Automatic detection and breaking system for boulders by using of CCD camera and laser pointer

The image processing procedure to detect the boulders from the rock pile is described in this paper. The main detection procedures consist of (1) thresholding, (2) area analysis and (3) shape analysis. In order to control the breaker, three-dimensional position of the boulders is necessary. Therefore, the measuring method to obtain three-dimensional position of the boulders is also proposed in this study by using a CCD camera and a laser pointer. It was confirmed through the experiments that the automatic detection and breaking system proposed here works well.