Combination of Two Visual Servoing Techniques in Contour Following Task

Abstract

The research presents the planar contour following task for a Six-DOF manipulator by using the combination of two visual servoing techniques. Firstly, to control the camera to a position that parallels to the contour plane, Shortest Path Visual Servoing (SPVS) technique is applied. Using SPVS technique in the first stages has the advantage of ensuring the system can converge at any initial position and the camera trajectory will be a straight line. Then, Image-Based Visual Servoing (IBVS) technique is applied to conduct the contour following task. The interaction matrix used in IBVS is formed based on four virtual feature points that are generated from the desired feature command point extracted from the contour. IBVS is applied to conduct the contour following task because IBVS is least affected by noise, so the results are more accurate. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified based on the simulation result by using a camera attached at the end effector of the Six-DOF PUMA 560 manipulator.