VISION 2018 Preview - Destination Stuttgart | MVPro 11 | November 2018

NOISIV DESTINATION STUTTGART

TOP SECTOR NEWS

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VISION 2018 PREVIEW

ISSUE 11 - NOVEMBER 2018

VISION

MACHINE VISION PROFESSIONAL

ON

SI VI NEARE I H AC FTW M O S

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VE V RT ID ER EO S

IP

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ES

Euresys is a leading and innovative high-tech company, designer and provider of image and video acquisition components, frame grabbers, FPGA IP cores and image processing software.

The company’s image acquisition expertise covers analog and digital video acquisition, FPGA programming, high-frequency electronics, video compression and streaming, and also camera control. Recently strengthened by the acquisition of the company Sensor to Image, its 30 years of imaging know-how includes GigE Vision, USB3 Vision, CoaXPress, Camera Link and GenICam. In terms of image analysis, Euresys’ skills apply to blob detection, sub-pixel measurement, pattern matching, color analysis, optical character recognition, barcode reading and verification, 3D inspection and classification using deep learning.

More at www.euresys.com

www.euresys.com - sales@euresys.com

CONTENTS

MVPRO TEAM

4

Happy Birthday MVPRO

Editor-in-Chief neil.martin@mvpromedia.eu

6

NEWS - A round-up of what’s been happening in the Machine Vision sector

Alex Sullivan

15

VISION 2018

40

BAUMER - Tough when its Rough

41

ACTIVE SILICON - 30 years on

42

MIDOPT - Heads across the pond for fourth VISION

44

LMI - Trends in 3D Inspection

46

EURESYS - Sensor to image

47

EDMUND OPTICS - EO sets to take VISION by storm again

48

SCORPION VISION - Scorpion looks to exploit fast moving developments

50

TAMRON - The eyes of industry

52

STEMMER - Stemmer Imaging readies itself for VISION 2018

54

NET - Widening the NET

56

INSPEKTO - The poisoned apple effect

58

GUIDE TO STUTTGART - 5 Things you don’t want to know about Stuttgart

© 2018. All rights reserved ‘MVPro Media’ is a trademark of IFA Magazine Publications Limited. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any printed or electronic retrieval system without prior permission. All material has been carefully checked for accuracy, but no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies.

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EMVA OBIT - EMVA releases statement regarding tragic death of standards manager Arnaud Darmont

Neil Martin

Publishing Director alex.sullivan@mvpromedia.eu

Cally Bennett Group Business Manager cally.bennett@mvpromedia.eu

Sean Welch Sales Manager sean.welch@mvpromedia.eu

Rachel Bray Head of Design rachel.bray@cliftonmedialab.com

Visit our website for daily updates

www.mvpromedia.eu

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MVPro Media is published by IFA Magazine Publications Ltd, Arcade Chambers, 8 Kings Road, Bristol BS8 4AB Tel: +44 (0)117 3258328

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3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MVPRO The start of VISION 2018 marks the second birthday of MVPro Magazine.

It was two years ago on the floor of Europe’s biggest machine vision exhibition that we launched our first technical magazine (we have since launched RoboPro Magazine) and became involved in what is one of the most exciting industries out there.

Of course, the idea for a machine vision magazine that tried to have a different take on the sector was conceived well before the show, but it does feel like every November we can celebrate our beginnings.

It’s been quite a ride and we still feel we are at the start of an incredible journey. We’ve met and worked with some great people, and the whole team looks forward to another great two years.

Alex Sullivan our publisher and Cally Bennett our main business development executive have now been joined by Jacques Bonfrer and Sean Welch, both focussed on business development.

Cally is still on maternity leave and is looking forward to coming back to the office at the end of the year. Alex, Jacques, Sean and myself will all be there at VISION, so make sure to say hello.

Given that VISION is just around the corner, this magazine devotes a lot of pages to looking ahead to the event, after all, it only comes around every two years. We include a guide to the companies who’ll be there and a preview of some of the products that will be on show.

And the following issue will offer a full review of the show, so don’t forget to read our coverage, it will be a great way to recap.

You’ll also find an article called Ten things you don’t need to know about Stuttgart. If you don’t want to impress your colleagues, or loved ones with the fact that you like to know a bit about where you go on a business trip, then ignore it!

And we’ve got our usual news coverage, plus some business talk and some pieces that will you keep interested.

So there we are then. Here’s to the next two years. See you all at VISION.

Neil Martin Editor

Neil Martin Editor neil.martin@mvpromedia.eu Arcade Chambers, 8 Kings Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4AB MVPro B2B digital platform and print magazine for the global machine vision industry RoboPro B2B digital platform and print magazine for the global robotics industry www.mvpromedia.eu

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NEWS

New 3-CMOS industrial prism area scan cameras from JAI

JAI.COM

When color matters….

Download WHITE PAPER

www.jai.com/apex

R

G

B

…The Apex Series is the clear choice In nature, no one handles color better than the chameleon.

And for color vision systems, no industrial cameras handle color better than the Apex Series. With their new 3-CMOS, prism-based technology, these Apex cameras provide significantly higher color accuracy and spatial precision than typical Bayer-filter cameras, and offer more than 3 times the throughput of previous 3-CCD models – up to 3.2 megapixels at 55 fps. Add to that advanced features like edge enhancement, color enhancement, and built-in color space conversions for a price that’s well-below previous prism cameras, and it’s easy to see why system designers are choosing Apex Series cameras for their color-critical applications in life sciences, print inspection, paint matching, darkfield color wafer inspection, and much more. If color is critical to your vision system, don’t settle for less than the best. To learn more, visit www.jai.com/apex

The new Apex cameras 3-CMOS prism technology (PregiusTM sensors) Exceptionally accurate color image capture Built-in color space conversion Color and edge enhancement

AP-3200T

AP-1600T

3 x 3.2 megapixels Sony PregiusTM IMX265

3 x 1.6 megapixels Sony PregiusTM IMX273

55.6 fps (PMCL)

126 fps (PMCL)

USB3, GigE, PMCL

USB3, GigE, PMCL

See you!

Stand # 1F50

6

Europe, Middle East & Africa - JAI A/S camerasales.emea@jai.com / +45 4457 8888

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Asia Pacific - JAI Ltd. camerasales.apac@jai.com / +81 45-440-0154

Americas - JAI Inc.

camerasales.americas@jai.com / + 1 408 383 0300 mvpromedia.eu 5

NEWS

STEMMER IMAGING TO MARKET TELEDYNE E2V PRODUCTS STEMMER IMAGING is now marketing the Teledyne e2v high-performance line scan camera portfolio, including the entry level UNiiQA+ and ELiiXA+ series of multiline CMOS cameras.

Christof Zollitsch, CEO of STEMMER IMAGING AG said: “We are delighted to be able to add these high performance cameras to further strengthen our product portfolio. Teledyne e2v is an acknowledged manufacturer of class leading CMOS sensors and line scan cameras and we look forward to a long and productive partnership.

colour versions and with a choice of CameraLink or GigE Vision over NBASE-T (5 Gb/s) interfaces.

STEMMER IMAGING said that together with the Teledyne DALSA camera range, they provide a versatile platform for a wide range of applications. These include surface roughness and scratch detection in glass, paper, metals and textiles; presence control in pharmaceutical inspection; damage detection in rail inspection applications and character recognition in document scanning, parcel and postal sorting.

“This latest agreement further strengthens our relationship with the Teledyne group of companies.

For many years we have marketed high quality cameras manufactured by Teledyne DALSA and now we can also take advantage of the expertise provided

by Teledyne e2v in line scan camera technology.”

Jon Kemp, Head of Business Communications at Teledyne e2v, added: “STEMMER IMAGING AG will provide us with an extensive sales network across 19 different countries in Europe. Their experience and knowledge of established and emerging machine vision markets, coupled with their technical excellence will ensure that our line scan cameras will be used in the widest range of applications.”

The Teledyne e2v branded cameras are available in a wide range of formats, in monochrome and Bayer

NEW BASLER ACE U MODELS WITH 20 MP RESOLUTION Basler has expanded the portfolio of its most successful camera series with four new, high-resolution ace U models. They are equipped with the rolling shutter CMOS sensor IMX183 from the Sony Exmor R series.

The cameras offer a resolution of 20 megapixels with a sensor size of 1" and a compact design with 29 mm x 29 mm footprint.

This combination makes the four new ace U models particularly suitable for inspection of the finest structures, such as in PCB or display production.

The four new high-resolution ace U models feature Basler’s PGI feature set for colour and monochrome cameras, which corrects unwanted artifacts. This allows users a particularly good image evaluation at the pixel level.

The innovative back-illuminated sensor technology of the Sony IMX183 provides excellent sensitivity and low noise at a small pixel size of 2.4 µm. With this particularly light-sensitive sensor, the four new ace cameras offer outstanding image quality even in low light conditions.

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All four new ace U cameras are available with proven GigE and USB 3.0 interfaces and include the feature set PGI, a unique combination of 5×5 Debayering, Color-Anti-Aliasing, Denoising and Improved Sharpness. The GigE models also offer powerful GigE Vision 2.0 features such as PTP. The pylon Camera Software Suite from Basler ensures a fast and simple integration of the ace cameras.

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NEWS

XIMEA RELEASES COOLED RANGE OF SCMOS CAMERAS XIMEA is preparing a combination of camera models based on the newest Scientific CMOS (sCMOS) sensors, as increased challenges in scientific field and industrial applications require further enhancement in camera quality.

The new models are divided into versions with Thermoelectric Peltier cooling, or PCI Express interface, which delivers their full speed potential.

The range of cameras is equipped with sCMOS sensors handpicked from the line introduced by Gpixel. The focus is on excellent low noise values and high dynamic range, and include Back-illuminated models with what the company describe as “unbelievable” Quantum efficiency numbers. To utilize these exceptional parameters, capture through both Rolling and Global shutter option is available.

Currently, the cameras are in the preliminary stage and have “technical samples” status of availability. This means that they have feature limitations and are not available from stock.

LUCID RELEASES 5 MEGAPIXEL PHOENIX POLARISATION COLOUR CAMERA LUCID Vision Labs, a designer and manufacturer of unique and innovative industrial vision cameras, has released the colour version of its 5 Megapixel Phoenix polarisation camera.

In addition to the monochrome version of the Phoenix polarisation model, LUCID has now integrated the Sony IMX250MYR polarised colour sensor into its Phoenix camera family.

The 5 MP global shutter sensor with a pixel size of 3.45µm and frame rates of up to 24 fps is based on the IMX250 Sony Pregius CMOS colour sensor with polarising filters added to the pixel.

The sensor has four different directional polarising filters (0°, 90°, 45°, and 135°) on every two by two array of pixels. The Phoenix colour polarisation camera allows users to compute both colour and angle of polarisation information for each image pixel.

“We’ve seen strong demand in our Phoenix mono polarisation camera since we launched it in May this year and we’re excited to now add the colour model to our portfolio,” says Rod Barman, Founder and President at LUCID Vision Labs.

ophthalmology to remove reflected light from the eye using polarisation while performing diagnosis on the eye using RGB images, or in agriculture such as fruit picking where both polarised and RGB images can determine the health and ripeness of fruits simultaneously.

“Another interesting area is in UAV and drone applications to effectively remove dense haze, fog or smoke using the polarimetric dehazing method.”

“Polarisation with a colour sensor can be beneficial to many applications such as

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NEWS

NEW BLOCK CAMERA FOR EMBEDDED VISION Entner Electronics has released a newzoomblock camera for embedded vision applications.

of the ‘bending’ artefact when recording fast moving objects.

The UC-310 is a compact software programmable camera with proprietary electronics and a high quality zoom lens for unprecedented image quality.

The UC-310 camera is compatible with the industry standard VISCA communication protocol to allow for hassle free upgrading of existing imaging systems.

The new camera uses a rolling shutter STARVIS sensor to offer a high sensitivity and dynamic range in visible light conditions.

The onboard ARM-based processor offer the user the possibility to integrating DSP functionality in the camera such as object tracking, OSD generation, file management systems and many more.

The read-out electronics are optimised to reduce the rolling shutter artefacts by a factor of two compared to current industry standard cameras.

This allows integrators to benefit from the advantages of rolling-shutter sensors such as the use of compact, weight reducing optics.

To show the effects of Entner’s read-out electronics a rotating fan was recorded comparing Entner’s UC-310 camera with an industry standard camera in parallel.

Marco van Hout, Business Development Manager at Entner Electronics, said: “The UC310 is the first member of a product family of zoom-block cameras for embedded vision. This is the next evolution in the industry of embedded vision and enables engineers to start developing their system at receiving the camera without first having to solve the interface and processing part. This approach has many benefits on the level of camera performance as well as it greatly reduces the required integration efforts.”

Both images are acquired at 1080p/60. Clearly visible at comparing the images is the reduction

PEPPERL + FUCHS LAUNCHES NEW OPTICAL SENSORS FOR LONGER OPERATING DISTANCES Pepperl+Fuchs has launched a new series of medium-sized photoelectric sensors for applications with longer operating distances.

