Automatic Calibration of a Robot Manipulator and Multi 3D Camera System

TL;DR

This paper introduces a flexible, automatic calibration framework for robot manipulators and multiple 3D cameras using a checkerboard grid, enabling quick recalibration after setup changes and supporting various sensor configurations.

Contribution

A novel, modular calibration method combining proven techniques for efficient, automatic calibration of robot and multi-camera systems with quick recalibration capabilities.

Findings

Calibration quality improves with more checkerboard positions.

Framework supports different sensor configurations and hardware.

Recalibration is fast and reliable after setup changes.

Abstract

With 3D sensing becoming cheaper, environment-aware and visually-guided robot arms capable of safely working in collaboration with humans will become common. However, a reliable calibration is needed, both for camera internal calibration, as well as Eye-to-Hand calibration, to make sure the whole system functions correctly. We present a framework, using a novel combination of well proven methods, allowing a quick automatic calibration for the integration of systems consisting of the robot and a varying number of 3D cameras by using a standard checkerboard calibration grid. Our approach allows a quick camera-to-robot recalibration after any changes to the setup, for example when cameras or robot have been repositioned. Modular design of the system ensures flexibility regarding a number of sensors used as well as different hardware choices. The framework has been proven to work by practical experiments to analyze the quality of the calibration versus the number of positions of the checkerboard used for each of the calibration procedures.