JPH04204107A - Measuring system of distance in underwater robot and measuring system of surface indentation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the main body of a robot from becoming large in size, by a construction wherein a distance between the main body of the robot and a substance to be measured is computed from a prescribed distance between a TV camera and a laser device, an angle of irradiation of the laser device and displacement of a luminescent point inside the sphere of image pickup. CONSTITUTION:The main body 1 of a robot is provided with a TV camera 2 for picking up an image of the surface 9 of a substance to be measured and with a laser device 3 separated by a prescribed space l from the camera 2. The device 3 is so constructed that the luminescent point 10 can be displaced within a sphere F which can be picked up by the camera 2, that is, an angle theta1 of irradiation can be scanned within an angle theta. Information on an image picked up by the camera 2 is led to MONITOR TV 8 to be projected thereon through a TV image circuit 6 in an underwater cable 5 and VTR 7, while it is inputted to a processing operation device 12. The angle theta1 of irradiation for which the device 3 is instructed by a remote operation is inputted to this device 12, together with the space l, which is inputted thereto beforehand, and a distance between the camera 2 and the surface 9 of the substance to be measured is determined from a space between the luminescent point 10 obtained from the information on the image and the center line of the camera 2.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a distance measurement method and a surface roughness measurement method of an object to be measured in an underwater robot used for, for example, inspecting a water conduit in a power plant. .

[Prior art]

Conventionally, for example, when inspecting the inside of a water conduit at a power plant,
An underwater inspection robot is used. This underwater inspection robot is equipped with a television camera that photographs the inner wall surface of the headrace channel, and the information from this television camera on the west side is displayed via an underwater cable on a monitor television placed on land, etc., and this is displayed by the operator. This is done by remotely controlling an underwater inspection robot while observing visually.

However, in this work, it is difficult to measure the distance between the underwater robot and the wall surface, and especially when the wall surface has unevenness due to peeling etc., there is a problem that the degree (particularly the depth) of the unevenness cannot be measured.

By the way, there are two known systems for measuring wall surface irregularities for boat fishing: (1) a system that uses ultrasonic waves and (2) a system that uses laser light.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, there are problems when using such a measurement system in an underwater robot.

In other words, methods using ultrasonic waves cannot be used when there are multiple reflections because it is difficult to separate and process a specific reflected wave from among the many reflected waves. It cannot be used for underwater robots that perform internal inspections.

On the other hand, there are also problems when using the latter laser beam.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, a television camera 2, a laser device 3, and an image sensor 4 are arranged on the robot body 1, and image information from the television camera 2 is transmitted through a television image line 6 in an underwater cable 5. The video is then projected onto a monitor television 8 via a VTR 7.

On the other hand, a bright spot 10 irradiated onto the surface 9 of the object to be measured by the laser device 3 is detected by the image sensor 4 and guided to the processing/arithmetic device 12 via the image sensor data line 11.
Here, the distance between the underwater robot and the surface 9 (wall surface) of the object to be measured is calculated, and can be displayed on the monitor television 8 via the interface 13 and VTR 7, and is also recorded in the data recording device 14.

However, in this method, it is necessary to provide a special image sensor 4 and image sensor data line 11, which increases the size of the robot body 1 and increases the construction cost.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention has been made in order to solve the conventional problems as described above, and includes a television camera mounted on a robot body for photographing an object to be measured, and a robot having a predetermined distance from the television camera.
A laser device capable of displacing a bright spot is disposed at least within the photographing range of the television camera, and the image information of the television camera is guided to processing/arithmetic processing provided above the water via an underwater cable. - The physical calculation device is characterized in that it is configured to calculate the distance between the robot body and the object to be measured based on the predetermined interval, the irradiation angle of the laser device, and the displacement of the bright spot.

Furthermore, the present invention displaces bright spots using a distance measurement method and a laser device in an underwater robot at intervals in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, creates screen information having a plurality of bright spots, and performs processing and calculations. The apparatus calculates the distance to each bright spot using a predetermined interval, the irradiation angle of the laser device, and each bright spot, and connects the bright spots to provide a method for measuring the surface unevenness of an object to be measured in an underwater robot. It is something to do.

[Function] According to the distance measurement method for the underwater robot according to the present invention, since the distance is measured by calculation based on screen information having a bright spot from a laser device, a special image sensor and image data line are not required. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the robot body from increasing in size and to reduce construction costs.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a distance measuring method and a surface unevenness measuring method in an underwater robot according to the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 7.

In FIG. 1, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 8 indicate the same names.

A television camera 2 for photographing a surface 9 of an object to be measured and a laser device 3 are attached to the robot body 1 with a predetermined distance 1 from the television camera 2.

The laser device 3 is configured to be able to displace the bright spot 10 at least within the photographable range F of the television camera 2, that is, to be able to scan within the irradiation angle θ1.

