Design of a Pill-Sorting and Pill-Grasping Robot System Based on Machine Vision

Xuejun Tian, Jiadu Ke, Weiguo Wu () and Jian Teng
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Xuejun Tian: School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, China
Jiadu Ke: School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, China
Weiguo Wu: School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, China
Jian Teng: School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, China

Future Internet, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: We developed a machine vision-based robotic system to address automation challenges in pharmaceutical pill sorting and packaging. The hardware platform integrates a high-resolution industrial camera with an HSR-CR605 robotic arm. Image processing leverages the VisionMaster 4.3.0 platform for color classification and positioning. Coordinate mapping between camera and robot is established through a three-point calibration method, with real-time communication realized via the Modbus/TCP protocol. Experimental validation demonstrates that the system achieves 95% recognition accuracy under conditions of pill overlap ≤ 30% and dynamic illumination of 50–1000 lux, ±0.5 mm picking precision, and a sorting efficiency of108 pills per minute. These results confirm the feasibility of integrating domestic hardware and algorithms, providing an efficient automated solution for the pharmaceutical industry. This work makes three key contributions: (1) demonstrating a cost-effective domestic hardware-software integration achieving 42% cost reduction while maintaining comparable performance to imported alternatives, (2) establishing a systematic validation methodology under industrially-relevant conditions that provides quantitative robustness metrics for pharmaceutical automation, and (3) offering a practical implementation framework validated through multi-scenario experiments that bridges the gap between laboratory research and production-line deployment.

Keywords: pill sorting; VisionMaster; template matching; three-point calibration; modbus communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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