Principles for In-Plane Motion Sensing and Tracking (2023 - 2030)

Distance and displacement are important physical quantities for positioning, sensing of object motion, vibration and deformations in various scientific and industrial areas such as non-destructive testing, as well as inline measurement systems. While there are various optical principles available for measuring out-of-plane (axial) displacement, the fast, robust and precise measurement of in-plane (lateral) displacement of arbitrary, non-structured technical surfaces on the sub-micrometer scale remains a largely unsolved challenge. This project aims to develop a fast and highly accurate in-plane sensor that enables measurements at the single to sub-micron scale.

Precision Measurements on Moving Objects (2023 - 2030)

The performance of optical measurement systems for 3D imaging of moving targets suffers from motion-induced blur caused by the relative lateral movement between target and measurement system during the finite measurement time (exposure time). This motion blur introduces additional measurement uncertainties, what results in a trade-off between measurement accuracy and acceptable relative velocity. In inline metrology applications, efficient end-of-line quality assurance is achieved by inspecting items on a conveyor belt. However, to attain accurate measurements, the speed of the conveyor belt speed must be decreased during inspection, which directly results in reduced throughput, becoming a bottleneck in the production line. This project aims to eliminate this bottleneck by introducing advanced compensation and correction strategies.

Advanced Robotic Measurements In Line (2023 - 2030)

Modern production systems, particularly for the high-tech sector, have a continuously growing demand for precision and throughput. The permanent monitoring and control of the manufacturing process by means of sensors, as well as inline 3D measurement systems for quality inspection are prerequisites to achieve a high yield and high quality of the produced goods. Besides novel production plants and automated assembly techniques, advanced robotic measurement systems for inline applications are considered as the most important enabler for future production. This project aims to design and develop application-specific holistic and advanced inline robotic measurement systems, and to implement adapted combinations of the developed concepts in iTRACK and mEMO for relative motion sensing, compensation and correction.