Yarn Package Inspection with Computer Vision and Robotics

Abstract

A system for the automatic inspection of open-end polyester/cotton blend yarn packages, including package transportation and inspection algorithms, has been developed and implemented. An American robot was used to move and position the yarn packages during the inspection procedure. The robot controller served as the host computer and directed the sequence of inspection routines. An IRI P256 computer vision system performed the inspection steps for eleven of the most common package flaws. Several hundred packages were inspected with this system and its accuracy was comparable to that of human inspectors. Although over 85% of the inspection cycle was spent in package manipulation, the computer vision portion of the inspection process was as fast as human inspectors.