Glossary · Robotics
Hand-eye calibration
Also known as: Camera-to-robot calibration, Eye-in-hand calibration
German: Hand-Auge-Kalibrierung
In robot vision, hand-eye calibration determines the fixed transformation between a camera and the robot, either between a wrist-mounted camera and the robot flange (eye-in-hand) or between a stationary camera and the robot base (eye-to-hand), so that image coordinates can be converted into robot positions.
- Robotics
In one sentence
Hand-eye calibration finds the transformation between camera and robot so that positions found in the image can be used by the robot.
Example
After the camera bracket was bent in a collision, the robot missed parts by 3 mm until the hand-eye calibration was repeated with the calibration plate.
How it applies
- Engineering: The calibration is computed from several robot poses and images of a calibration target. Its accuracy depends on the camera calibration, the robot's own accuracy and the spread of poses.
- Commissioning and maintenance: Any change to camera mounting, lens, focus or tool geometry can invalidate the result. A quick verification routine with a reference part catches drift early.
- Documentation: The documentation team should list the events that require recalibration, the steps and target used, the acceptance criterion (for example a maximum position error), and where results are stored, so the procedure can be repeated by maintenance staff.
Hand-eye calibration vs. robot calibration
Robot calibration improves the robot's own kinematic model. Hand-eye calibration relates a camera to that robot. Both are forms of Calibration in the wider sense and both need records.