Autonomous Manipulator of a Mobile Robot Based on a Vision System

Featured Application The autonomous manipulator could be widely used for manipulation tasks such as handling panels or grasping and moving objects without humans who control the robot. This article presents a system for the autonomous operation of a manipulator of a mobile robot. The aim of the research was to develop a system for a robot to operate a panel with switches. The manipulator should position itself autonomously and perform a given action. The operation of the system is based solely on one digital camera. The vision system uses markers to identify the position of the end-effector. The test results show that the system operates well in good artificial and natural lighting conditions. The system can be used effectively for activities that do not require high accuracy, e.g., pressing buttons and switches or grasping objects. However, for high-precision tasks, such as inserting a plug into a socket, or tasks that require high positioning accuracy, the manipulator may not be suitable.