Automated identification and assembly of shoe parts
Manufacturing and assembly of a shoe or a portion of a shoe is enhanced by automated placement and assembly of shoe parts. For example, a part-recognition system analyzes an image of a shoe part to identify the part and determine a location of the part. Once the part is identified and located, the part can be manipulated by an automated manufacturing tool.
1. A method for automatically identifying and assembling shoe parts during a shoe-manufacturing process, the method comprising:
capturing an image of a first shoe part;
identifying the first shoe part in the image; and
transferring, using a part-transfer tool, the identified first shoe part from a first location to a second location to position the first shoe part on a second shoe part.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image comprises a two-dimensional representation of the first shoe part, and wherein the two-dimensional representation comprises at least one reference feature that is identified.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one reference feature comprises an outline of the first shoe part.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one reference feature comprises a perimeter of the first shoe part.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first shoe part is identified in the image automatically by a computing device.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the part-transfer tool comprises a part-pickup tool that generates a pickup force.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein positioning the first shoe part on the second shoe part comprises aligning the first shoe part and the second shoe part for attachment.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising attaching the first shoe part to the second should part using a part-attachment tool.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the part-attachment tool is adapted for stitching, adhering, or welding.
10. A system for automatically identifying and assembling shoe parts during a shoe-manufacturing process, the system comprising:
a camera adapted to capture an image of a first shoe part; and
a computing device configured to:
determine an identity of the first shoe part from the image, and
direct a part-transfer tool to transfer the identified first shoe part from a first location to a second location to position the first shoe part on a second shoe part.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein determining an identity of the first shoe part comprises identifying at least one reference feature of the first shoe part in the image.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one reference feature comprises an outline of the first shoe part.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one reference feature comprises a perimeter of the first shoe part.
14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the part-transfer tool comprises a part-pickup tool adapted to generate a pickup force.
15. The system of claim 10 , further comprising a part-attachment tool adapted to attach the first shoe part to the second shoe part.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the part-attachment tool is adapted for stitching, adhering, or welding.
17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the part-transfer tool is adapted to transfer the first shoe part into alignment with the second shoe part for assembly.
18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the computing device is adapted to identify a plurality of different types of shoe parts.
19. The system of claim 10 , further comprising a backlight adapted to illuminate the first shoe part when the first image is captured.
20. The system of claim 10 , further comprising a conveyor adapted to advance the first shoe part to a position at which the first image is captured.