Abstract
Fiducial markers are fundamental components of many computer vision systems that help, through their unique features (e.g., shape, color), a fast localization of spatial objects in unstructured scenarios. They find applications in many scientific and industrial fields, such as augmented reality, human-robot interaction, and robot navigation. In order to overcome the limitations of traditional paper-printed fiducial markers (i.e. deformability of the paper surface, incompatibility with industrial and harsh environments, complexity of the shape to reproduce directly on the piece), we aim at exploiting existing, or additionally fabricated, structural features on rigid bodies (e.g., holes), developing a fiducial mechanical marker system called MechaTag. Our system, endowed with a dedicated algorithm, is able to minimize recognition errors and to improve repeatability also in case of ill boundary conditions (e.g., partial illumination). We assess MechaTag in a pilot study, achieving a robustness of fiducial marker recognition above 95% in different environment conditions and position configurations. The pilot study was conducted by guiding a robotic platform in different poses in order to experiment with a wide range of working conditions. Our results make MechaTag a reliable fiducial marker system for a wide range of robotic applications in harsh industrial environments without losing accuracy of recognition due to the shape and material.
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Acknowledgments
This work was possible thanks to the fruitful joint action between the BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, and Baker Hughes Company, which has strongly believed in the collaboration between industrial companies and research centers.
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Open access funding provided by Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, manuscript writing done by Francesca Digiacomo and Francesco Bologna and revision were done by Dr. Mario Milazzo. Review and commentary were done by Dr. Mario Milazzo and Eng. Francesco Inglese. The project administration was contributed by Prof. Cesare Stefanini. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Funding This project has received funding from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) under the program “GALILEO”.
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Digiacomo, F., Bologna, F., Inglese, F. et al. MechaTag: A Mechanical Fiducial Marker and the Detection Algorithm. J Intell Robot Syst 103, 46 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-021-01507-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-021-01507-x