The R20x series offers all photoelectric functional principles: through-beam sensors, retroreflective sensors with a polarization filter or for clear object recognition, energetic diffuse mode sensors, sensors with background suppression and foreground suppression, measuring light barriers with two switch points, and distance sensors. Each R20x sensor offers several mounting patterns in one industry-standard housing style. The new R20x sensors also feature rotatable connectors, which allows flexible installation, even in space-restricted applications. The company said that with eye-safe DuraBeam

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laser technology, Pepperl+Fuchs’ R20x photoelectric sensors deliver maximum reliability and accuracy. DuraBeam laser technology from Pepperl+Fuchs combines the advantages of an LED emitter-long service life and extended temperature range-with the strengths of laser diodes-long detection and sensing ranges as well as a more intense beam quality. It added that as a result, R20x laser sensors are more energy-efficient and last longer without compromising performance, even in extreme operating temperatures. Another benefit of DuraBeam laser sensors is their special beam profile, which casts a sharp, circular light spot on an object.

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NEWS

AIVION RELEASES NEW HDMI INTERFACE FOR TAMRON BLOCK CAMERAS

AIVION, a leading provider of video interface solutions, has released the next generation of the HDMI interfaces for the Tamron Ultra-Compact Camera Modules MP1010M-VC and MP1110M-VC. The Interface Board TL8652 can be mounted on the side of the camera. With a size of 61 mm to 42 mm, the board fits optimal to the size of the camera. It is suitable for security and surveillance applications and an extensive range of customizations.

The Tamron camera is connected via the LVDS video interface. The new HDMI 1.4 interface board TL8652 supports beside 1080p (50Hz, 30Hz, 25Hz), 720p (60Hz, 50Hz) and 1080i (60Hz, 50Hz) also 1080p60Hz. The board has a Micro-USB connector for the power supply (5V DC). The Tamron block cameras can also be controlled with the AIVION Camera Control software via this USB port. Other control interfaces such as RS232 and TTL are also integrated.

The camera evaluation kits TL8652-EVK-MP1010M-VC and TL8652-EVK-MP1110M-VC include a Tamron MP1010M-VC or the new Tamron MP1110M-VC camera depending on the kit. The kit contains all items to easily connect camera, interface & monitor and computer/ control unit. It contains the HDMI Board (TL8652), a USB cable (TL-EVKUSB2-A-MICROB), a High-Speed HDMI Cable with HDMI-A 19 and 1 HDMI Micro-D 19 pin male connector (TL-EVK-HDMI-MICRO-D) and a 30 pin KEL USL type micro coaxial cable for the LVDS connection.

“Tamron’s Full HD camera modules are very compact imaging solutions with excellent optical performance and optical VibrationCompensation. The camera modules open up new potential applications in various markets like industrial, medical, inspection, ROV and Security.

Our new HDMI Interface Board TL8652 provide OEM’s in these market segments an optimal interface solution while speeding time to market when using our evaluation kit.” said Werner Schoeppner, Sales Director of AIVION.

The additional version TL8652A has an onboard MEMS microphone on the bottom side. Sound waves can pass to the microphone through a small PCB hole.

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NEWS

SICK TRISPECTOR P1000 3D CAMERA GIVES ROBOTS A GENTLER TOUCH

SICK has launched its fully-programmable TrispectorP1000 3D vision camera.

The idea is to enable reliable, continuous in-line product detection to be easily customised for robotic belt picking applications for the packaging industry.

The Trispector P1000 uses height-based profiling of products on moving packaging lines to ensure gentle and efficient robot picking whatever the shape or colour of the pack design. This, said SICK, occurs even where there is minimal contrast or colour difference between the product and the belt background.

As a compact, stand-alone, programmable 3D camera, SICK TriSpector P1000 combines imaging, lighting and analysis in one device to facilitate on-board evaluation and processing of dimension, volume and true shape data in mm.

Neil Sandhu SICK UK’s national product manager for imaging, measurement and ranging explained: “The SICK TriSpector P1000 vision camera helps to ensure gentler product handling and efficient continuous operation, because it accurately measures real height as well as true shape. This ability controls the Z axis more accurately, meaning that awkward shapes are not in danger of being broken or knocked over during picking.

“Using 3D vision with laser triangulation also enables reliable detection even where the product and background have the same colour and tone. There’s also no need to reteach the camera or change settings during label or batch changes; the TriSpector P1000 will continue to detect consistently and accurately.”

DEEP LEARNING SURFACE INSPECTION The EyeVision software from EVT Eye Vision Technology now comes with a Deep Learning Surface Inspector.

on the DL Surface Inspector based on machine vision under consideration of the process fluctuations.

It allows for the dynamic and easy detection of surface flaws, damages, and impurities. It works on textured surfaces and has an adaptive surface inspection section.

The self-learning algorithm of the EyeVision software works directly on live images. And this also means that no labeled data is necessary for the recognition of the flaws in texture. It works by a local training of an undefined number of classifications is used for an overall evaluation of the whole image. The final result is then produced through a majority voting decision.

The challenge was the identification of faults on complex functional and aesthetic technical surfaces. The solution was an inspection based

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NEWS

THERE ARE SEVERAL BIG ADVANTAGES: The algorithm can be integrated in any machine vision software;

No setting parameters, as the algorithm adapts itself automatically to any random surface;

It can be deployed in a ROI using for example the size of the anomaly surface defect quantification criteria;

Evaluation of the inspected surface in less than 50 ms on Core i3.

No teaching in advance;

INDUSTRIAL VISION SOLUTIONS

younique solutions

MEDICAL VISION SOLUTIONS

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Visit us at booth 1D62

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NEWS

SONY LAUNCHES NEW POLARISED CATEGORY OF MACHINE VISION CAMERA Sony Europe’s Image Sensing Solutions has launched the XCG-CP510, the first in a new category of machine vision cameras.

Sony told MVPro Magazine that the camera and category is based on Sony’s newly developed IMX250MZR global shutter CMOS sensor. This uses monochrome quad polarised filters to capture polarised light in four different angles.

The company also said that to extract the bestpossible image from its sensor, the design of the XCG-CP510 module has been optimised by their industrial camera engineers and outputs 5.1 MP polarised B/W images at 23 fps, transmitted over a GigE interface.

What’s more, an exclusive polarised-camera SDK will be made available to speed and simplify the development of polarised-light applications for this hardware.

Usage scenarios that would benefit the new camera category include stress inspection, contrast improvement, scratch detection and object detection /removal / enhancement from a single image capture.

Sony is targeting a wide range of manufacturing applications – from glass inspection to electronics – as well as the ITS and security sectors.

Arnaud Destruels, Marketing Manager, Sony ISS, said: “This continues Sony’s history of innovation and precision, with the sensor and camera engineers working closely to enable the best possible image to be created, while building in several beneficial features within a small footprint.”

GENICAM VERSION 2018.06 RELEASED The GenICam standard group has released GenICam Package Version 2018.06.

It includes the new GenICam reference implementation v3.1.0; the new GenICam SFNC Release v2.4; and the updated GenICam License document v1.6.

EMVA explained that “In terms of usability, the current release version creates a new level of transparency, since from now on there will be one package indexed by year and month of the release which contains all data and can be downloaded in one file. By this, we finally leave the times of numerous downloads of single components behind.”

highlights are the new feature set regarding Lighting Control; new Precision Time Protocol (PTP) features; and new Focal Length features for 3D reconstruction from disparity images.

In addition to that, the GenICam reference implementation 3.1 now includes a faster mathparser implementation, transaction support, and the feature persistence now also considers sequencer settings.

“However, I believe the most remarkable feature of the GenICam 2018.06 release is the new firmware update module (FWUpdate) which standardizes the firmware update process and allows to update the firmware of a given camera without the need of proprietary drivers.”

Christoph Zierl, GenICam Vice Chair Marketing & Operations and Technical Director at MVTec Software GmbH explains the key features that were added to this release: “The GenICam SFNC 2.4 comes with a number of new features. The

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NEWS

VIEWORKS BUILDS ON THE FRAMOS IP CORE TO CONNECT SONY SENSORS TO XILINX FPGAS Vieworks, a leading developer of advanced digital medical imaging solutions, is using the recently released SLVS-EC RX IP Core for Xilinx FPGAs from global imaging expert FRAMOS. Vieworks uses the FRAMOS’ IP Core to optimise resources and accelerate their implementation with the latest Sony CMOS sensors, and focuses on the advanced Machine Vision applications in the Asian markets.

Vieworks serves doctors, health professionals and patients, with high-value and high-quality diagnostic images.

Their aim is to see improvements to both the health and the medical industries by creating innovative alternative signal processing technologies.

These enable the delivery of advanced imaging solutions, ease of operation and simple installation. The in-house R&D team of Vieworks designs, develops, and manufactures their latest vision products and systems with Sony’s third generation CMOS sensors and the powerful Xilinx platform, both of which are seamlessly connected by the FRAMOS SLVS-EC RX IP Core for Kintex-7.

flexible and configurable lanes support, which is especially critical for designing ultra-highresolution cameras. FRAMOS’ professional and efficient guidance and technical support was also a deciding factor. A simplified design and useful sample codes are always welcomed by our engineers. The biggest advantage for us in partnering with FRAMOS is saving time and development resources. The FRAMOS solution helps us to keep our internal R&D team focused on new product release, while creating excellent-performance driven devices with a faster time to market.”

André Brela, Product Manager at FRAMOS, said: “The FRAMOS SLVS-EC RX IP Core is the first solution for easy sensor interfacing with Sony’s latest CMOS imagers, coupled with high-capacity and high-performance FPGAs from Xilinx. We are extremely proud to have an industry leader like Vieworks choose our IP Core, which is perfectly aligned with the core value of FRAMOS: to enable machines to see and think for better quality of life. Device builders and camera vendors can de-risk the sensor design and implementation, while significantly reducing the development efforts and accelerating their time to market.”

Ryan Kyung, Head of Sales and Marketing at Vieworks, said: “In order to take full advantage of the outstanding performance of Sony’s latest CMOS sensors with the SLVS-EC interface as well as Xilinx FPGAs and SoCs, we had only two options: develop a dedicated interface by ourselves or use the FRAMOS IP Core. We have chosen FRAMOS’ IP Core because it provides a faster speed interface, thanks to its

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Visit our booth E72 in hall 1 at VISION 2018

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VISION 2018 A look at what’s happening and who’s exhibiting at this year’s top machine vision event.

International Vision Night 2018 VISION 2018 traditionally kicks off with the EMVA International Vision Night.

The 12th International Vision Night 2018 takes place on 05 November in the restaurant “Plenum” situated in the heart of Stuttgart and integrated in the state parliament building; the same location this EMVA networking event was also held two years ago. Even at night the venue with its glass walls provides a magnificent view on the Stuttgart castle with its gardens, the opera and the city lake.

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As the perfect attunement to the eagerly anticipated biannual show days, the International Vision Night on the evening prior to the VISION 2018 opening offers the perfect mixture of networking and celebrating in a relaxed atmosphere. Since usually the international machine vision scene has already arrived in Stuttgart, this evening offers the perfect opportunity to meet and talk to business partners, colleagues and friends.

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Key Exhibitors Hall No.

Booth No.

Company

Town

Country

1

1D30

Allied Vision Technologies

Stadtroda

Germany

Allied Vision Focus on new camera for Embedded Vision With the slogan “Rethink Embedded Vision”, Allied Vision will be welcoming visitors to the world’s leading machine vision trade fair at the Stuttgart Exhibition Center with a clear focus on embedded vision. The new Alvium Camera Series which will be presented to the VISION audience for the first time, will be the highlight of the booth. With extensive functions for image correction and optimization, a large selection of current sensors, intelligent energy management, and cost-optimized design, the new camera series combines the advantages of classic machine vision cameras with the advantages of embedded sensor modules. It opens up new ways for users to switch from PC-based image processing applications to embedded systems.

From the presentation of the various camera models, the selection of compatible embedded boards and available interfaces to the optimal software connection, visitors will receive comprehensive information about the versatile possibilities of the new embedded camera module. Several live demonstrations running on different embedded boards show cameras of the Alvium Series in action.

Camera solutions from high-speed to infrared However, the presentation of new products is not limited to the field of embedded vision. Allied Vision’s new high-speed camera family Bonito PRO, which has a CoaXPress interface and was specially designed for applications with high bandwidth

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requirements, can also be experienced at VISION 2018 for the first time. Equipped with four DIN 1.0/2.3 connectors, the cameras can transmit 25 Gigabits per second via the CXP-6 high-speed connections. The new camera will be on display at the booth as part of a PCB inspection application.

