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Abstract

A method to detect and to determine geometrical, dimensional and positional features of products (P) transported by a continuous conveyor (2), particularly of raw, roughly shaped, roughed or half-finished steel products, moving forwards with a transport speed lower or equal to a maximum transport speed (V), comprising the steps consisting of: acquiring (100), through at least an image acquisition device (3) placed crosswise to the forwarding direction (F) of a continuous conveyor and at a distance from it, at least a first series of successive images showing a same area across which runs the continuous conveyor (2), on which rests at least a product (P); identifying (101) in the first image series an initial image including the head end of the product (P) considered in respect to the forwarding direction (F); acquiring (102), through the image acquisition device (3), at least a second series of successive images showing the product moving forward along the forwarding direction (F), with an acquisition frequency so as to obtain, at the maximum transport speed (V), a partial overlapping of two successive images; selecting (103), in the initial image and in each image of the second series of successive images showing said product, a recognition area (A); estimating (104) the displacement vector of the recognition area (A), selected in the initial image and in each image of the second image series, between the image where it was selected and an image following the one where it was selected; identifying (105) among the images of the second series of successive images showing the product (P) a final image containing the tail end of the product considered in respect to the forwarding direction (F); processing (106) the estimated displacement vectors and/or the images of the product (P) acquired according to calculation and image processing algorithms to obtain at least a dimensional, geometrical or positional characteristic data of said product.

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