Girth seam tracking system based on vision for pipe welding robot

A girth seam tracking system based on structured light vision for pipe welding robot is presented. Firstly, the vision sensor is designed based on the analysis of laser reflection on weldment surface and the position relation of camera, laser plane and weldment for the effect of laser stripes imaging. Image processing and features extraction algorithms are developed in case of strong multiple reflections disturbance in welding seam image. An image-based vision control system of welding robot is adopted for girth seam tracking of pipe weldment. Girth seam tracking experiment by pipe welding robot was conducted to verify the performance of the system.