Crane Payload Position Measurement Vision-Based System Dedicated for Anti-sway Solutions

Handling operation efficiency in cargo transportation realized by the cranes mainly depends on counteractions against undesirable phenomena’s such as payload swing, crane bridge deflections in vertical plane and many others. Although experienced crane operators are an experts in suppressing an excessive payload sway, there is a strong need to develop robust anti-sway systems supporting their work. In this paper authors propose a kind of an absolute payload position measurement system with the use of an image sensor for sway detection. The proposed technique is based on kind of template matching method with the use of a smartcam as a reliable vision sensor. In the described system, vision sensor measures displacement of the markers attached to the cranes hook. On the markers shifts base measure from equilibrium position and actual crane rope length, the payload swing can be estimated. All experiments and tests presented in this paper were conducted on the scaled physical model of overhead travelling crane with hosting capability of 150 kg.