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Despite being relatively expensive, infrared (IR) cameras have found a number of niche applications where traditional visible spectrum CCD and CMOS cameras will not suffice. Examples include building maintenance, flame [...]

In many machine-vision and image-processing applications, it is necessary to measure the three-dimensional characteristics of an object. A number of different sensors, including structured-laser-light-based 3-D scanners, projected light stripe systems, [...]

Today's image-processing software packages use a number of different techniques to perform object recognition and image classification. These include supervised algorithms such as k-nearest neighbor algorithms, support vector machines (SVMs), [...]

Just a decade ago, very few vendors provided linescan cameras. Today, more than 30 linescan camera vendors offer products that allow system developers to capture monochrome and color images. By [...]

For years, CCD cameras have been used in industrial process control applications to monitor web production processes. While these cameras can measure objects in the visible spectrum, the need to [...]

Large-format CCD and CMOS area-array and linear sensors are now being incorporated into the latest cameras for machine-vision and image-processing applications. In developing cameras based on these imagers, engineers must […]

In machine-vision applications such as robotics and security, the ability of a sensor to image a scene that may range from very light to very dark is important. In vision-guided […]

Color verification, sorting, and inspection are three important applications for today's machine-vision systems. To verify whether a particular part is of the correct color, to sort different products based on […]

Exploding balloons, crash test dummies barreling into walls, and hummingbirds pollinating flowers are just some of the many images used by high-speed camera vendors to promote their products. While such […]

Years ago, it was easy to distinguish between semiconductor components--so much so that processors, microcontrollers, and digital signal processors (DSPs) could all be neatly categorized by the functions they performed. […]

Esoteric semiconductor materials such as indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) and mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe or MCT) are expensive and require complex fabrication, readout circuitry, and lenses. As a result, infrared […]

Although many machine-vision applications use low-cost monochrome cameras to perform simple parts-presence applications, other more sophisticated applications such as high-speed fruit sorting and web inspection demand the use of color. […]

With a small number of CCD imagers to choose from, camera vendors are limited in the types of cameras that they can offer. Differentiated only by the types of CCD […]

One of the highlights of the Vision Summit held in conjunction with NIWeek 2007 was a presentation by Dinesh Nair, principal architect of the Research and Development Group at National […]

Those who consider using machine vision for infrared (IR) inspection are often dissuaded from using the technology due to the price of IR cameras. But, in some machine-vision applications, the […]

Used to mitigate the impact of human error in manufacturing, error proofing improves the overall quality of both products and manufacturing processes. 'Error proofing,' says Rick Bondy, field marketing product […]

With embedded CCD or CMOS imagers, processors, and software, smart cameras offer system developers a way to rapidly implement simple machine-vision systems in a single unit. Networked to industrial manufacturing […]

While CCDs remain the imager of choice for high-fidelity image capture, CMOS imagers present the system developer with a number of advantages, such as digital readout, on-chip programmability, and region-of-interest […]

At the St. James Gate brewing plant of Guinness, the company's draught beer is brewed and kegs are filled for domestic, European, and international customers. To fill, check, and ship […]

In the past, software packages were offered as a series of C-callable libraries that system integrators used to construct machine-vision applications. While many frame-grabber and camera vendors still offer these […]

Many people in the machine-vision industry approach the subject of GigE cameras from a communications-protocol perspective, citing the benefits of a large installed base of networked CPUs and PLCs and […]

IMAGING PROCESSING Machine-based stereovision relies on the identification of image points that correspond to one another in left and right stereo images. By identifying these points, shifts or disparities can […]

Balloon angioplasty, an intravascular medical procedure, is frequently used to open blocked heart arteries, relieve symptoms of coronary artery disease, and improve blood flow to the heart. A catheter with […]

Up until a decade ago, creating machine-vision and image-processing software to perform a specific industrial-automation task was not easy. Developers could choose to either write their own code or incorporate […]

