Video-Based Foreign Object Detection

The Boeing Company has developed an overhead camera system that can automatically spot small pieces of debris on a work surface that might otherwise go unnoticed. The system automatically analyzes inputs from one or more video cameras to detect undesirable colors representing materials that, if left in place, would degrade part quality. The system uses commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software for low-cost implementation and is currently in use in the Boeing F/A-18 wing production line (see figure). The patent-pending technology, known as foreign-object video detection and alert system and method, is available for license.