An adaptive robotic tracking system using optical flow

A robotic system that can visually track and intercept an arbitrary object which is traveling at an unknown velocity on a conveyor has been presented. A fiber-optic eye-in-hand vision system developed at NCSU is used as an integral part of the entire tracking system. The eye-in-hand system is used to characterize the object trajectory in real time, using a modified optical flow approach. A control strategy has been developed which utilizes the kinematic data that are extracted by the tracking algorithm to intercept the moving object. An overall system configuration and its basic principles are described. The demonstration of the initial results is presented.<>