Allied Vision will also be previewing the new 50 Megapixel camera Prosilica GT10000 with the KAI-50140 large-format CCD sensor from ON Semiconductor. The sensor is characterized above all by its very high resolution of 10,440 × 4,800 pixels. The 2:1 aspect ratio makes the camera particularly suitable for display inspection, aerial photography, and optical metrology.

With the new Mako G-508 POL, which is equipped with an 5.0 Megapixel IMX250MZR/MYR CMOS polarization sensor with the latest polarization filter technology from Sony, Allied Vision presents another product innovation. The new filter technology can reduce reflections which, for example, hinder the inspection of surfaces.

At the Allied Vision booth, almost all current Machine Vision camera families from the extensive Allied Vision portfolio will also be presented: from the ultra-compact Mako camera to the versatile Manta to the Goldeye for infrared applications. Numerous inspection applications show the cameras live in action. The interaction with the most common image processing libraries will also be presented.

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VISIT US AT

VISION 2018!

NOV. 6-8 STAND #1H81

MESSE STUTTGART

GERMANY

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1

1F54

AT - Automation Technology

World First: Smart Infrared Cameras for Industry 4.0 Will present its globally unique new smart infrared cameras of the IRSX. With these cameras, intelligent, self-contained thermal imaging systems that are consistently designed for industrial use are available for the first time. The web-based configuration interface and result display make the setup for thermal monitoring tasks child’s play. After installation, the IRSX cameras communicate directly with the process control and provide an outstanding functionality for the practical implementation of Industry 4.0.

Designed as an all-in-one solution, the IRSX cameras combine a calibrated thermal imaging sensor with a powerful data processing unit and a variety of industrial interfaces in a small, rugged IP67 housing.

A computer, special thermal imaging software or external interfaces are no longer required.

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Bad Oldesloe

Germany

This considerably reduces the system complexity, the installation effort and the costs while significantly improving the system stability. For the communication with external automation and control equipment, the cameras feature a multitude of protocols, including GigE Vision, Modbus TCP, HTTPS and FTP. A comprehensive range of software tools supports the integration and use of the cameras. In addition to standard APIs such as REST, GigE Vision, MQTT and OPC-UA, this also includes a constantly growing number of application-specific apps.

The IRSX series comprises a variety of models with different fields of view, frame rates and resolutions and covers a broad spectrum of applications in all areas of industrial process automation.

Wherever temperature has a decisive influence in the manufacture and processing of products, the IRSX cameras provide a highly flexible solution for autonomous thermal monitoring. A further application focus is the preventive early fire detection and plant condition monitoring. Once set up, the intelligent cameras automatically detect temperature anomalies and trigger an alarm long before a fire breaks out or a system fails.

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1

1E42

BASLER

Innovative products and solutions, under the banner of Vision That Works It will present innovative new products and further developments of its portfolio for a broad range of applications.

In the performance segment, Basler shows an approach that addresses the availability of new interfaces and new sensor generations while meeting the market demand for higher resolution and higher frame rates. The combination of Basler cameras and compatible frame grabbers is a decisive benefit for the customer.

Visitors to the exhibition can also look forward to new models from the successful ace series.

The manufacturer shows its ace model, which was developed as a 1: 1 replacement for Sony’s discontinued CCD sensor ICX618. In the higher-resolution segment, Basler will introduce four 20 MP ace U models based on the Sony Pregius IMX183.

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Ahrensburg

Germany

Another highlight is the new Embedded Vision Development Kit consisting of Qualcomm’s ARM-based SoC with integrated ISP (Image Signal Processor), the Snapdragon 820, the Basler dart 5 megapixel camera module with BCON for MIPI interface and the pylon Camera Software Suite for Linux operating system. A sophisticated live presentation, implemented with Basler’s Time-of-Flight camera, demonstrates a large and cost-optimized system integration with embedded vision.

In addition, visitors to the show can look forward to new accessories and a unique concept in the field of lighting, centered on maximizing customer value. Customers benefit from easy integration and optimized total system costs.

Basler’s presence at the VISION 2018 will be rounded off by presentations at the exhibitor forum.

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1

1F32

Baumer

New GigE cameras with integrated JPEG image compression save bandwidth, CPU load and storage space Baumer is enhancing the LX series with 2, 4 and 25 megapixel cameras with integrated JPEG image compression and frame rates of up to 140 fps. With the GigE cameras, you can save all down the line: from bandwidth through CPU load to storage space - this simplifies the system design and reduces integration costs.

Serial production will start in Q4/2018.

These new models are particularly well suited for applications that require long image sequences, but do not have to transfer and save the complete original images, for example in process monitoring or motion analysis in sports.

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Entner Electronics

Friedberg

Germany

The JPEG compression rate is configurable so that the image quality can be adapted to meet the needs of the individual application. Data reduction in the range of 1:10 to 1:20 can be achieved.

The JPEG image compression takes place directly in the FPGA of the camera, which offers many advantages. A reduced bandwidth like that of Gigabit Ethernet is sufficient for the highspeed transmission of high-resolution images.

This allows a cost-effective and flexible system design. At the same time, the PC-based image processing system is relieved of CPU-intensive algorithms for image compression, so that a PC is sufficient even for operation with multiple JPEG cameras. To bridge longer distances, it is also easily possible to use a GigE switch. Compared to the transmission of full frames, applications also benefit from reduced storage space requirements, which cuts costs for hardware as well.

Sulz

Austria

Entner Electronics Will feature its new UC-310 camera for embedded vision systems.

The UC-310 is a compact software programmable camera with proprietary electronics and a high quality zoom lens for unprecedented image quality.

The new camera uses a rolling shutter STARVIS sensor to offer a high sensitivity and dynamic range in visible light conditions.

The read-out electronics are optimised to reduce the rolling shutter artefacts by a factor of two compared to current industry standard cameras. This allows integrators to benefit from the advantages of rolling-shutter sensors such as the use of compact, weight reducing optics.

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EVT Eye Vision Technology

Karlsruhe

Germany

Evt Eye Vision On display will be the company’s range of products, including EyeCheck (smart cameras with integrated image processing software) and EyeVision Thermo, which supports thermal imaging cameras by Optris, Automation Technology, Flir and Dalsa.

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Frankfurt Laser Company

Frankfurt Laser: new high power line laser modules The ML2040-Series, from the Frankfurt Laser Company, deliver high output power of up to 2W and are ideal for the use in industrial applications with harsh environmental conditions. The offered wavelengths range from 450nm to 1060nm.

mvpromedia.eu

Friedrichsdorf

Germany

Apart from round and line beam, other beam shapes like grids, circles or line and dot arrays are available.

The line beam has a sharp rectangular shape with homogenous power distribution along the line.

The housing is electrically isolated and keeps the protection class IP65 (IP67 optional) conditions.

TTL and analogue modulation are optionally available. The power stability is <1% over 24 hours.

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FUJIFILM Optical Devices Europe

Fujinon anti shock and vibration technology Industrial imaging systems are frequently subject to strong accelerations, shocks, and

Kleve

Germany

via a dedicated test procedure. Depending on focal length and model the optical axis is shifted up to 26 µm, which corresponds to approx. 7 pixels with 2nd generation Sony Pregius sensors.

Such kind of specification is not presented in most datasheets, but crucial in the selection process of lenses for optical metrology.

Further investigations led to the development of the Fujinon Anti-Shock & Vibration technology. The new lens design is based on an elastic and patent pending fixation of the internal lens arrangement. With this new technology incorporated into several Fujinon Machine Vision lenses the shift of the optical axis can be reduced down to just 4 µm and the resolution degradation is minimized. The new mechanical design makes lenses maintain their high optical performance despite the shocks and vibrations that unavoidably occur in industrial imaging systems.

vibrations. This is especially true for mobile systems, like robot-guided 3D scanners, but also for fixed installations. Such mechanical stress often causes a significant reduction of the resolution and a shift of the optical axis - severe problems for machine vision, optical metrology applications and optically calibrated systems.

Fujifilm has investigated the impact of shocks and vibrations on industrial fixed focal lenses 1

1E53

Gardasoft Vision Ltd

Gardasoft Vision Ltd In addition to the announcement of a new lighting controller, Gardasoft will be presenting a number of new demonstrations to illustrate the power of machine vision sequencing and control technologies. These will cover computational imaging, ultrafast focusing, OEM controllers and multi-light line scan stations.

The new lighting controller will open up new illumination possibilities that will further contribute towards novel machine vision solutions.

VISION provides the first chance to see the application of Gardasoft’s RTCC series of lighting controllers for high-speed computational imaging.

The controller will be used to drive a segmented dome light to allow a rapid sequence of images with different illumination angles to be acquired by a smart camera. The camera will use computational imaging software to extract surface detail that cannot be seen using conventional imaging methods.

The following lenses are already equipped with the FUJINON Anti-Shock & Vibration design: All lenses of the HF-12M series for pixel sizes from 2.1 µm and sensors up to 1” HF-5M series for pixel sizes from 3.45 µm and sensors up to 1.1”: 6mm and 50mm focal length Cambridge

UK

lighting controller will be linked together to give the required camera exposure and illumination needed for imaging. A TR-CL-180 liquid lens controller will be used for high speed adjustment of the lens for focusing. In addition there will be the chance to explore control options for OEMs through the board level TR-100 and TRCL-190 lighting and liquid lens controllers.

VISION will also provide the opportunity to see how multiple lights can be used with line scan cameras for the capture of image sequences under different lighting conditions. Information from different LED sources is captured on sequential lines and individual images for each source extracted using software.

Three controllers will be in action to demonstrate high-speed focusing on objects of different heights using a liquid lens from Optotune AG. A CC320 timing controller, positional encoder from a moving platform, camera and RC120

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Get the image you need

Imaging

Open-architecture lighting systems for Computational Imaging www.computationalimaging.com | www.ccs-grp.com

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IDS Imaging Development

IDS Imaging Development IDS will not only present new models of the vision app-based platform IDS NXT but also pioneering solutions for 3D image processing. The new Ensenso XR series with integrated data processing will be shown for the first time. Novel focusable USB 3.1 Gen 1 board level industrial cameras with liquid lens control will be on show at exhibition stand in hall 1, 1F72, together with additional product innovations and numerous live demonstrations for visitors.

IDS is very familiar with the role as a pioneer: the company was among the first to use USB as an interface for digital industrial cameras. At VISION it will introduce new models, functions and applications which demonstrate that the IDS NXT platform of vision app-based industrial cameras can change the image processing industry in a similar way. For example, the app-based approach allows recurring vision tasks to be set up and changed easily and in a very short time. With the ability to create any vision-based app, IDS NXT can be used in numerous applications and industries.

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Obersulm

Germany

For higher flexibility regarding 3D vision applications, the camera specialist will also present a prototype of the new Ensenso XR series with on-board processing: In contrast to the cameras of the N and X series, which use computers to calculate the 3D point clouds, this model can calculate them itself. Moreover, the 3D data can also be transferred directly to a control unit via GenICam in the future. Ensenso XR hence enables new scopes for application design, accurate acquisition of details and significant acceleration of data processing.

Various demonstrations will emphasize what the different products in the camera manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portfolio are capable of. For example, IDS will show the new USB 3.1 Gen 1 board level cameras with liquid lens control. They facilitate image acquisition at variable object distances as their focus can be readjusted quickly and comfortably via user interface or API. The cameras are available with a 6.4 MP rolling shutter sensor from Sony or the highly photosensitive 18.1 MP rolling shutter sensor from ON Semiconductor, and are equipped with S-Mount or CS-/C-Mount, twist-proof USB Type-C connection and practical USB power delivery.

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JAI

JAI JAI will be presenting a range of new industrial area scan and line scan cameras.

New 3-sensor line scan camera with 10 GigE interface (Sweep+ Series): JAI will demonstrate the world’s first prism-based RGB color line scan camera (Sweep+ SW-4000T10GE) based on a backwards compatible 10GBASE-T GigE Vision interface delivering 10 Gbps output.

The camera is backwards compatible to NBASE-T (5 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps) and 1000BASE-T (1 Gbps).

With a resolution of 4096 pixels per channel and a maximum speed over 100 kHz (100,000 lines/ second) this camera is designed to cover a wide range of industrial line scan imaging applications - from the lowest to the fastest speeds.

New trilinear color line scan camera in the Sweep Series: JAI has added a new high-speed trilinear CMOS color line scan camera (SW-4000TL-PMCL) to its Sweep Series camera family. It features 4K (4096 pixels) resolution and a maximum full line rate of 66 kHz for 24-bit non-interpolated RGB output. Features include horizontal and vertical binning, built-in color space conversion functions as well as direct encoder connection and auto-detection of scan direction.

New polarization camera in the Go Series: JAI will also launch a new polarization area scan camera in the Go Series. The new model (GO-5100MP-USB) is built around Sony’s IMX250MZR CMOS image sensor.

mvpromedia.eu

Valby

Denmark

With 5.1-megapixel resolution and an innovative 4-way polarized filter design it is ideal for inspecting plastics, glass, and other shiny materials in industrial vision applications.

