A demonstrator system for closed-loop control of rectangular objects by non-contacting means is developed. The system consists of a transputer-based vision system and two power air jets actuated by piezoelectric translators. The first air jet is employed to give the initial angular displacement and the second for correcting any positional errors during the passage of the object in front of it. The overall control algorithm employs fuzzy logic techniques. The potential use of the system in industry for collating soft or brittle products moving on conveyor belts, before being fed into cartoning machinery, is also discussed.
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