Flexible packing of arbitrary two-dimensional shapes

Paul F. Whelan; Bruce G. Batchelor

doi:10.1117/12.151281

1 December 1993 Flexible packing of arbitrary two-dimensional shapes

Paul F. Whelan, Bruce G. Batchelor

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 32, Issue 12, (December 1993). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.151281

Abstract

A computational framework for the flexible packing of arbitrary planar shapes under visual control is described. Our aim in this work has been to produce an efficient packing strategy that is flexible enough for a wide variety of industrial uses and which can be implemented in fast, moderately priced hardware. We have deliberately adopted a systems approach, versus a purely algorithmic one, since we are concerned with industrial vision problems in which significant problem constraints exist. The packing procedure that we devised consists of two major components. The first is a geometric packing technique that is based on morphological image processing operations. This is used in conjunction with a heuristic packing procedure. Some of the factors considered at the heuristic level include shape ordering and shape orientation, both of which must be carried out prior to applying the geometric packer. The heuristic procedure also deals with problem constraints that are specific to a given application. Various issues arising from this approach, such as the properties and performance of the procedure, are discussed within the background of some sample applications. The ideas outlined are currently being used in the development of a visually controlled intelligent packing work cell.

Citation Download Citation

Paul F. Whelan and Bruce G. Batchelor "Flexible packing of arbitrary two-dimensional shapes," Optical Engineering 32(12), (1 December 1993). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.151281

Published: 1 December 1993

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available