officer, noted, "For the first time, SC3D reliably enables robots to 'see' the 3-D position of objects in their surroundings without the hassles and limitations associated with laser-based or multiple-camera systems. SC3D is widely applicable regardless of the type of application and relies on a standard off-the-shelf camera as its image source. By mounting a camera on a robotic arm, the system gives the robot sight and intelligence, allowing it to identify and locate a part in full 3-D space. This information can then be used to guide the robot to do any desired operation correctly and relative to the part without the need for expensive hard fixturing that was needed previously."