The Intelligent Welding Gun: Augmented Reality for Experimental Vehicle Construction

This chapter presents the prototypical design and implementation of an Intelligent Welding Gun to help welders in the automotive industry shoot studs with high precision into experimental vehicles. A presentation of the stud welding scenario and the system requirements identified is followed by a thorough exploration of the design space of the potential system setups, analyzing the feasibility of different options to place sensors, displays and landmarks in the work area. The setup yielding the highest precision for stud welding purposes is the Intelligent Welding Gun, which is a regular welding gun with a display attachment, a few buttons for user interactions, and reflective markers to track the gun position from stationary cameras. While welders operate and move the gun, the display shows 3D stud locations on the car frame relative to the current gun position. Navigational metaphors, such as notch and bead and a compass, are used to help welders place the gun at the planned stud positions with the required precision. The setup has been tested by a number of welders. It shows significant time improvements over the traditional stud welding process. It is currently in the process of being modified and installed for production use.