Item Verification by Robot Touchdown Points

This paper proposes a novel method to check out if the correct item is present in an automated industrial process, after a human input of item ID has been made. Traditional methods such as bar code scanning, RFID, and camera vision are limited, complex or inconsistent in some scenarios. The proposed method utilizes the same robot used in the process, without the need for integrating extra systems. The proposed method is demonstrated in a robotic cleaning station, where the robot verifies the present mold ID by touching down the loaded mold at a few points before beginning the correct cleaning routine. To minimize the number of touchpoints required, the system was mathematically formulated after the classical set covering problem, which was then solved optimally for the case study, offline aside from robot operation, and only once for each mold. Overall, this paper presents an effective and efficient solution to a common industrial problem, with potential applications in a wide range of scenarios.