Expanded Spark Series of high performance area scan cameras: Among the new cameras also on display are new 12.4-megapixel low noise/high performance industrial area scan cameras belonging to the Spark Series. These cameras utilize the Sony Pregius IMX304 CMOS image sensor and include both color and monochrome models. The model SP-12401PGE provides 9.3 fps over a GigE Vision interface whereas the SP-12401-USB, with a USB3 Vision interface, delivers 23 fps. The 12-megapixel model with Camera Link interface (SP-12400-PMCL) is designed with Pregius IMX253 and runs with 64 fps. Color models feature several advanced color imaging features including multiple color space conversions, built-in 5x5 de-Bayering capability, and a 6-way color enhancement function.

Microscopy solution with the new Apex Series 3-CMOS cameras: On the booth, visitors can also see a demonstration of a range of new 3-CMOS prism based color RGB area scan cameras in the Apex Series (AP-3200T and AP-1600T) with 3.2-megapixel and 1.6-megapixel resolution respectively. These cameras are developed to meet the most demanding color vision applications in machine vision and medical imaging.

Special Apex models are dedicated microscopy applications in life science and industry and compatible with ImagePro from MediaCybernetics and open source µManager image analysis software.

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LMI Technologies

Berlin

Germany

GoMax Smart Vision Accelerator GoMax is a cost-effective hardware solution that allows users to accelerate any Gocator® 3D smart sensor in order to meet inline production speed, without the need for an industrial PC. This plug-and-play approach connects directly to any Gocator® model and speeds up the sensor by taking over a portion of the data processing (including point cloud generation, 3D measurement, and PLC/robot communication).

LMI to unveil three new FactorySmart 3D Inspection products LMI will unveil three new 3D inspection products, including live product demos.

“The launch of these products continues to advance our FactorySmart approach to automated inline quality control, automation, and optimization.

By offering new benchmark products in three key technology areas, LMI is serving the full spectrum of machine vision customers and working to continually meet their specific application demands,” said Terry Arden, CEO.

Q&A with Terry Arden, CEO, LMI Technologies

Gocator 2500 Series Smart 3D Laser Line Profilers Gocator 2510 and 2520 are the most advanced Gocator line profilers to date. Designed for high performance small parts inspection, these high-speed sensors generate precision 3D scans down to 8 µm X resolution.

With a custom high-speed imager, advanced optical design, dedicated FPGA processing, and built-in measurement tools for 3D alignment, part segmentation, and 3D feature extraction, Gocator 2500 sensors handle the complete processing pipeline--from raw image data to 3D result--in an all-in-one device that operates at inspection rates up to 10kHz. Gocator 3504 Smart 3D Snapshot Sensor At 6 µm the Gocator 3504 is the highest XY resolution 3D snapshot sensor on the market today. Combine that with +/-0.5 µm measurement repeatability, and this groundbreaking sensor provides robust inline factory automation for sub-micron level inspection.

The 3504 has an industrial stereo camera design and point-and-shoot technology inside a ruggedized industrial package that allows for highly accurate inspection without a motion stage. The sensor is pre-calibrated and ready to measure out-of-the-box using just a web browser.

The Gocator 3504 sensor can be used in a wide range of electronics and medical applications such as connector and pin coplanarity, wire detection, surface flatness and stent inspection.

1. Thoughts on how the vision sector is going to develop?

I anticipate ongoing consolidation among vision suppliers--including optics, lighting, cameras and software. At the same time, machine/deep learning is giving new life to many complicated 2D problems.

3D will continue to challenge 2D applications because of its ability to see shape, and the fact that it is invariant to color or position, immune to ambient light, and pre-calibrated to measure out-of-the-box.

2. By the next vision show (2020) what will the vision industry look like?

Every year we see new technologies grab our attention, only to fade into the background as the next innovative solution emerges in a constant wave of change. This is true of cobots, IIoT, Industry 4.0, embedded vision, MIPI, deep learning, hyperspectral imaging, polarization, NBaseT, and so on. So you can be sure that by 2020 we will face a new vocabulary of technology concepts fighting for our attention, each one subtly extending machine vision capabilities and reaching into new market opportunities.

Manufacturers are constantly looking to drive costs down through innovation and increased performance. And from time to time, within that framework, truly revolutionary steps are made. All of this is driven by the tremendous opportunity to automate, inspect, optimize, and generally make factory processes smarter.

PTO

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Gardasoft Vision are the industry expert on controlling lighting for machine vision applications.

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remote configuration of the lighting.

can enable faster inspection whilst simplifying your For nearly 20 years, Gardasoft have used our

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specialist knowledge to help Machine Builders achieve innovative solutions. Contact Gardasoft now to find out how we can help your company.

SEE US AT VISION STUTTGART

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HALL 1, STAND 1E 53

Semiconductor

|

PCB Inspection

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www.gardasoft.com

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Pharmaceuticals

|

Food Inspection

In 2020, the camera companies will be fewer and larger, with perhaps a much greater Chinese presence. There will also be an explosion of AI that uses deep learning to do just about anything and everything, from opening up possibilities in retail and consumer driven markets to changing the way we think about performing traditional 2D inspection.

By that time, NBaseT will finally have stepped up to boost the aging GigE bandwidth from 1 to 5 GB/ sec. And any embedded device supporting the smart factory will have full support for most robots, further powering the robot vision global megatrend.

3. What excites you about the future of the machine vision industry?

Traditional approaches to applying 2D vision for inspection are painful. To this day it remains the unenviable task of the system integrator to combine cameras, lenses, lighting, calibration and software in order to deliver a robust solution. Even when a 2D solution is deployed, constant monitoring is required to ensure the effects of ambient or factory lighting, temperature drift, vibration, and build up of dust or moisture don’t degrade performance.

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Lucid Vision Labs

This is where I see 3D solutions making a major impact. 3D adds the dimension of shape, not just contrast (you get both!) and is unaffected by ambient light, object color, or object movement.

3D sensors are fully calibrated and ready to measure--which avoids imprecise calibration in the field. They are IP67 and ready for harsh factory conditions, and can compensate for temperature drift in order to maintain micron tolerances.

And the list goes on.

When a 3D sensor is made smart with onboard processing (to reduce raw data to pass/ fail decisions), and can communicate results to PLCs or robots over a factory network, then you have created the right conditions to effectively replace 2D solutions with 3D smart sensors.

In general I think the future will see 3D advance in speed (10-50 kHz profile rates), resolution (down to 2-3 µm), package size (super small IP67 to fit just about anywhere), and easy measurement tools that are closely aligned to quality processes (GD&T and GRR). The integrator will begin to smile again with the discovery of how easy 3D is over 2D…. :) Richmond

Canada

performance, a lightweight, compact 29 x 29 mm size, and IP67 protection with a sealed lens tube make the Triton camera suitable for harsh industrial environments. The M12 Ethernet and M8 GPIO connectors provide a robust and sturdy connection resistant to shock and vibration.

LUCID to Introduce the Triton and Atlas GigE Vision Cameras Showcasing the IP67 Triton industrial camera packed into a 29 x 29 mm size, and the 5GBASE-T Atlas featuring the new 31 Megapixel Sony Pregius global shutter sensor.

Will introduce two new GigE Vision camera lines and showcase innovative imaging technologies under the theme “Be Inspired.” Visitors to the LUCID booth will see live product demonstrations and draw inspiration from the latest camera technologies suited for their next machine vision application.

The Triton camera sets a new price performance standard in the industrial camera market.

Active Sensor Alignment for superior optical

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The GigE Vision and GenICam compliant Triton camera ranges from 0.4 MP to 20 MP and will include the 5 MP Sony IMX250MZR/MYR polarized sensors, the 12.3 MP Sony IMX304 global shutter CMOS and the 20 MP Sony IMX183 rolling shutter CMOS sensors. The first Triton model will be released in Q3 2018 featuring the 5 MP Sony Pregius IMX264.

The Atlas is a 5GBASE-T PoE camera capable of 600 MB per second data transfer rates offering 5 times more bandwidth than GigE cameras.

The large format Atlas camera allows for higher resolutions and higher frame rates over standard Ethernet cables up to 100 meters. Measuring only 55 x 55 mm, the Atlas is equipped with a M35 lens mount which can easily be adapted to F-mount.

Just like Triton, the Atlas also features Active Sensor Alignment for superior optical performance with large image sensors. The first model will feature the new 31 MP Sony Pregius IMX342 APS-C format global shutter CMOS, followed by the 19 MP IMX367 and the 16 MP IMX387 sensors.

At the Industrial Vision Days forum organized by VDMA Machine Vision, LUCID’s Product Manager Nina Chen will give a presentation titled “Going Polarized: Adding a New Perspective to Industrial Imaging” on November 8th at 2.30 pm.

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1E17

Matrox Imaging

Matrox Imaging at Vision Stuttgart – Product Preview This year’s focus is on the newest version of Matrox Design Assistant flowchart-based software, including new tools for image classification using deep learning and image registration using photometric stereo. These tools will illustrate inspection and OCR of hard-to-see text.

Paired with this software will be a Matrox Iris GTR smart camera and a Matrox 4Sight GPm vision controller with a GigE Vision® camera, demonstrating the extent of platform flexibility.

Matrox Rapixo CXP —a CoaXPress 2.0 frame grabber programmed using Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) software—will conduct high-speed video capture with a CXP area-scan camera.

The newest vision controller, the Matrox 4Sight EV6, will likewise be on display.

Booth 1E17 will also feature demonstrations highlighting reading of PharmaBraille text, 3D profiling for tire tread inspection, and verifying ID marks using feature-based OCR. These demonstrations will highlight the depth of expertise found within the Matrox Imaging global network.

Featured products: Matrox Design Assistant An integrated development environment (IDE) for creating machine vision applications using a flowchart instead of traditional program code.

Latest updates include new tools for image classification using deep learning, photometric stereo, dedicated shape finders, and native support for 3D sensors, amongst others.

Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) A comprehensive software development kit (SDK) with tools for application feasibility to prototyping, development, and deployment.

An interactive demo area will allow attendees to see the MIL CoPilot interactive environment for experimentation, prototyping, and code generation, as well as the latest advances in image classification using deep learning.

Dorval

Canada

Matrox Rapixo CXP A family of frame grabbers supporting the CoaXPress 2.0 digital interface standard. A separate FPGA development kit (FDK) enables development of custom FPGA configurations to offload and accelerate image-processing functions from the host system.

Matrox Iris GTR A line of compact, capable smart cameras designed for tight spots and dirty industrial environments. Matrox Iris GTR offers software flexibility, pairing readily with the Matrox Design Assistant flowchart-based IDE or MIL SDK. Matrox Vision Academy A comprehensive library of on-demand instructional material on how to use and deploy MIL and Matrox Design Assistant vision software.

Designed to deconstruct complex topics into micro-learning modules, Matrox Vision Academy facilitates self-directed, just-in-time learning.

Matrox Professional Services – Coming soon!

An offering of deeper technical assistance to help customers save valuable development time and deploy solutions more quickly. Services include personalized training, assessing project feasibility, application prototyping, troubleshooting, and debugging, and device interfacing.

About Matrox Imaging Matrox Imaging is an established and trusted supplier to top OEMs and integrators involved in machine vision, image analysis, and medical imaging industries. The components consist of smart cameras, vision controllers, I/O cards, and frame grabbers, all designed to provide optimum price-performance within a common software environment. For more information, visit www.matrox.com/imaging.

Matrox 4Sight EV6 – Coming soon!

A fanless industrial computer based on an Intel® 7th-generation Core™ processor and built for the factory floor. Multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports facilitate multi-camera inspections, while PoE support helps simplify cabling.

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1E72

MVTec Software

München

Germany

MVTec Software

In this method, reflections of known patterns on the particular object surface are evaluated to locate defects. Based

MVTec Software GmbH presents its entire range of cutting-edge technologies at VISION 2018, the leading international trade show for machine vision in Stuttgart, Germany.

on this principle, the demo automatically checks different defective objects in two inspection stations and unequivocally localizes the defects with MVTec HALCON. It becomes apparent how HALCON can be used to straightforwardly create a complete system for complex inspection tasks – without any special hardware.

From November 6 to 8, visitors of booth E72 in hall 1 will experience the latest HALCON 18.11 and MERLIC 4 software releases. MVTec will vividly showcase future-oriented topics such as deep learning, embedded vision, deflectometry, process integration, 3D vision, hyperspectral imaging, and more in fascinating live demonstrations and practical presentations by experts.

HALCON 18.11: Deep learning and embedded vision HALCON 18.11 will win users over with numerous improvements and new functions, some of which are based on deep learning, an artificial intelligence methodology. In addition, the software, which will be released on November 30, offers expanded embedded vision capabilities. The release also provides helpful new functions for developers.