The screen information shown by this television camera 2 is guided to a monitor television 8 via a television image line 6 in an underwater cable 5 and a VTR 7, where it is projected and input into a processing arithmetic unit 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, this processing/arithmetic unit 12 has input in advance of the distance l between the television camera 2 and the laser device 3, as well as the irradiation angle θ1 instructed by the remote control of the laser device 3. . First, the angle β1 is determined from the distance X between the brightness 10 obtained from the screen information and the center line of the television camera 2. After that, the actual distance X1 between the bright spot 10 and the center line of the television camera 2 is determined from the following equation (1). On the other hand, the distance Y between the center O of the television camera 2 and the surface 9 of the object to be measured can be determined by the following equation.

The laser device 3 is then moved at intervals in the X direction by remote control. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the illumination angle θ1 is sequentially changed to the illumination angles θ1 to θn, the bright spot 10 is displaced in the horizontal direction, and the arithmetic unit is calculated according to the above method each time, and the results are stored in the data recording device 14. At the same time, it is displayed on a monitor television 8 via an interface 13 and a VTR 7. 'And by connecting the points P on the monitor television 8 shown in FIG. 4, secondary unevenness can be displayed.

Of course, the laser group W3 can be varied by the vertical irradiation angle ψ in addition to the horizontal irradiation angle θ1 as described above. That is, it is variable in the Z-axis direction, and this case will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

In FIG. 5, a laser group W3 irradiates a bright spot 10 onto the surface 9 of the object to be measured at a horizontal irradiation angle θ and a vertical irradiation angle ψ. In this embodiment, the horizontal angle 2α and vertical angle 2β of the television camera 2 are variable.

Then, when the screen information having the bright spot 1o that diverges as described above is introduced into the processing arithmetic unit 12, the displacement and interval of X1y at the bright spot 1o from the center of the television camera 2! The amount of displacement is obtained from the following equations (3) to (5) using the horizontal illumination angle θ.

sinθ tanδ Z=□2 ・・・・ (5) cos (θ+γ) However, tanγ”” □2tanα tanδ0no ・2 tanβCo57 Here HO
...TV camera image vertical width SO...
horizontal axis and displace laser family f3 in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 6a or b.

Next, the laser device 3 is turned in the vertical direction to irradiate bright spots 10 at intervals, and after calculating based on this screen information, when displayed on the monitor television 8, a three-dimensional image appears as shown in FIG. The distance will be displayed. Therefore, the unevenness of the surface of the object to be measured can be measured.

[Effects of the Invention] The distance measuring method and the surface unevenness measuring method in the underwater robot according to the present invention include a television camera that photographs an object to be measured on the robot body, and a television camera that is located at a predetermined distance from the television camera and that is located at a predetermined distance from the television camera. A laser device capable of scanning a bright spot is arranged within the photographing range of the television camera, and furthermore, the screen information of the television camera is guided to a processing/computing device installed above the water via an underwater cable, and the processing/computing device The distance between the robot body and the object to be measured is calculated based on the predetermined interval, the irradiation angle of the laser device, and the displacement of the bright spot.

Therefore, since this is measured by calculation based on screen information with bright spots from a laser device, no special image sensor or image data line is required.
It is possible to prevent the robot main body from increasing in size and to reduce construction costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 7 show embodiments of a distance measuring method and a surface unevenness measuring method for an underwater robot according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an apparatus for carrying out the present invention;
Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the calculation method, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of two-dimensional unevenness measurement, Fig. 4 is a monitor TV screen diagram, Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the calculation method in another embodiment, Fig. 6 7 is an explanatory diagram of tertiary unevenness measurement, and FIG. 7 is a monitor TV screen diagram. Moreover, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram when a conventional laser beam is used for distance measurement of an underwater television. 1...Robot body 2...TV camera 3...
・Laser equipment W 4...Image sensor 5...Underwater cable 6...TV image line 7...VTR 8
...Monitor TV 9...Surface 10...Bright spot 11...Image sensor data line 12...Processing/arithmetic device 13...Interface 14...Data recording device. Agent Patent Attorney Nobuo Ogawa −

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A television camera for photographing an object to be measured on a robot body, and a laser device having a predetermined distance from the television camera and capable of scanning a bright spot at least within the photographing range of the television camera. At the same time, the screen information of the television camera is guided through an underwater cable to a processing/arithmetic device installed on the water, and the processing/arithmetic device determines the predetermined interval, the irradiation angle of the laser device, and the displacement of the bright spot. A distance measurement method for an underwater robot, characterized in that the distance between the robot body and an object to be measured is calculated by 2. A television camera for photographing the object to be measured and a laser device having a predetermined distance from the television camera and capable of displacing a bright spot at least within the photographing range of the television camera are disposed on the robot body; The screen information of the television camera is configured to be guided to a processing/arithmetic unit installed on the water via an underwater cable, and the bright spots produced by the laser device are displaced at intervals at least in the X-axis direction to form a plurality of bright spots. , and the processing/arithmetic unit calculates the distance to each bright spot based on the predetermined interval, the irradiation angle of the laser device, and each bright spot, and connects the bright spots. A method for measuring the surface roughness of an object to be measured in an underwater robot.