FindPatMax3D

The FindPatMax3D function is used to find objects in the point cloud based on a trained PatMax3D pattern configured with the TrainPatMax3D function. The function returns a Patterns3D structure.

You can find an example on how to use FindPatMax3D here.

FindPatMax3D Inputs

The FindPatMax3D function has the following syntax:

FindPatMax3D(PointCloud, Fixture3D, ExternalFixture, Region3D, ExternalRegion, ExcludeBasePlane, Plane3D, ExternalPlane, Offset, Pattern, NumberToFind, AcceptThreshold, MaxInPlaneRotationAngle, MaxTiltAngle, Show)

See the table for a description of the available parameters.

Parameter Description

PointCloud

Reference to a cell containing a point cloud. The default value is $A$0.

Fixture3D

Specifies the point cloud coordinate system in which the 3D fixture is defined. It is offset from the PointCloud origin in the following format with the following arguments:

{X, Y, Z, Rotation, Tilt, TiltDirection}

X Offset on the X-axis from the PointCloud origin.
Y Offset on the Y-axis from the PointCloud origin.
Z Offset on the Z-axis from the PointCloud origin.
Rotation Specifies the in-plane rotation in degrees around the PointCloud Z-axis. The value range is -360 to 360. The tool normalizes external references with values outside the allowed range to the allowed range.
Tilt Specifies the tilt angle in degrees from the PointCloud Z-axis after rotation. The value range is 0-180. External references with values outside the allowed range result in an error.
Tilt Direction Specifies the direction of tilt in degrees from the rotated PointCloud X-axis of the tool, around the PointCloud Z-axis of the tool. The value range is -360 to 360. The tool normalizes external references with values outside the allowed range to the allowed range.
Note: This parameter is only available if you set External Fixture to 0.
External Fixture

Specifies a reference to a Fixture3D structure defined in another cell. The function uses the referenced cell as the fixture of the function. Set to 0 (OFF) to use the internal fixture of the function instead.

Region3D

Specifies the dimensions, offset and angle for 3D region of interest (ROI) of the function. It is offset from the Fixture3D origin in the following format with the following arguments:

{SizeX, SizeY, SizeZ, X, Y, Z, Rotation, Tilt, TiltDirection}

SizeX The size of the ROI along the Fixture3D X-axis.
SizeY The size of the ROI along the Fixture3D Y-axis.
SizeZ The size of the ROI along the Fixture3D Z-axis.
X Offset on the X-axis from the Fixture3D origin.
Y Offset on the Y-axis from the Fixture3D origin.
Z Offset on the Z-axis from the Fixture3D origin.
Rotation Specifies the in-plane rotation in degrees around the Fixture3D Z-axis of the tool. The value range is -360 to 360. The tool normalizes external references with values outside the allowed range to the allowed range.
Tilt Specifies the tilt angle in degrees from the Fixture3D Z-axis of the tool after rotation. The value range is 0-180. External references with values outside the allowed range result in an error.
Tilt Direction Specifies the direction of tilt in degrees from the rotated Fixture3D X-axis of the tool, around the Fixture3D Z-axis of the tool . The value range is -360 to 360. The tool normalizes external references with values outside the allowed range to the allowed range.
Note: This setting is only available if you set External Region to 0.

External Region

Specifies a reference to 3D region defined in another cell. The function uses the referenced cell as the Region of Interest of the function. Set to 0 (OFF) to use the internal Box3D structure of the function as the ROI.
Exclude Base Plane

When enabled, the function adds a separate planar region of interest (ROI), so that the surface plane can be excluded when training and/or finding a 3D pattern, improving the tool's performance. This setting is enabled by default, and Cognex recommends keeping it enabled if the pattern to train/find is a particular object.
Plane3D

Specifies the offset and the angle of the plane to use. It is offset from the PointCloud origin in the following format with the following arguments:

{X, Y, Z, Tilt, TiltDirection}

X Offset on the X-axis from the PointCloud origin.
Y Offset on the Y-axis from the PointCloud origin.
Z Offset on the Z-axis from the PointCloud origin.
Tilt Specifies the tilt angle (in degrees) from the PointCloud Z-axis. The value range is 0-180. External references with values outside the allowed range will result in an error.
Tilt Direction Specifies the direction of tilt (in degrees) from the plane's rotated PointCloud X-axis, about the tool's PointCloud Z-axis. The value range is -360 - 360. External references with values outside the allowed range will be normalized to the allowed range.
Note: This parameter is available only if External Plane is set to 0.
Note: This parameter is available only if Exclude Base Plane is True and External Plane is 0.
External Plane

Specifies a reference to a Rectangle3D or Circle3D structure defined in another cell to be used by the function. Set to 0 (OFF) to use the function's internal Plane3D structure instead.

Note: This parameter is available only if Exclude Base Plane is True.
Offset Specifies the signed distance to the offset base plane. The value range is -inf. to inf., and the default value is 1.
Model3D Specifies a reference to a trained Model3D structure trained with the TrainPatMax3D function in another cell.
Num to Find

Specifies the number of pattern instances to find. The value range is 1 to inf., and the default value is 1.
Accept Threshold Specifies the minimum percentage score that a result must have to be considered a found pattern. The value range is 0 to 100, and the default value is 50.
Max In-Plane Rotation Angle

Specifies the maximum in-plane rotation angle that a result can have to be considered a found pattern. The value range is 0 to 180 and the default value is 180.
Max Tilt Angle

Specifies the maximum tilt rotation angle that a result can have to be considered a found pattern. The value range is 0 to 180 and the default value is 90.
Sort Key

Specifies the logic by which the found objects are sorted. The available values are the following:

  • None: No sorting logic will be applied. Use this setting if you simply want a count of the objects, or want to examine them without the need to order them.
  • Score: Sort the objects by their score. This is the default setting.