In an interesting live demo with an UR3e robot, MVTec will demonstrate an industrial application scenario with HALCON 18.11. The robot arm will reach into a collection of objects and reliably locate the position of the relevant object, thanks to HALCON’s modern matching technologies. The arm precisely removes this object from the crate, recognizes it by means of innovative deep learning functions, and sorts it.

Another demo offers proof of MVTec’s many years of in-depth embedded vision expertise.

Furthermore, it shows MVTec HALCON’s complete compatibility with many important hardware standards: Three embedded boards and a smart camera are each set to a machine vision task. The corresponding cameras are aimed at an analysis object, which is moved horizontally at high speed.

This illustrates how quickly and robustly the standard machine vision software works on a wide range of common embedded hardware components.

There will also be a demo of the ready-to-use HPeek system image for the Raspberry Pi. HPeek is MVTec’s license-free benchmarking demo program, which is available free of charge and can be used to evaluate HALCON’s performance on Arm®-based embedded platforms in real-life applications.

As one more highlight, the inspection of objects with reflective surfaces with the aid of deflectometry will be demonstrated.

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MERLIC 4: User-friendly machine vision optimized by parallelization MERLIC 4, the new release of the software for rapidly creating complete machine vision solutions, offers a wide range of functions that make machine vision even easier. The software has an outstanding new feature: parallelization, i.e., the ability to run separate tools at the same time.

A further live demo documents the practicality of this new function by performing different inspection tasks with the aid of two cameras, thereby demonstrating the parallelization feature. In addition, it shows how MVTec MERLIC precisely recognizes different fonts on packaging in just fractions of a second, using deep-learning-based OCR technologies.

MVTec also illustrates the seamless integration of a programmable logic controller (PLC) into vision systems using MERLIC. Here, the advantageous integration of MERLIC via Hilscher cards is shown.

Besides, a touchscreen demo presents additional machine vision technologies on all aspects of MVTec HALCON and MERLIC, such as hyperspectral imaging and 3D vision.

As in past years, the MVTec booth will once again offer a forum, where experts will give presentations on new deep learning functionalities in HALCON 18.11 and the parallelization function in MERLIC 4 every 30 minutes, alternating between German and English. In addition, MVTec will be part of the Industrial Vision Days with a presentation on HALCON 18.11 focusing on deep learning, and will participate in the School of VISION with a deep learning seminar as well. Moreover, MVTec will also be represented at the VISION standardization stand with a HALCON-based demo.

VISION 2018 also marks the 10th anniversary of MVTec’s “Image Acquisition Partner” program, which is the largest of its kind worldwide. MVTec will celebrate this and other partnerships during the course of an exclusive partner evening at the trade show.

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PixeLINK

Ottawa

Canada

Weybridge

UK

PIXELINK Will be showcasing their new cameras, the PL-D757 based on the IMX420 and the PL-D753 based on the IMX421.

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SONY Europe

Details of the camera will be made available to journalists and select customers at the show, with a public announcement made in Q4.

The polarised camera will be joined by an embedded vision concept camera and two new, as yet unannounced Sony modules: a 12 MP module based on the Camera Link transmission standard; and a 4K FCB block camera. Sony is set to announce technical specifications of these two modules in the lead-up to the Vision Show.

Sony Europe Sony to preview new category of machine vision module at Vision 2018 Sony Europe’s Image Sensing Solutions division is set to demonstrate the first in a new category of machine vision cameras at Vision 2018.

At the trade fair, it will unveil a new polarised-light module based on its 5 MP GS CMOS device.

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Teledyne DALSA

Teledyne DALSA to unveil breakthrough imaging Teledyne DALSA will unveil a host of new products at the show, including three industry firsts - the first 5GigE area camera, a multi-line CMOS line scan camera, and a multi-array CMOS TDI camera that deliver unmatched performance.

Teledyne DALSA’s new Linea ML 8k and 16k cameras offer high speed and high-resolution mono, color, and multispectral imaging. These multi-line CMOS cameras will transform the way line scan cameras are used, offering options for monochrome/HDR, color, multispectral, and polarization imaging for a growing number of machine vision applications.

Independent start and stop of integration for each array allows versatile illumination configurations in a single scan using pulsed LED lighting technologies.

The new Linea HS 16k camera is based on the latest charge domain CMOS TDI technology.

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Sony’s Arnaud Destruels said: “At the show we’ll be highlighting several strategic additions to our strong and rapidly growing family of advanced GS CMOS machine vision cameras. In recent months, we expanded the line-up significantly, adding advanced pre-processing features and new capabilities such as IEEE1588-master-device functionality.

In addition, we’ve added new transmission standards, launching our first USB 3 module.”

Waterloo

Canada

The multi-array TDI sensor enables high speed multi-field imaging where brightfield, darkfield, and backlit images can be captured in a single scan. Both Linea ML and HS run at a maximum line rate of 300kHz with a Camera Link HS interface using fiber optic cables.

The next gen Camera Link HS fiber interface is ideal for the most demanding applications that require high throughput, long cable length, and immunity to electromagnetic radiation in industrial environments.

The company is also expanding its Genie Nano camera series with eight new 5 Gigabit Ethernet models. A first in the market, the newest Genie™ Nano models offer reliable high-resolution, highspeed inspection for existing GigE machine vision systems and are built around the industry’s best performing CMOS image sensors from SONY. The monochrome and color 5-Gigabit models offer resolutions from 3.2Mpixels to 12Mpixels and Teledyne’s award-winning TurboDrive technology. These new Genie Nano models feature the brand new 5GBASE-T link speed.

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new

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120

6.7fps 9.3fps

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The perfect Picture for your Application. > CMOS or CCD sensor > Four LED light controller > 256 – 512 MB of Burst Mode Buffer (GigE only) > Sequencer, PLC, Safe Trigger > Extended operating temperature range: -10 up to 60°C

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Visit us at Hall / Stand Visit1us at E71

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SVS-Vistek GmbH / Germany +49 (0)8152 9985-0 info@svs-vistek.com 33

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1Z105

UKIVA

Wallington

UK

Literature racks will be available on the booth where members can display their own publicity material alongside UKIVA”s own ‘Vision in Action’ publication.

Vision in Action will also be available for collection from literature racks located at the entrance to the show. Information will also be available on the booth about the next Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition to be run in Spring 2019 by UKIVA. The latest Autumn 2018 issue of Vision in Action contains a special 4-page feature on deep learning and machine learning as well as having a strong emphasis on real-life applications of vision. These include packaging applications for products as diverse as beer, cream, milk and ketchup, as well as a number of 3D robot applications including the automated picking of engine blocks.

UKIVA UKIVA has a strong membership presence at the show, with 16 members exhibiting. The UKIVA booth will be available for any member to hold business meetings. This is particularly useful for those members who are attending, but not exhibiting and do not have their own stands.

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XIMEA

UKIVA members who are exhibiting at the show are: Allied Vision, Baumer, Cognex, Framos, IDS Imaging Development Systems, ifm electronic, Imperx, Matrix Vision, Matrox Imaging, Omron, Scorpion Vision (Tordival), Sick, Sony, Stemmer Imaging, Tamron and wenglor sensoric.

Münster

Germany

XIMEA Will be presenting their latest ground-breaking cameras in a newly designed exhibit booth.

Super-fast PCIe interfaces, high resolution imagers, cooled scientific CMOS cameras and our newest subminiature USB3 camera with 18 MPixels will all be on display.

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A note from the Vision Organisers Embedded vision systems on the advance Embedded vision systems becoming increasingly smaller / Multiprocessor system-on-chip technology gaining ground “Embedded vision systems have continued to develop at a rapid pace and are now an integral part of the machine vision industry. They are therefore permanent fixtures in the product range of many exhibitors at VISION. They open up hitherto undeveloped application areas and therefore conform precisely to the motto “BE VISIONARY‘ of VISION 2018,” enthused Florian Niethammer, VISION Project Manager at Messe Stuttgart.

Christoph Wagner, Product Manager Embedded Vision at MVTec Software, describes the current development of embedded vision systems as follows: “Many applications involving larger unit numbers are now being implemented on embedded devices since these devices have many advantages compared with the standard PC variant, e.g. reduced power consumption, independence of peripherals and lastly the price and shape factor.” MVTec will present the release HALCON 18.11 at VISION 2018.

“The new version will therefore also now be supplied as a standard feature for 64-bit ARM platforms, whereby even more embedded devices will run “out of the box“ with HALCON,” said Wagner.

Trends towards system on chip technology and more intelligent embedded Vision systems represent examples of a trend towards technological convergence between industrial applications and the world of end consumers. “The ARM-based system-on-chip (SoC) solutions are becoming increasingly more efficient and can now often achieve parity, especially in terms of their price-performance ratio, compared with X86 architectures which are still predominant in the industry environment,” said, for example, Gerrit Fischer, Head of Product Market Management at Basler. During VISION 2018 his company will present an embedded vision development kit which combines, as a system approach, different components – a dart camera module with BCON for a MIPI interface, a Snapdragon 820 ARM processor and the pylon camera software suite. The trend is also confirmed by Frans Vermeulen, Head of Sales and Marketing at Active Silicon: “We expect that consumer and off-the-shelf technology will be

integrated in embedded systems to an increasing extent.” During VISION 2018 Active Silicon will present its vision processing unit, an embedded vision computer which was developed for integration in an industrial or a medical OEM device.

“Heterogeneous systems” is what Jan-Erik Schmitt calls the current trend in the product category of embedded vision systems. “They are a combination of several computing units, for example our Linux-based line cameras which are based on a system-on-chip with a dual core ARM processor and a FPGA,” added the Sales Manager of Vision Components. Christopher Scheubel, Head of IP & Business Development at Framos, explained another major trend in embedded vision: “Development is not only moving towards total embedding, but also towards intelligence – in order to let devices act independently and take decisions without any human interaction.“ Autonomous vehicles, service robots in industry and the household, and drones are forerunners in this application.

The future of embedded and smart “Embedded vision systems will probably become established in every industry, but especially in industrial production. Switching manufacturing to new production concepts, which is being stimulated by the basic idea of Industry 4.0, will call for the use of intelligent systems,” emphasised Holger Wirth, Vice President R&D Automation at ISRA Vision. An estimate that is also shared by Paul Maria Zalewski from Allied Vision: “Especially on the two vertical markets of factory automation and intelligent traffic systems, we are seeing a change towards embedded vision because price pressure on the manufacturers of these systems is increasing and their customers expect increasingly more compact vision systems.

“Prophesee introduces Onboard™, its first reference system for implementing breakthrough eventbased machine vision in Industry 4.0 applications.”.

However: “There are also other future markets with far more growth potential for embedded vision systems, for example the areas of service robotics and smart home/building,” said Christoph Wagner from MVTec. Intelligent traffic systems, which will again be a key topic at VISION 2018 and will come under the keyword “Smart Cities”, are regarded as growth drivers for embedded vision systems. Examples here include automated truck parking space assignment with an embedded vision system from the long-standing VISION exhibitor Vision Components and its system software for automatic number plate recognition.

PTO

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Boost your acquisition speed Throttle up: Matrox Rapixo CXP heralds the next generation of frame grabbers with support for data rates of up to 12.5 Gbps per connection. Four CoaXPressÂŽ (CXP) 2.0 connections means an aggregate bandwidth of 50 Gbps for one high-speed camera or multiple independent cameras. Each coaxial cable and matching connection carry command, data, and power for simplified cabling.

New

Matrox Rapixo CXP

Matrox Rapixo CXP also offers custom FPGA-processing, which offloads operations from the host computer, helping tackle the most demanding machine vision tasks with ease.

Matrox Rapixo CXP: Delivering on CXP-12 www.matrox.com/imaging/rapixo_cxp/mvpro

“Embedded vision systems show their full potential in Internet of Things environments and networked systems. We see great potential in the areas of home devices & robotics, automotive, retail and surveillance,” added Christopher Scheubel with his estimation.

Stemmer Imaging does not only want to be restricted to individual application areas: “Porting of the 2018 version of our software library Common Vision Blox for ARM-based platforms running under Linux enables PC systems to be easily changed to new embedded solutions in many applications. Due to this new flexibility, the use of embedded technology should be individually based on performance requirements, space requirements and other marginal conditions,” said Peter Keppler, Director of Corporate Sales.

Interface connection In the area of interface connection Allied Vision sees a trend towards camera modules which support MIPI CSI-2. This standard, which is already being used in mobile devices, forms a basis for the standard initiative “Industrial Embedded Vision Interface“ of the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA).

ISRA Vision is also bringing standard industrial interfaces based on Ethernet into play due to the following reason: “Thanks to the use of standard interfaces based on Ethernet, e.g. Industrial Ethernet, integration is becoming easier for customers,” said Wirth. The company will present, for example, a new embedded camera for robot guidance and 3D position detection during VISION 2018. OPC-UA and WLAN are other interfaces which are supported by the new embedded vision systems of ISRA Vision.

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Spot the difference!

VeriSensÂŽ vision sensors keep an eye on quality.

