About Machine Vision Systems and Machine Vision System Designers Including: Machine
Vision, Optical
Inspection Systems, Optical
Sorting Systems, Vision
Inspection Systems & Vision
System.
Machine vision systems are a distinctive part of daily
operations in many industries. The chief purposes of machine vision systems
are automated inspection and measurement of items in a production environment.
Machine vision system designers generate products that emulate human
vision and make decisions based on the data they collect. As a non-contact
visual measuring system, the rapid and accurate measurement of objects
is possible. The machine vision systems themselves can vary greatly as
far as components but generally consist of an integrated camera, image
capture, processing, storage, analysis and control scheme. Top machine
vision system designers are able to craft equipment that works 24 hours
a day and seven days a week, with very little need for service or other
downtime.
Since there is a wide range of technologies used in machine vision systems,
the way they work also varies depending on the type of technology. At
the most basic level, a camera or other image-capturing device monitors,
records and reacts to a preset template of conditions given via a computer
program. When the items that pass before the capture device deviate from
the template and the preset measurements are recognized, the system or
user is notified of the discrepancy. This is a key quality control feature
in machine vision systems. Other machine vision systems are mostly used
for visualization and image capture, which records a two dimensional
image of an item within itself for later three dimensional virtual compositing.
Because modern 3-D optical equipment is used in machine vision systems,
industrial lighting, vibration and temperature changes do not affect
the imaging and measuring processes. These machine vision systems can
be a part of a larger centralized conveyor
or automated process, or can be hand-held or separate, allowing for more
mobile and individual applications, which are sometimes necessary in
an initial research and design environment. Whether they are integrated
into the manufacturing operation and used as in-process inspection systems
or used as post-process inspection systems, machine vision systems aim
to identify process problems quickly so that corrections can be made.
The primary advantage of these systems is their consistency in performing
the inspection task, whether that task is detecting flaws, counting/sorting,
assembly verification or code/character reading.
For the most part, machine vision system designers, manufacturers and
distributors are prepared to work with the customer to create the most
accurate and efficient system for the customer's needs. While most
machine vision systems are custom-designed, general vision equipment
is also available, such as smart cameras, which can store and process
images in a more mobile capacity. Vision
system technology is changing
rapidly as this approach to inspection becomes more widely accepted in
industrial applications. Some of the specific industries that have benefited
from the use of these machine vision systems include automotive, packaging,
pharmaceutical, electrical components, foundries, textile, pulp and paper
and computer. Machine vision systems also have the ability to record
and measure many diverse products, such as bottles, circuits, o-rings,
stencils, gaskets, needles and screws.
Types of Machine Vision Systems
- are
cameras that use CCD (charge coupled device) chips to convert photons
to electrical or digital information. Instead of the image being recorded
on film, the CCD image is placed in an image file on the computer.
-
is often used to create 3-D images of a recorded surface. Lasers produce
high powered light with electrical properties.
- mimics human vision in machinery.
-
uses the magnetic properties of material to create a visual slice or
image via an x-ray type sensor.
- ensure quality by inspecting products with machine vision.
- use machine vision to accurately sort products.
-
have image processing circuitry and software within them. While smart
cameras are highly mobile, they lack large storage capacity, and so
are often connected to a central computer to alleviate this problem.
- use machine vision in assembly lines to search for surface defects, count products, and scan serial numbers, among other things.
Machine Vision Systems Terms
-
A technology that provides 3D images from a large quantity of 2D cross-sectional
images. These images are assembled in a computer from pictures or scans
taken of a desired piece.
- The manner in
which outside information is brought into an analysis system.
- The diameter of the
lens, which controls the amount of light that reaches the photoconductive
image sensor.
- Reduction of signal
strength.
- Quality of color, which
includes both hue and saturation.
- The restoration
of original information from compressed data.
- The range of
the distance from the sensor to the object at which the lens is focused.
- Conversion
of a video picture into pixels by means of an A/D converter, where the
level of each pixel can be stored in a computer.
- A filter used
to transmit light based on wavelength rather than on the plane of vibration.
Dichroic filters will transmit one color while reflecting a second, when
illuminated with white light.
- Light source
or optical image delivery via long, flexible fibers of transparent material,
usually bundled together. Light is transmitted via internal reflection
inside each fiber; coherent fiber optics are spatially organized so images
can be relayed.
- The plane perpendicular
to the lens axis at the point of focus, usually found at the image sensor.
- The amount of frames
that are displayed per unit of time.
- The non-contact dimensional
examination of an object.
- Variations of values
from white through shades of gray to black in a digitized image with black
assigned the value of zero and white the value of one.
- An incandescent
lamp inside which is a gas similar to iodine that is constantly evaporated
and then redeposited on the filament.
- The process
of identifying objects and shapes in a photograph, drawing, video or other
visual image. Image analysis is used for everything from colorizing classic
motion pictures to piloting cruise missiles.
- The plane surface
of the imaging sensor, perpendicular to the viewing direction, at which
the optics are focused.
- The region of the
electromagnetic spectrum adjacent to the visible spectrum, just beyond
red with longer wavelengths.
- Classification
of images into predetermined categories, usually using statistical methods.
- Acronym for picture
element. Pixels are the individual elements in a digitized image
array.
- The process
of manufacturing at both the design and production stage. Process imaging
is a generic term for quality control imaging.
- An image processing
operation that enhances edges. A non-sharp mask adds a low-pass, filtered
image to the original, resulting in edge enhancement.
- An electrical or mechanical
device used to control the amount of time the imaging surface is exposed
to light. The shutter is often used to stop the blur created by moving
objects.
- Enhancing
an image by changing its spatial frequencies.
- A compound lens
that remains in focus as the image size is continuously varied. A zoom
lens may be motorized or manually operated.