  • Pose Rotation In-Plane Rotation Angle Norm: Sort the objects by their pose rotation's norm in-plane rotation.

  • Pose Rotation In-Plane Rotation Angle Abs: Sort the objects by their pose rotation's absolute in-plane rotation.

  • Pose Rotation Tilt Direction Norm: Sort the objects by their pose rotation's norm tilt direction.

  • Pose Rotation Tilt Direction Abs: Sort the objects by their pose rotation's absolute tilt direction.

  • Pose Rotation Tilt Angle: Sort the objects by their pose rotation's tilt angle.
  • Pose Translation X: Sort the objects by their pose translation's X-component.
  • Pose Translation Y: Sort the objects by their pose translation's Y-component.
  • Pose Translation Z: Sort the objects by their pose translation's Z-component.
  • Pose Translation R: Sort the objects by their pose translation's Euclidean distance.
  • Pose Translation Spoke Angle Norm: Sort the objects by their pose translation's normalized spoke angle.

  • Pose Translation Spoke Angle Abs: Sort the objects by their pose translation's absolute spoke angle.

  • Pose Translation Spoke Radius: Sort the objects by their pose translation's spoke radius.

  • Pose Translation X then Y then Z: Sort the objects by their pose translation's Grid X then Y, and then Z.

  • Pose Translation Y then X then Z: Sort the objects by their pose translation's Grid Y then X, and then Z.
Sort Order

Specifies whether to sort the results in ascending or descending order.

Note: This parameter is disabled if Sort Key is set to None.
Sort Tolerance

Specifies a threshold to determine if 2 or more results are tied. If they are tied, they can be sorted by a subsequent sort. Only takes effect when multiple sorting rules are applied (e.g. grid sorting or appending a sort tool).

Note: This parameter is disabled if Sort Key is set to None.
Sort Reference

Specifies the origin of the coordinate space in which the positional and rotational values are defined. The available values are the following:

  • Camera: The coordinate space is based off the system in which the point cloud's points are defined.
  • Region: The coordinate space is based off the coordinate system of the working region used in the job.
Note:

This parameter is disabled if:

  • The Sort Key is set to None or Score.
  • An External Region is configured.

Show

Selects the type of graphics to overlay on the image.

0 = hide all (default)

All graphics are hidden, except when the cell containing the function is highlighted in the spreadsheet.
1 = result graphics only The result graphics of the function are displayed at all times.

2 = input and result graphics

The region of interest, the input data and the results are displayed at all times.

FindPatMax3D Outputs

Returns

A Patterns3D data structure containing the found patterns, or #ERR if any of the input parameters are invalid.

Results

When initially inserted into a cell, the following functions are automatically inserted into the spreadsheet to create a result table.

  Num Found Index Score Fixture X Y Z Rotation Tilt Tilt Direction
❒Patterns3D GetNFound(FindPatMax3D) 0 GetScore(Patterns3D,0) GetFixture(Patterns3D,0) GetX(Fixture3D) GetY(Fixture3D) GetZ(Fixture3D) GetRotation(Fixture3D) GetTilt(Fixture3D) GetTiltDirection(Fixture3D)
    1 GetScore(Patterns3D,1) GetFixture(Patterns3D,1) GetX(Fixture3D) GetY(Fixture3D) GetZ(Fixture3D) GetRotation(Fixture3D) GetTilt(Fixture3D) GetTiltDirection(Fixture3D)
    ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
    N-1 GetScore(Patterns3D,N-1) GetFixture(Patterns3D,N-1) GetX(Fixture3D) GetY(Fixture3D) GetZ(Fixture3D) GetRotation(Fixture3D) GetTilt(Fixture3D) GetTiltDirection(Fixture3D)

N = min(10, NumToFind)

FindPatMax3D Vision Data Access Functions

The following FindPatMax3D Vision Data Access Functions are automatically inserted into the spreadsheet to create the result table:

Function Description
GetFixture(Patterns3D, index) Returns the Fixture3D structure of the found pattern's fixture.
GetNFound(Patterns3D, index) Returns the number of found patterns.
GetRotation(Fixture3D) Returns the rotation of the Z-axis in degrees, also known as the in-plane rotation.
GetScore(Patterns3D, index) Returns the score of the found pattern specified with the index, as a value between 0 – 100.
GetTilt(Fixture3D) Returns the tilt angle of the Fixture3D structure in degrees on the Z-axis.
GetTiltDirection(Fixture3D) Returns the tilt direction angle of the specified Fixture3D structure in degrees. The angle is measured in the X-Y plane of the original reference coordinate system, and specifies the direction for the projection of the tilted Z-axis onto that plane.
GetX(Fixture3D, index) Returns the X-axis coordinate of the pattern fixture's center point.
GetY(Fixture3D, index) Returns the Y-axis coordinate of the pattern fixture's center point.
GetZ(Fixture3D, index) Returns the Z-axis coordinate of the pattern fixture's center point.