Quality control is on you. The VeriSensÂŽ vision sensors are your ideal partner: image-based, reliable and supremely intuitive.

Want to find out more? www.baumer.com/verisens

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Tough when it’s rough: New cameras with IP 65/67 protection ensure reliable operation from -40 °C to 70 °C cost-efficient and precise 3D surface inspection with detection of even smallest deviations in shape without requiring an external lighting controller. The compact 40 × 40 mm housing with M3 mount at each side endures shocks up to 100 g and vibration up to 10 g.

Thanks to their light weight of only 137 g in combination with the x-encoded M12 connector, the cameras allow for reliable one-cable solutions via Power over Ethernet (PoE) and are therefore a perfect choice for applications in robotics, e.g. in the automotive industry. The hard-anodized camera surface eliminates the need for additional housing protection which makes them perfect also for the food and beverage or pharmaceutical industry.

Thanks to the extended temperature range from -40 °C to 70 °C, the new CX series cameras with IP 65/67 protection are ideal for demanding applications under extreme conditions. Selected models eliminate the need for additional cooling or heating units and therefore ease thermal integration, saving time and system cost.

The IP 65/67 rated housing protects all sensitive camera elements against dirt, water jets and short-term immersion and makes additional housing protection unnecessary.

Furthermore, the optional modular tube system with a variable number of extension tubes allows lenses to be quickly adapted to the application with great flexibility. The new IP cameras with Sony Pregius and ON Semiconductor PYTHON CMOS sensors feature GigE Vision compliant interface and are available with six resolutions from 1.3 to 12 megapixels. Series production begins in the first quarter of 2018.

The CX series now includes robust IP 65/67 cameras with maximum application flexibility by a selection of more than 70 industry-standard CMOS cameras with resolutions from VGA to 12 megapixels. Sony Pregius sensors of the second generation offer exposure times down to 1 μs and make the cameras ideal in light-intense applications such as laser welding or in high-speed tasks like pick and place to minimize blur.

The CX cameras with ON Semiconductor PYTHON sensors enable more than 1000 frames/s by ROI (Region of Interest) selection. Where used in combination with GigE models in burst mode and a sequencer capable of taking image sequences with image-related settings, the cameras offer virtually unlimited solutions in highly-dynamic applications.

More information on the new IP cameras of the CX series at: www.baumer.com/cameras/IP65-67

Four opto-decoupled outputs with pulse width modulation and an output power of up to 120 W (max.

48 V / 2.5 A) enable control of up to four external lighting units, including adjusting brightness. Using the shape-from-shading method for example, this ensures

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Active Silicon is 30!

Active Silicon contacted MVPro Magazine and asked us a question.

What were you doing in 1988? Active Silicon started making machine vision history on September 4th, 2018 “If you were a movie buff, you were probably watching Rain Man for the tenth time, or perhaps berating the qualities of sequels based on Crocodile Dundee II. Or perhaps you were a gamer, enjoying Gemstone IV or Chase HQ. The average cost of a house was only $91,600 in the US and £61,000 in the UK, which was just as well as interest rates were running at over 10% and 12% respectively!

1988 SAW THE APPEARANCE OF THE FIRST MAJOR COMPUTER VIRUS, THE MORRIS WORM, A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME WAS PUBLISHED AND CDS OUTSOLD VINYL RECORDS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

The S2200 was a single width SBus card developed for the SunTM SPARCstationTM and compatible with SBus based computers. It accepted composite or component analogue video and digitised this to form a 24-bit word of digital RGB data, which was stored in real-time in on-board memory. The stored image could be output continuously to a dedicated monitor along with a superimposed host computer generated overlay. Although the presence of a single video standard in those days made development a little more straightforward, the frame grabber was truly revolutionary in the machine vision industry.

So, while NASA progressed its space shuttle program, Photoshop hit the commercial shelves and Sega launched its Genesis console, Active Silicon were doing their part in creating 20th century technological history.

Active Silicon continue to offer some of the most technologically advanced, highly reliable and well supported machine vision components in the world. See our range of products and contact us to see how we can help you build first-class vision systems.”

So congratulations to Active Silicon, here’s to another 30 years.

In West London, Colin Pearce and Chris Beynon were busy creating Active Silicon, initially as an FPGA design consultancy. The company, with Colin and Chris still at the helm, is now a leading manufacturer of specialist imaging products and embedded vision systems. Looking back on their 30 years, our CEO and CTO fondly remember some ground-breaking milestones.

The pair believe one of their most innovative creations was the S2200 image acquisition card, which completed development two years after the company launch.

Pushing the boundaries of PCB design of the day, this board had such state-of-the-art technology that it remained unchanged and in the marketplace for nearly 20 years. The development team worked, literally, through the night on more than one occasion, using episodes of Only Fools and Horses as test videos, to complete the project.

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MidOpt heads across the pond for fourth VISION As MidOpt gets ready for it’s fourth VISION trade show, Editor Neil Martin talks to Georgy Das, Technical Training Manager, about what they intend to show at the fair in Stuttgart and also what they hope to take from it.

Georgy Das is a Technical Training Manager for the company and he’s a self-described “techie” and early adopter of new gadgets. He has a passion for educating those in the industry about optical filters and providing the simplest solutions to the most complex industrial vision applications on a global scale. His worldwide audiences have appreciated his straightforward presentations and easy-to-implement, cost-effective solutions for their toughest vision applications. It will be his third VISION show.

First things first, what is the company’s focus for VISION: “Our focus for Vision is to continue increasing our visibility in the industry as the premier manufacturer and supplier of machine vision filters and custom optics.”

As for what they hope to get from being at VISION this year: “A peek at the latest trends in machine vision, to be able to add to the conversation about how minimizing problems at the optics level in applications can ensure reliability and, as always, to enjoy meeting with our current and future customers.”

Midwest Optical Systems has 30 years of experience and innovation in the fields of optical design, fabrication and inspection. It is a worldwide leader in machine vision filters and optical solutions.

From its offices Palatine, Illinois, MidOpt offers the widest variety of machine vision filters, including in-stock filters, custom sizes, and mounting solutions. The company proudly states that product availability and low lead times make it the leading manufacturer of machine vision filters.

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Georgy believes that ‘visitors should come to their booth for help with vision application problems. They can troubleshoot and provide an overview of our filter categories and the applications they’re best used for.

They’ll also be showcasing new technologies that set them apart from their competition’.

They will also be educating on the key features of a quality machine vision filter and the MidOpt difference. For those customers who are interested, they can attend a valuable keynote presentation on how to choose the best optical

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filter for their application on Tuesday the 6th at 11:30 am on Stage 2, Hall 1, Stand A75.

When it comes to the products, Georgy says “...we’ll be showcasing our entire line of machine vision filters along with our new SWIR filters intended for imaging in the IR and our new, economical line of NiR wire-grid polarizers that can help reduce specular glare in your applications when using an infrared light source.”

I then ask what are the main applications for the company’s products: “MidOpt machine vision filters are used to create contrast by passing the desired wavelength and blocking interfering ones. They help to ensure repeatability by controlling ambient lighting and create an efficient environment for LED and laser diode light sources. Our polarizers help to reduce special glare and our other custom optics and vision accessories help to solve tough imaging applications and protect expensive lenses and cameras from damage.”

of the most common LED wavelengths and are less angular dependent.

Some of the many industries MidOpt serves include: Machine Vision/Factory Automation Security and Surveillance License Plate Recognition/ITS Medical and Life Science Agricultural Inspection Aerial Imaging Motion Analysis Photography and Cinematography So, for visitors looking to understand machine vision filters, a visit to the MidOpt booth has to be high on the agenda.

And as for their impact on the market: “We believe our machine vision filters will have a very positive impact on the industry. Our wide array of products help solve tough imaging applications, reduce costs and increase application repeatability.”

MidOpt filters are the premier solution for industrial imaging to ensure flawless control, dependable results and the very best image quality. Every filter is produced with the highest standards in durability, so they can withstand even the harshest environments. Unlike traditional filters, MidOpt filters are designed with a Gaussian transmission curve to allow maximum transmission, emulate the output

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Trends in 3D Inspection: Edge Computing, Acceleration, and 3D Smart Sensors for I IoT

Trends in 3D Inspection:

How the industry is achieving higher speeds

Edge Computing, Acceleration, and 3D Smart Sensors for IIoT

Chip manufacturers have already moved into the era of “acceleration,” and they recognize the solution requires a hybrid of three technologies:

Today’s factories need to generate and process data directly from the production floor to ensure quality, drive automation, and enable customization. As a result, manufacturers are embracing Industry 4.0 concepts of networked smart devices that communicate information to drive these automated processes, as well as scheduling and just-in-time processes that produce high-quality product on demand. Smart sensors are an integral part of this factory ecosystem, where digitization and computing take place at “the edge.”

Smart sensors reduce data loads and report meaningful, high-level results that supply e-commerce systems with real-time information. This allows organizations to scale and distribute processes efficiently by leveraging advances in compute speed to reduce raw data closer to the source.

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FPGA (pixel-based processing) GPU (array processing) CPU (general purpose processing) Factories typically use 2D machine vision designed around FPGAs (built into an industrial camera) to deliver raw image data to local PCs for quality control inspection. Smart 2D cameras use a CPU and FPGA to process raw data within the device for simple inspection tasks.

As the camera resolution increases from VGA to 10-25Mp, the cycle times dramatically slow down and another level of acceleration is required. That’s where the GPU comes in.

In dedicated GPU-accelerated hardware devices, such

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as the NVIDIA Jetson TX2 or Intel Movidius, the decision logic part of the workload runs on an ARM CPU––which is optimized for multi-threaded performance––while the compute-intensive portion of the application runs on hundreds of GPU cores in parallel. This combination is the new paradigm of performance at “the edge,” driven by high-performance multi-core technologies.

With these three technologies (FPGA, multi-core CPU, and now massive GPU cores) the resolution and speed of machine vision systems can meet demanding factory cycle times. This additional processing capability is available to drive advances in machine vision including a move from traditional 2D vision to smart 3D vision that adds the critical dimension of measuring shape to quality control.

3D smart sensors - Advanced machine vision at “the edge” 3D smart sensors have all three of the necessary technologies required for effective acceleration, including embedded FPGA and CPU power onboard the sensor itself, and the ability to be paired with a dedicated sensor accelerator (that has GPU + CPU processing power) to provide a complete accelerated solution.

The result is massive compute power at “the edge” (i.e., where the source of data is processed to produce pass/ fail results). Acceleration allows engineers to digest, process, analyze, and take action on massive amounts of manufacturing data in smaller, more manageable packets.

DNA of an accelerated smart sensor - Distributed and scalable network architecture Smart sensor networks are built on a distributed architecture that facilitates scalability by giving process

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engineers various strategies to develop solutions for each manufacturing cell. Applications are implemented loading job files over the factory network. These job files configure measurements that run edge devices, which require minimum interaction with coordinating elements.

As a result, accelerated data processing is achieved by preventing unnecessary or undesired uploads to servers in headquartered data centers.

Onboard data processing capability A smart sensor not only acquires data, but processes that data and communicates control decisions to factory equipment––directly from the edge, without having to send data back to a centralized location. As a result, the sensor is able to carry out computing and storage onboard so that select applications can be executed locally at very high speeds.

Network-enabled When 3D smart sensors digitize and measure a target object, smaller packets of high-level data are communicated to the factory, rather than transferring raw scan data continuously for processing elsewhere.

This capability alleviates pressure on network bandwidth, minimizes latency, and accelerates inspection rates.

Conclusion Edge computing through acceleration improves timeto-action and reduces latencies down to milliseconds while optimizing network bandwidth. In combination with factory systems and powered by accelerated smart sensor technology, edge systems have a profound impact on industrial system performance and ultimately increase quality, flexibility, and productivity for manufacturers.

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Euresys / Sensor To Image Booth 1H46 VI S ION 2018

Easy3D is a set of software tools to build 3D inspection applications. Easy3D is able to generate a depth map from a series of images that contain a laser line projected on the inspected object and computes a calibration model applied to depth maps to transform them into calibrated 3D point clouds. It provides functions to generate such ZMaps.

Also on display the new Camport video converters. This new generation of video converters makes it possible to update a wide range of existing cameras and other image sources to support the latest vision interface standards. So they can improve performance and range of a camera that perfectly fits the application’s requirements.

And finally, we’ll include the Picolo.net HD1 H.265 video server. It stream video from one Full HD (1080p60 or 1080i60) source over an IP network.

Highlights at Euresys’ booth will include demonstrations of the latest CoaXPress frame grabbers, the Coaxlink Quad CXP-12, a new four-connection 12-Gbps CoaXPress 2.0 frame grabber. CXP-12 is the top speed of the latest version of CoaXPress 2.0. It operates at exactly 12.5 Gbps!

So it is twice the existing speed of the CXP Standard. We also demonstrate the Coaxlink Octo, a 8-connection CXP-6 frame grabber. Both support CustomLogic: custom on-board FPGA processing for Coaxlink.

