IVC’s rugged industrial cameras feature advanced vibration dampening and image stabilization to produce steady images in factory environments.
Wide-area Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems and IoT software solutions provide real-time visibility of material and assets needed to keep manufacturing operations running smoothly. Passive RFID tags allow you to track materials from receiving to final assembly. RFID manufacturing systems are useful for fine-tuning parts sequencing and streamlining and error-proofing processes. A comprehensive RFID system can reduce part losses and minimize production interruptions.
Nissan Plant Augments RFID System with Video
A Nissan auto assembly plant in North America uses an RFID system to monitor assembly processes. Car bodies are moved along the manufacturing line via conveyors. The RFID tag attached to each car is read at each assembly cell before the next step in the assembly process.
Occasionally, RFID tags are unreadable. This could be due to poor lighting conditions, the varying position of the tag, or a defective tag. When this occurs, the line is stopped, and the tag must be replaced or manually read. This slows the line and negatively affects production efficiency.
Nissan worked with IVC to develop a video solution to address this problem. IVC’s high-resolution PTZ cameras and video management software are helping Nissan overcome issues related to reading RFID tags.
How the IVC System Works
Each cell location features a high- resolution color PTZ camera that is networked to a server in the plant control room. The server is equipped with IVC’s Relay Server and Alarm Server software. When a missed tag is detected, the process control system generates an alarm. The IVC Alarm Server software is programmed to listen for these alarms and responds by sending a series of commands to the Relay Server, which properly positions the corresponding PTZ camera and records a snapshot of the car’s RFID tag.
When an RFID alarm is triggered, the Alarm Server also executes corresponding commands that alter the display of plant operator workstations in the central control room. These workstations run IVC’s View Station software. When an RFID alarm is detected by Alarm Server, alarm response commands are executed to change the view on the operator workstations, providing a visual alarm queue for the operator. This view includes a snapshot of the RFID tag recorded from the IVC camera.
The operator can then quickly enter the tag number from the recorded image thereby reducing the slowdown of an unreadable RFID tag at the cell.
The difficult lighting conditions and constantly varying positions of the tags required high quality optics and automatic, rapid exposure, and focus control, all standard features in IVC cameras. The high zoom in the camera can switch rapidly from a broad view to an extreme close-up view. Providing a steady close-up view in a factory environment can be difficult. Small vibrations are amplified when the lens zooms in causing jumpy images. Some assembly cells in the plant have significant vibration due to the steady grinding of the overhead conveyers rendering previously installed cameras ineffective.
IVC’s “image stabilized” cameras remove the jitter and jumpiness. They provide a steady image even when vibrations become quite severe making them an excellent solution for this demanding environment.
Summary
IVC delivered a complete video solution comprised of IVC’s rugged, industrial PTZ video cameras with image stabilization and rich video management software. The solution features:
- Relay Server software for local and remote network access to live and recorded video
- View Station software that provides custom operator workstation views
- Alarm Server software that provides a camera control interface based on process events, including RFID detection.
- Pre-sales system configuration assistance.
- Pre-deployment software and hardware configuration and testing.
- System commissioning and site acceptance testing.
The success of the project was a result of IVC’s efforts to thoroughly understand the application requirements and provide post-sales support until the project met the customer’s exact needs. After seeing the video system’s benefits, Nissan expanded the system with more IVC cameras in other cells of the production line.