3D scanning and detection of objects for a subsequent manipulation by a collaborative robot

Robotics are used every day more to assist on the different processes that take place around the world: from manufacturing, medicine and many more areas in which human work needs to be eased, rather because there is an overload on the needed effort, a necessity for high precision or for the hazard that the process itself implies, among others. Collaborative robots have an enormous capacity to carry out a variety of tasks; however, there is always a restriction to them, they are "blind". Robots can perform tasks which they are programmed to do, but in principle they lack of tools that will allow them to view their surrounding and interact accordingly with it. Different technologies have been developed to overcome this barrier. The objective of the project is to develop the integration between a tridimensional scanning laser technology with a collaborative robot, so that the robot can execute a scan over a working surface. After completing the scanning routine, the obtained information shall be analyzed with a vision system that will be developed, for giving the robot, later on, interpretation of the obtained data and the ability to subsequently take decisions of the actions to be made and the location of the different objects present. A progressive research will be implemented, so that the necessary tools to accomplish the objectives can be developed, to obtain ultimately a whole integrated vision system.