Assembly process assurance using 2D computer vision technology at Porsche Pilot Center

“With VISCOPIC we developed a proof of concept with a very innovative solution, which will ensure our future processes.” Tobias Schmack, Technology Development Electric Engine

The Challenge

Analysis of the status quo & identification of the use case

When assembling a rotor, so-called laminated cores are placed on a shaft. For electromagnetic reasons, there are different variants in which the rotor laminated cores have to be assembled. Technicians face the challenge of not being able to recognize the order in which the many parts have to be assembled. Porsche normally uses the Poka-Yoke principle for this, however this cannot be applied to the special component design.

Identification of optimization potential & development of action plan

That’s why Porsche and VISCOPIC have developed a digital Poka Yoke, using 2D computer vision technology and AR to support employees. As part of our collaboration, the following steps were initially identified: 1) A feasibility study to identify the geometric differences with a high-resolution camera and the automatic extraction of the geometric features from the CAD data. 2) The construction of a prototype assembly workstation with automated component recognition. 3) Application-related realization of the final demonstrator and creation of the augmented reality workflow for digital support of the employees.

The Solution

Development of prototype

Together we created a demonstrator that offers the opportunity to counteract incorrect installations, using a prototype. With the VISCOPIC Computer Vision Setup, the sheet packages can be scanned individually and the scanned images are compared with the CAD originals. This information is then forwarded to VISCOPIC’s augmented reality software, which instructs the operator and reduces the error rate. This innovative approach serves as a universal tool that can be applied to many other types of components. Based on the generic solution, this setup can be used to recognize a large number of components that are based exclusively on CAD component data.

Implementation of scalable software solution

Within 100 days, we developed a completely new technology based on a generic solution and integrated it into the Porsche Pilot Center, which offers Porsche employees enormous added value.

Technology applied