Patent ID: 11966996
Assignee: COGNEX CORPORATION
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 8:
9. A method for operating a 3D blob tool for a vision system having a processor that executes the 3D blob tool, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a 3D image data of an object acquired using a 3D camera assembly;
identifying positive 3D image data and negative 3D image data in the acquired 3D image data and combing the positive 3D image data and the negative 3D image data;
defining at least one connected object based on the combined image data and analyzing the connected object for spatial significance of the acquired 3D image data based upon calibration information in the 3D camera assembly,
wherein the positive 3D image data defines z-dimension height information, and the negative 3D image data in the acquired 3D image data comprises, at least in part, a region of the acquired 3D image data with orthogonal x-y dimensions that define an absence of data with respect to the object and defines a shadow with respect to the object; and
refining the x-y dimensions of the object using the z-dimension height information, and based on predefined projection angles of illumination associated with the 3D camera assembly and received by an image sensor of the 3D camera assembly, and the location of the object in the field of view, so that a contribution of the shadow to the object is thereby removed.