A demanufacturing projector-vision system for combined manual and automated processing of used electronics

In order to process the growing quantities of used electronics, efficient demanufacturing methods are needed. The industry utilizes manual methods for dismantling products. A demanufacturing projector-vision system is proposed to create a more efficient demanufacturing work cell that combines manual and automated processing methods. To facilitate the demanufacturing process, the projection-vision system identifies the used products, displays real time product dispositions to the operator, displays tailored work instructions for the operator, and identifies the product surface for robotic processing. A prototype of the work cell was implemented. The system facilitates proper processing of used goods to meet current product or material demand. The projector-vision-based system was integrated into an existing modeling framework for robotic processing. The application of projector-vision technology improves the accuracy of recovered material databases, improves the integrity of used material streams, and helps maintain accurate demanufacturing process plan information.