The latest two libraries of Open eVision will also be demonstrated: EasyDeepLearning, a Convolutional Neural Network-based image classification library.

EasyDeepLearning has been tailored, parametrized and optimized for analyzing images, particularly for machine vision applications. EasyDeepLearning has a simple API and the user can benefit from the power of deep learning with only a few lines of code.

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Sensor to Image will be present at Euresys’ booth and will feature its new products. As specialist for GenICam compliant machine vision interfaces, we will demonstrate the latest versions of the GigE Vision 2.1 , USB3 Vision and CoaXPress 2.0/CXP-12 IP cores. On the frontend side, we will demonstrate solutions to interface sensors with output according to the MIPI CSI protocol and Sony IMX Pregius imagers.

Please do not hesitate to contact your Euresys Sales Manager for further information.

www.euresys.com | sales@euresys.com

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EO sets to take VISION by storm again Any VI S ION show would not be complete without Edmund Optics, which has been turning up at the Stuttgart trade show for the last twenty years. Gregory Hollows, Vice President of the Imaging Business unit, tells Editor Neil Martin what’s in stall this time around.

Edmund Optics specialises in optical components and imaging solutions, and it is this that will form the focus of their efforts for this year’s VISION. The company is based in the US (HQ), with regional offices in Europe and Asia, and a global network of regional representatives.

As for what Gregory hopes to achieve this year in Stuttgart: “The industry has made great advancements and is growing into new spaces. I hope to enhance our knowledge as to the direction of the industry over the next 3-5 years.”

And why visitors should pay a visit to their booth: “We are showing a number of new technologies that are available off the shelf, which will benefit metrology systems, vision guided robotics, logistics applications, as well as the rest of the machine vision industry. Also, numerous new products are on the shelves. Come and talk to our engineers, they will help to enable your application.”

The company plans to showcase a wide range of products, including new telecentric lenses, lenses with integrated liquid lens technology, ruggedized lenses, high resolution lenses and filter technology.

The company’s products have a huge impact on the market. Gregory explains: “We believe that our new products will improve the solutions available for the existing market and also expand into new market spaces where vision has not been used effectively before.”

So where does the company see itself in years to come?

“Servicing our customers and partners with technical understanding and application expertise while making a diverse range of high performance advanced optical technologies easily available for both prototyping and production requirements.”

Look out for the Edmund Optics booth. With its big sign “THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON OPTICS”, Edmund Optics’ driving theme, and an enthusiastic team manning the booth, it’s usually easy to spot.

Gregory Hollows background Graduate of Rutgers University with degrees in Physics and Chemistry, 1995 Over 20 years experience with Edmund Optics Applications Engineering Engineering Manager Imaging Product Line Manager Director of the Imaging Business Unit Vice President 17 Years in Imaging and Machine Vision

The company has been around for 76 years, having been founded in 1942 by Norman Edmund. It grew from a one-man operation to a global organization supporting the R&D, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and military markets around the globe. Its products are used in a variety of applications ranging from DNA sequencing to retinal eye scanning and high-speed factory automation.

BOD of AIA since 2009

Nowadays it considers itself to be at the forefront of optical technology, a global leader on a global stage.

BOD of A3 since 2013

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Chair of BOD 2013-14 Chair of Education Committee Conference Teacher for Basic or Advanced Optics, 2007 to Present Chair of Tradeshow and Events Committee

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Scorpion looks to exploit fast moving developments Speak to Julian Parfitt, Sales Director at Scorpion Vision, and he’ll tell you that the machine vision market is in a very positive dynamic state at present, with fast moving developments across all the key areas.

As the company prepares for VI S ION 2018, Editor Neil Martin asks about their plans.

Scorpion Vision has attended VISION for the last decade and believes it to be the premier show for Europe, with many of its existing and potential customers attending.

So, what is the company’s focus for VISION? Julian: “Our key focus for Vision is to advance the development of the HikRobot (a subsidiary company of HikVision) Machine Vision business for our customers in the UK and Ireland. Scorpion Vision is the UK and Ireland distribution partner for HikVision Machine Vision and Smart Cameras and we will be present at all three days of the Stuttgart Vision Show 2018.”

As for what they hope to get from being at Stuttgart this year: “Vision is the most important European show for Machine Vision and also for many of our key verticals such as Automation, ITS, Medical and Test and Instrumentation.

“It is both a key meeting point for discussing business with our customers and the chance to introduce the current and new developing technologies to the market.

“HikVision is gaining market share in Europe with it’s comprehensive range of Tier 1 vision components and systems and we hope that our existing and potential customers will benefit from experiencing the new line-up of product on show.”

Julian believes that visitors should come to the HikVision booth so that they can see the latest lineup of smart cameras, industrial cameras (area and line-scan), block cameras, optics and accessories such as the vision processing VisionBox PC. Also on show will be vision systems such as Line Laser 3D cameras, Binocular 3D cameras and VPU smart code reading cameras.

Julian adds: “In addition to the above products there will be a focus on Smart Camera technology with the HikVision x86 Open Platform Smart camera. This Smart Camera is built around a powerful x86 platform with Intel Quad core processor and is capable of running both Windows and Linux OS.

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“The IP67 rated unit has 1.3, 2, 5 and 6 megapixel sensor options and an integrated LED light source, lens cover and external light source interface, a comprehensive set of IO and SSD storage for fast start-up and data integrity. This cost effective open platform is expected to significantly drive up the use of Smart Camera technology in the industry.”

Julian explains that Scorpion Vision is a Tordivel company.

It provides machine vision systems, components and machine vision expertise.

The company was formed in January 2004 by Paul Wilson, now CEO, and the original remit was to represent Tordivel within the UK, promoting, selling and supporting Scorpion Vision Software. In support of these activities and with the expertise gained from utilising machine vision in industrial environments, an online store was created to sell imaging products to UK industry.

This led to a number of key distributorships being awarded, the most recent being In 2017 when it became the sole UK and Ireland distributor for HikRobot (a subsidiary of Hikvision) China.

Today Scorpion Vision, which is based in Lymington, benefits from a purposely small, but select handful of distributorships for which the company is able to offer first class support and product knowledge for these camera products.

Main applications for its products are very wide ranging, and operate in many verticals including: industrial automation, food and packaging, inspection, robotics and pharmaceutical markets. Its core skills of 3D imaging are much in demand and they have proven experience in a very wide range of applications.

As for what impact their applications will have on the market, Julian says: “The fast development of new systems and innovations will have a key impact on the imaging market with the ability to offer quicker more cost effective solutions to a widening customer and application base.”

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The company enjoys a strong position in the market as a leading 3D Vision supplier with it’s Scorpion 2D and 3D Stinger™ Portfolio. In addition to machine vision component supply, Scorpion Vision Ltd provides machine vision automation software and systems. The company provides sales and support resources to a reseller channel within the UK, providing technical assistance and a sales support role when required, to the UK Scorpion Vision integrator network.

The company also works closely with it’s parent Tordivel, which is based in Oslo, to deliver Scorpion Vision based automation systems to the UK manufacturing industry.

Tordivel is a provider of a world class machine vision technology which has expertise that is second to none

within the machine vision industry. Not just a provider of software, but a highly competent automation business with a long track record of delivering innovative and complex machine vision systems that are robust and reliable.

So, final question, where does the company see itself developing in the future?

Julian says: “The machine vision market is in a very positive dynamic state at present with fast moving developments across all the key areas of Smart Cameras, component cameras, embedded cameras and vision systems. We are well placed with our current partnerships and core activities to grow and contribute to this exciting area of industry and we look forward to our time at Vision 2018.”

Don’t shake

Please visit us 06-08 November 2018 Messe Stuttgart, booth 1H15

The unique Fujinon lens design for stable image quality Fujinon´s Anti Shock & Vibration Technology compensates for shocks and vibrations that often occur in industrial imaging systems. More on www.fujifilm.eu/fujinon Fujinon. To see more is to know more.

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Tamron - the eyes of industry Check out the Tamron Europe website and you’ll see the company’s core approach outlined with the words: “Tamron contributes to society by creating new eyes for the industry.” Editor Neil Martin sees what Tamron has planned for VI S ION, a show it has attended since 2004.

Tamron is a well-known and highly appreciated brand in the market of interchangeable lenses for consumer cameras with its mega zoom lenses and SuperPerformance lens series for high-end photography. These are based on Tamron’s commitment to find exclusive ways to achieve perfect images for both hobby users and professional photographs with its original technologies and outstanding optical design.

The company has been around since 1950 and is headquartered in Saitama, Japan. The European headquarter of Tamron is at the cathedral city of Cologne in Germany. From its base on the shores of Lake Fühlinger, it handles sales, marketing, service and distribution in EMEA region and employs more than 60 people.

The focus for this year’s VISION for Tamron is its newest baby for the M112FM machine vision lens series, which has been very well received in the market since its launch last year. The reason for the popularity of this series is that combines everything what a customer wants in a lens; high resolution up to the edges without vignetting, close to zero distortion, high transmittance rates even in NIR and extremely compact design. It is the smallest lens series for targeted sensor size and it is welcomed and demanded on the market.

6mm focal length. And even though it is an extreme wide-angle lens, it will come in the same 29mm lens barrel as all the other lenses of the series. To make this possible, Tamron has used a sophisticated optical design and a mechanical trick, a detachable the filter holder.

Therefore, the lens keeps its small size when used without filter.

Also, the company’s first global shutter 30x zoom camera module called MP2030M-GS will be on show for the first time at VISION, which should be suitable for many different machine vision applications.

With the MP2030M-GS, Tamron is advancing this product species to an unseen level, featuring an industrial grade CMOS global shutter image sensor and 30x optical zoom and compatibility with the interface of many other camera modules in the market with LVDS output.

The MP2030M-GS is Tamron´s first camera module with a CMOS global shutter sensor with Full-HD resolution up to 60 fps and integrated optical zoom going into serial production. Thanks to its high dynamic range, the video images bring out rich details of dark and bright image areas in the same scene. A low readout-noise combined with near-infrared sensitivity enable clear captures even under low light conditions.

So, this year’s VISION Show will be about launching the newest member of M112FM series, the M112FM06 with

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Above all, the MP2030M-GS features a Tamron signature lens with electronically controllable 30x optical zoom and a field of view between 60° and 2.5°. Comfort functions like auto-focus, auto-iris, auto-white balance, noise reduction, digital defogging and digital image stabilization are also included. Electronically removable IR-Cut filter enables using IR lighting as well. Its impact on the market is very significant, bringing the possibility of very flexible settings to the industry due to the zoom camera, instead of fixed cameras that are used currently.

This camera module is 56 x 61 x 124 mm small, weighs approx. 360 g, and its digital control/video-output interface is compatible with many other camera modules on the market. Thus, the MP2030M-GS is both a value-adding drop-in replacement of discontinued camera modules in existing installations and an enabler of all-new applications including Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS), factory automation including web inspection, airborne aerial surveillance, entertainment and research.

The company believes visitors will come to their booth to see the smallest lenses in the industry, plus the MP2030M-GS 30x global shutter camera module. They will showcase their OEM product range, camera modules and complete product line-up of machine vision lenses.

As for the future, they intend to work even closer with the camera manufacturers to make OEM business easier to handle in Europe.

Contact us on; Vision show: Hall 1 Stand 1H56 Tel: +49 (0) 221 / 66 95 44-0 Web: www.tamron.eu Email: info(at)tamron.de Address: TAMRON Europe GmbH, Robert Bosch Straße 9, D-50769 Cologne

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STEMMER IMAGING readies itself for VISION 2018 STE M M E R I MAGI NG has had a busy year, including its successful I PO, but the emphasis now switches to products and solutions as we near VISION 2018. Editor Neil Martin gets a chance to ask a few questions of Mark Williamson, Managing Director (U K) and Group Marketing Director.

I start by asking Mark, what is their focus for the Stuttgart trade fair.

“Vision is probably the most important event for our industry in Europe. For STEMMER IMAGING it gives us the opportunity to arrange combined meetings with our suppliers and key customer together in one place. This is invaluable. Our message at the 2018 Vision show builds on our belief that by combining products, knowledge and services we can make advanced machine vision easy and accessible giving our customers a competitive advantage.”

Mark pointed out that STEMMER IMAGING has attended every VISION show since it began and his first show was in 2004, when it started to become more international. He believes it is THE place to see new technologies in Europe and possibly in the world.

As to what the group hopes to get from the show: “Of course the focus is to find new customers that need our products and services along with in depth discussions with existing customers. However, while this is most important it is always good to see how our competitors are positioning their products and innovating and how new solutions and technologies are gaining traction in our industry. Being a technology provider it’s important we stay on top of technology developments and know when they reach the tipping point of actually being useful and reliable.”

