Welding helmet with camera and LCD display
A "night vision" device inspires me think of a useful "day vision" device. These are my thoughts about a commercial product. (The product may already exist, but I have never seen one.)
A typical helmet worn by people doing electric arc welding has a faceplate with an electronically adjustable filter. When turned up to high density, the filter offers more protection to the eyes but this makes it more difficult to see the work. Consider a helmet which has a camera mounted on the front and an LED screen on the inside of the helmet. The person views the work on the screen, so his eyes are not damaged by ultraviolet light. He does not have to dim the screen in order to give his eyes more protection.
There are various engineering questions involved in making such a product.
1. Is there a battery that is light and long-lived enough to power the helmet? Can the battery be mounted on the helmet or would the person have to wear the battery on some kind of belt or backpack?
2. What kind of camera and filter is needed so that the picture of the welding will not be "over exposed" due to the light from the weld.
3. What is needed to protect the camera from weld spatter? Perhaps a cheap disposable cover is the answer.
4. Can the equipment include a computer which does real-time image processing to enhance the picture?
5. Questions about "human factors" must be considered. The person welding will have a clearer view with a bright screen than he would have with a filter. Can we present him a single image? Or must we have two cameras and present an image to each eye, so that he will have "depth perception"? LCD screens are not normally viewed as close to one's face as the faceplate of a welding helmet. Must we provide lenses, perhaps in a pair of goggles that would be worn by the person?
I think items 1.,2.,3., and 4 could be investigated as a project. An ordinary LCD monitor and fixed camera could be used. A person would have to try to weld something in front of him while looking at a monitor that was to the side or above the work.
A typical helmet worn by people doing electric arc welding has a faceplate with an electronically adjustable filter. When turned up to high density, the filter offers more protection to the eyes but this makes it more difficult to see the work. Consider a helmet which has a camera mounted on the front and an LED screen on the inside of the helmet. The person views the work on the screen, so his eyes are not damaged by ultraviolet light. He does not have to dim the screen in order to give his eyes more protection.
There are various engineering questions involved in making such a product.
1. Is there a battery that is light and long-lived enough to power the helmet? Can the battery be mounted on the helmet or would the person have to wear the battery on some kind of belt or backpack?
2. What kind of camera and filter is needed so that the picture of the welding will not be "over exposed" due to the light from the weld.
3. What is needed to protect the camera from weld spatter? Perhaps a cheap disposable cover is the answer.
4. Can the equipment include a computer which does real-time image processing to enhance the picture?
5. Questions about "human factors" must be considered. The person welding will have a clearer view with a bright screen than he would have with a filter. Can we present him a single image? Or must we have two cameras and present an image to each eye, so that he will have "depth perception"? LCD screens are not normally viewed as close to one's face as the faceplate of a welding helmet. Must we provide lenses, perhaps in a pair of goggles that would be worn by the person?
I think items 1.,2.,3., and 4 could be investigated as a project. An ordinary LCD monitor and fixed camera could be used. A person would have to try to weld something in front of him while looking at a monitor that was to the side or above the work.
Replies
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Ashraf HZGood idea!
1. With regards to power, 2-3 cell lithium polymer batteries might suffice. They are powerful and light.
2. Standard CMOS cameras with UV filters (these are commonly available for camera lenses) will be sufficient to blot out the points of UV emission. There are LCD screens that you can view very close to the eyes (like those TV goggles). Stereoscopic vision would easily be achieved by using to separate cameras without the need of image processing. The key is aligning them properly. Perhaps the separation distances can be adjustable depending on the user, though the user would need to manually calibrate it.
3. Im not sure if transparent welding shields can be used. How hot can welding splatters be?
4. If the solution does require enhancement of the image, perhaps it can be in the form of edge detection to contrast the edges of the joints that need to be welded (depending on the type of joint, geometry and weld), and a virtual reticule showing the current position of the welding tip. -
tashirosgtThe shields on current welding helmets are of a rather thin plastic and one expects to replace them periodically. Welding splatters can be "red hot" but they are not massive blobs of metal. Leather gloves are adequate protection for a welder's hands.
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