Development of a Robotic System for Automatic Wheel Removal and Fitting

Abstract: This paper discusses the image processing and computer vision algorithms for real time detection and tracking of a sample wheel of a vehicle. During the manual tyre changing process, spinal and other muscular injuries are common and even more serious injuries have been recorded when occasionally, tyres fail (burst) during this process. It, therefore, follows that the introduction of a robotic system to take over this process would be a welcome development. This work discusses various useful applicable algorithms, Circular Hough Transform (CHT) as well as Continuously adaptive mean shift (Camshift) and provides some of the software solutions which can be deployed with a robotic mechanical arm to make the task of tyre changing faster, safer and more efficient. Image acquisition and software to accurately detect and classify specific objects of interest were implemented successfully, outcomes were discussed and areas for further studies suggested.