Study on the Path Planning Method of a Bridge Spraying Robot Based on the Application of RGB-D Camera

The application of high-altitude spraying robot is an innovative way for the surface painting work during bridge construction and renovation. For the automation of robot spraying process, a computer vision-based path planning method is put forward, using an RGB-D camera mounted on the end spraying device, equipped with the Python open-source library OpenCV and Open3D. The target spraying plane and region of the bridge could be selected by clicking on the image captured by the RGB-D camera, and the spraying path would be calculated accordingly and displayed on the remote tablet. Then the control instructions, including spray settings and path information, would be sent to the controller of the bridge spraying robot, and the robot could carry out the spraying task automatically. This method has been applied and tested in a construction project, and a satisfactory result has been achieved.