Developers of machine-vision systems are faced with many choices when purchasing software. These range from developing proprietary object-oriented code that may or may not be hardware-specific, to using C-callable vendor-supplied […]

In the competitive medical-instruments market, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to produce higher quantities of products at greater speed while maintaining product quality. For the manufacturer of automated production systems, […]

Driven by higher levels of integration and reduced costs of sensors, processors, and peripheral devices, smart or intelligent cameras offer systems developers an alternative to complete machine-vision systems. These cameras […]

In contrast to active-matrix, flat-panel LCDs, in which the liquid-crystal material is sandwiched between two glass plates (one with thin-film drive transistors at each picture element), liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) microdisplays sandwich […]

In the past, OEM suppliers to automotive manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler have remained competitive by automating the manufacture of their products using custom systems. By doing […]

According to Keith Scott, business development manager for Lumileds Lighting, LEDs currently represent the illumination source in roughly half of the machine-vision systems on the market. There are several reasons […]

Automated systems for medical-device manufacturing are now combining robots and vision systems for part feeding and automated assembly operations. These systems include interchangeable part fixtures and preprogrammed assembly manufacturing techniques […]

The number of new frame-grabber products introduced within the last two years has been rather meager, in part because of the recession in the electronics industry. Rather than introduce new […]

Microscopic striations on the surface of fired bullets and cartridge cases are routinely used to associate a bullet with a particular weapon. Such an association is possible because each weapon […]

One of the most discussed topics every year at the SPIE Defense, Security + Sensing Conference is image fusion: the ability to merge images of different wavelengths into a single [...]

When measuring biological processes such as functional imaging of cardiac and neuronal cell networks, fluorescent probes are used to delineate transient ion concentration and membrane voltage changes. To properly image [...]

When goods are produced in large volumes, automated machine-vision systems are often used as an integral part of the manufacturing process. However, products such as artificial human replacement parts or […]

In October 2006, the Automated Imaging Association (AIA; Ann Arbor; MI, USA; www.machinevisiononline.org) held a workshop on vision and robots for automotive-manufacturing applications in Novi, MI, USA. Perhaps the most […]

The quality of raw cotton can vary from region to region and country to country, due to environmental factors such as harvesting and ginning conditions. In choosing raw cotton for […]

Camera designers can choose from a number of interfaces when developing their products. Depending on each application, these can range from Camera Link-, USB 2.0-, Gigabit Ethernet-, and FireWire-based designs. […]

Camera Link cameras and frame grabbers are now being used in many industrial and military applications. In many of these systems, sequences of captured images are processed at high-speed on [...]

In many industrial applications deployed for inspection and quality control, it is necessary to capture three-dimensional images of the object in order to rapidly analyze any structural defects. Many inspection [...]

Manufacturers of plastic electronics and automotive assembly housings, connectors, and medical devices often must supply hundreds of thousands of parts to their customers. After designing these products using CAD software, [...]

Study of nocturnal animals by researchers at Lund University (Lund, Sweden; www.lu.se/lund-university) has led to the development of sophisticated algorithms for noise.reduction and contrast enhancement in noisy image data with [...]

Camera-to-computer interfaces such as USB, Gigabit Ethernet, Camera Link, and FireWire are used in a number of machine-vision applications to transfer digital images to a host computer for processing and […]

Conventional fingerprint systems process inked fingerprint cards that have been manually scanned or fingerprints that are electronically digitized with flatbed scanners. To date, hundreds of millions of such prints have […]

Often called inserts or outserts (depending if they are in the carton or on the bottle), folded documents are placed on the inside or outside of prescription medications and provide […]

Performing general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPUs) has generated much interest over the last few years, to the point where they are being used by commercial vendors of machine-vision […]

Most automated inspection systems combine photoelectric or laser-based sensors, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and machine-vision systems to perform specific inspection tasks. These photoelectric sensors and electromechanical switches provide the low-level […]

The development of holographic-data-storage products has been limited by the lack of low-cost system components, the complexity of holographic multiplexing techniques, and the absence of suitable recording materials. However, the […]