Success case: Valeo uses ALSONTECH 3D vision for automatic car headlight inspection

ALSONTECH helps Valeo, a global automotive supplier, to realize an automated inspectionof the car headlights.

In the inspection process of the automobile industry, the headlights on the production line are placed randomly. When positioning the power plug of the headlight, it is often necessary to manually place the headlight in a specially designed locating device, so the robot can grasp the placed headlight, and then connect the power supply to check whether the headlight works normally.

However,there are hundreds of headlight models. If we make a locating device for eachmodel, the cost is tremendous. Moreover, because of the irregular shape of the headlights, the accuracy of detection is very low even with the aid of the locating device. When the headlight model changes, the fixed device needs to bereplaced, which is time-consuming and laborious.

The challenge in automatic positioning:

■ The shapeof the headlight is very complex, and the headlight has reflective glass and blackparts，making it difficult to get accurate position data with traditional positioning system;

■ One production line needs to detect hundreds of different types of car headlights.It would be costly to change the tooling every time a new model comes.

■ Headlights vary in shape and are placed randomly.

ALSONTECH Solution and Benefits

AlSONTECH3D robot vision positioning system-AT-S1000-01A is designed for these challenges. The system is equipped with two Basler ace cameras, anduses laser technology to obtain detailed point cloud data of the headlight.Then, the software and AI algorithm analyze the point cloud data, generate thereal-time 3D coordinates of the power plug, and send these data to the robotfor precise positioning, with a high accuracy of ± 1mm.

■AlSONTECH3D vision system helps customer save about USD150,000 of fixed devicecosts;

■With the help of Basler's high frame rate ace cameras, AlSONTECH 3D vision solutionhas outstanding flexibility and compatibility. When a new headlight model needsto be tested, it only takes 15 minutes to prepare a new 3D model;

■Because of the fast positioning speed and high accuracy, AlSONTECH 3D vision systemgreatly improves the production efficiency. When the production line switchesto a new headlight model, the time to change the fixture is greatly saved.

AT-S1000-01A systemis equipped with 2 Basler ace U 2.3 megapixel cameras.

"Highquality is very important for us, so we only choose high-quality parts. Ourvision positioning system has a compact structure, so the camera equipped shouldthe smallest in the market. Moreover, the stability of the cameras helps the systemacquire detailed point cloud data with a fast speed without losing frames,which is very important. We are always committed to lead the market, so simpleand easy-to-use software development tools can greatly help us. When selecting suppliers, we had tested many different cameras, and finally determined that Basler's camera can meet our requirements in all aspects. " said Mr. MiaoQingwei, CEO of ALSONTECH.

RelatedTechnology

■Basler ACE 2.3 megapixel camera

■Smart binocular 3D vision positioning software independently developed by ALSONTECH