Mark thinks that visitors will be attracted to the booth because their offering is unique, both in terms of market coverage across Europe, but also with the depth and range of products and solutions available from one source backed by over 300 people; 70% of whom are technically qualified. He adds that whilst they can’t have every product on show, their experts will be on hand to help guide visitors to the optimum approach.

So what will STEMMER IMAGING be showcasing during the show: “Many of the demos are based on Common Vision Blox, a leading machine vision software ready for latest industry trends. Demonstrations will include industry proven

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machine learning tools for any market and application, various embedded vision solutions, 3D applications including Intel® Realsense™, latest developments in hyperspectral imaging as well as demos showing OPC-UA machine vision support for easy industry 4.0 integration.

We will also debut for the first time in Europe a new Human assistance camera system aimed at combining manual assembly instructions and validation that all steps are completed.

“Many of our key suppliers are located adjacent to our booth in the same design ensuring our customers can easily access the latest developments from our partners as well.”

Mark then touches briefly on the main applications for their products and makes the point that because machine vision touches such a wide range of markets and applications, no one market is significantly dominant over others.

One of the larger areas is of course industrial automation and with the move to industry 4.0 just starting, vision technology is identified as a key enabler. Here Mark expects continued success in all areas of manufacturing, including automotive, food and beverage, packaging, pharmaceutical and electronics. What’s more, vision technology is also being adopted in non-manufacturing applications such as sports analysis, medical imaging, media, security and retail.

So what impact will it have on the market?

“We are seeing the introductions of vision products that start to touch the consumer price points such as the Intel® Realsense™ along with lower cost high volume embedded processor technologies driven by the mobile industry. I expect while the traditional machine vision markets will continue to thrive we will also see a new wave of higher volume lower cost applications based on these technologies. This will change the dynamics of the market in the coming years.”

STEMMER IMAGING can trace its origins back to the 1970s and it first became dedicated to machine vision starting in

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1987 in Germany. It now has offices all over Europe and in February 2018, it floated on the Frankfurt stock market.

Back to Mark again: “We are a well-funded stable company with a focus on giving our customers competitive advantage through leading products with knowledge and services all with an aim to be easy to deal with.

“As a public company, we can’t make bold claims.

However, suffice it to say we are one of Europe’s largest providers of machine vision technology and services, with preliminary revenues last year in excess of 100 million euros delivered by just over 300 passionate staff. This strength has direct benefits for our customers. For example our European warehouse households over 8 million euros of stock which is available for next day delivery across Europe.

We like to think that makes a difference.”

And for the future, Mark says:

Mark Williamson Mark’s vision career began at Data Cell and in 1995 he became General Manager at Active Imaging, a subsidiary of Data Cell set up to design manufacture and market network video systems. In 1997 he set up his own company, Pinnacle Vision, offering machine vision components from some of the world’s leading suppliers.

In 2001, Pinnacle Vision joined forces with David Hearn’s Vortex Vision to form Firstsight Vision, which then in 2004 became the first company to join the STEMMER IMAGING group.

Mark has been hugely influential in the machine vision industry as a whole. In addition to building highly successful companies, for 13 years he was chairman of the UK Industrial Vision Association. Currently he is chairman of the Processing and Packaging Machinery Association and also serves on the Board of VDMA Machine Vision.

“In the short term, there is still a lot of potential in what we do without drastic changes. I expect we will continue to expand in Europe, develop our own software capability in our software product Common Vision Blox and maybe look to expand further afield.”

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VISION Stuttgart Nov 6‒8, 2018, Hall 1, Booth E52

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Widening the NET MVPro interviews managing directors Uwe Post (COO/Sales) and Thomas Däubler (CTO/ R& D) to hear what makes N ET, New Electronic Technology so different in the market.

MVPro: When was the company formed and with what objective?

TD: It was in 1996 that NET, New Electronic Technology, started with an objective to develop camera technology for the medical and industrial sectors.

The company quickly found its feet and began to grow.

Success came with its ability to blend sound specialist knowledge with a host of creative ideas and close attention to it’s customer requirements.

MVPro: Now in 2018, how is the company positioned?

UP: We remain a developer of specialist cameras for the medical and industrial sectors. Both these sectors are balanced 50/50 in terms of turnover, a deliberate policy which means that the company is insulated from a downturn in either area. The medical sector tends to be more stable than industrial, although slowdown in the latter is helped by the company’s long term customer relationships and because there is a development lifecycle of several years.

MVPro: Where is the company based and what are its main markets?

UP: Apart from our HQ in Germany, the company now has offices in Italy, Japan and the US. Europe is the company’s main market, with the US and Japan next.

MVPro: Who owns the company?

UP: We are part of the TKH Group. We were fully acquired in 2008 when the NET co-founder sold his shares. TKH is a group of companies specialising in the creation and delivery of innovative telecom, building and industrial

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solutions, with a turnover of over 1 billion euros in 2017.

MVPro: Where are your products used?

UP: Vision solutions for machine builders, system integrators and medical OEMs in Europe, Americas and Asia. We are experts at delivering vision solutions to industry sectors based on application knowledge.

We offer ready available open cameras and smart vision systems for individual, or unique vision systems, and also offer highly flexible board-level cameras for dedicated applications.

MVPro: What is your approach?

UP: Working directly with our customers is an important part of the business. We consult on the entire image processing workflow to optimize the vision solution, and provide experience and in-depth application expertise to support customers with ready-to-use industrial vision solutions. We also have a portfolio of components custom solutions, such as lenses and software, that can be part of the vision solution.

MVPro: Can you explain more about the NET proposition?

TD: Our proposition is what makes us stand out from our competitors. We offer the products to customers that support them in achieving competitive advantages and unique solution offerings. We don’t just sell black boxes, but enable our customers to bring their know-how into the camera, or smart vision system – the NET Open Camera Concept.

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MVPro: How have things changed over the years?

TD: A major change came in the early 2010s when we took the decision to develop intelligent cameras and since then we have built-up a profound smart vision knowledge.

Our cameras and smart vision systems are flexible to customization, as well as latter adaptations by our clients in regard of the in-camera application function (IP Cores).

MVPro: What would you say is your USP? UP: We pride ourselves on being able to analyse our customers and their market demands, and translate that into suitable concepts and vision solutions. We understand the entire vision workflow and have a deep understanding of the technological possibilities for the customer’s demand. Not only that, our sales engineers are vision experts for various industrial sectors who actually consult clients on how to achieve their application goals.

We also take a detailed approach into how it works with our customers and suppliers. We believe we ask the difficult questions to really be able to improve, or develop the right vision solution for our clients.

This is why our sales engineers have a very good understanding of the application challenges in various industrial sectors, and do not just focus on selling, but the application solution best for our client. We put our clients first.

What’s more, we focus both on the technical and the commercial aspects of vision to create sustainable solutions.

MVPro: So what is the key objective?

UP: To aim for long-term collaboration with clients who consider ourselves an absolutely trustworthy and reliable partner that boosts transparent communication. We are flexible and can react quickly to client demand with creative solution approaches and innovative products.

MVPro: What about R&D?

Our highly flexible vision solutions offer new ways for OEMs to achieve a better market position with their application.

We also believe that open cameras will be more important in future. We give power back to customers that really want to make vision a point of differentiation and uniqueness.

We also focus more on vision solutions that allow system integrators to achieve their goals faster. And in smart and embedded vision there a lot potential for more efficient vision solutions.

It’s important for us to continue to introduce innovative product concepts in the future that bring the Open Camera Concept onto a new level for the industry.

We will also continue to offer custom solutions in regard to the entire vision solution, or single components that are also part of their solution.

MVPro: Given that Open Source is such a big concept for NET, the obvious question is, will customers be able to do it for themselves?

TD: Customers are already doing a lot themselves and we are there to provide support and services. We are one of the few companies, if not the only, who adopt this approach, and we recognise that customers are more educated than a few years ago. We also feel that our approach has been well received by the market.

MVPro: So anything else you would like to add?

UP: We continuously extend our business segment with a stream of innovative products which are very much geared to the future.

Our fundamental aim is to develop technology with a human focus, making people’s lives safer and more convenient, and that’s our core philosophy.

MVPro: Thank you.

TD: We have put a lot of effort into the evolution of powerful cameras that follow the lead of the Open Camera Concept. We continuously develop our competence in smart vision technologies. In short, NET will present an ARM-based vision system making it more convenient than ever to create unique embedded vision applications.

Another example is our new modular camera solutions that will offer great potential to medical device manufacturers as they benefit from more flexibility and improved integration.

MVPro: So what about the future?

TD: The future is smart and embedded vision, and we see ourselves as pioneers in these fields, adding further intelligence to the cameras we develop. We also lead in terms of adding increased functionality into our cameras, initially via Intel and integrated CPUs, but now moving towards ARM technology.

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The poisoned apple effect Breaking the chains of Traditional Machine Vision

distress in a much more expensive story; the integration of Traditional Machine Vision. In this tale, visual Quality Assurance (QA), gating and sorting has always been the necessary evil, helping manufacturers reduce the risk of defective products. The process begins with the manufacturer identifying a need for QA and assessing whether a certain point on the production line is worth the time, effort and cost of implementing a machine vision solution.

In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the jealous stepmother of the protagonist orders the title character to be killed. Snow White escapes and is later discovered hiding in the seven dwarfs’ cottage. To further her evil agenda, the stepmother disguises herself as a hag to deliver a poisoned apple, which causes Snow White to fall into a deathlike sleep that can only be broken by a kiss from a prince. Here Harel Boren, CEO of Inspekto, founder of Autonomous Machine Vision, explains how manufacturers and their QA managers can ensure their QA story has a happy ending, just like Snow White’s.

For decades, manufacturers have been the damsel in

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If it is, the manufacturer will then appoint a systems integrator to put together a QA solution for critical points on the production line. This is because implementing a Traditional Machine Vision solution requires a long process of planning, design and commissioning. This lengthy procedure requires preparing Proof of Concepts, tedious test plans and development of the final applicable solution.

To build that inspection solution, the appointed integrator is required to choose an array of lighting, cameras, lenses and other components.

Once a solution has been defined, the integrator will then install it during a period of production downtime - an additional cost for the manufacturer. After all this work, you’d expect a consistent and trustworthy, reliable solution, equipped to deal with the challenges of the future. You’d be wrong. What many QA managers discover is that what they’ve actually been given is a poisoned apple.

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Twist in the tale Once a manufacturer has taken this course, they are trapped. Any changes to the conditions in the factory or to the product being manufactured requires the integrator to return to address the problem. In many scenarios, it requires the entire process to be repeated to design an entirely new solution from scratch. The manufacturer is held captive to the machine vision solution installed. In fact, many manufacturers feel they’ve turned out to be a ‘profit centre’ whose difficulties continually feed the systems integrator with more and more work - and more and more budget.

Because implementing a traditional machine vision solution is so complex, it would be impossible for the QA manager or any other staff to complete the task themselves. The manufacturer has never had the choice but to accept the poisoned apple or run the risk of defective products. But this is about to change.

A happy ending Just like Snow White waited for Prince Charming’s kiss, the market has long been waiting for Autonomous Machine Vision. Developments in image registration, computervision, deep learning and other artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have enabled the development of Plug and Inspect technology required to power a system that gives the QA manager complete autonomy.

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Autonomous Machine Vision provides the QA manager with the freedom to install and maintain his or her own systems, because it is straightforward to set up and install.

Without any external help, the manufacturer can install and run a system anywhere on the production line and set it up within minutes. What’s more, the system is self-setting and self-learning, which means that when changes are made to the production line, the system self-adapts, so the entire process can be managed in-house.

Because of Autonomous Machine Vision’s affordability and immediacy, it opens up the possibility of Total QA, where machine vision systems are not limited to critical points but can be installed at all stages of the production line. Total QA allows the manufacturer to identify defects as they occur, preventing wasted time and resources.

Autonomous Machine Vision liberates manufacturers from the poisoned apple trap. Instead, manufacturers are free to independently install, by themselves, visual QA systems at all stages of the production line to address defects early on - that’s a happy ending if I’ve ever heard one. The spell is lifted for QA managers, allowing them to live happily ever after.

Inspekto is a German industrial company with Israeli DNA. Backed by leading industrial businesses from across the DACH region, the start-up is out to reshape the machine vision sector, introducing the first powerful entries into the new Autonomous Machine Category.

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5

Things you don’t want to know about Stuttgart

How often do we ignore the background to trade show locations? Editor Neil Martin is determined to find out a little more about the hometown of VISION.

Of course when we’re on business trips, the last thing we do is take a look around the local attractions, or take in the sights. It’s fly in, do the business and fly out. Me, I like to spend at least a few hours taking in the main attractions, although I have to admit that at the last VISION, I didn’t get much further than a very nice cafe in the centre. I was drawn in by the cosy atmosphere, superb coffee and ever better cheesecake. Yes, museums might improve your cultural standing, but a good cheesecake, it’s hard to beat.

But, just in case you want to impress your colleagues, or indeed you partner, with your knowledge about one the of nicest places in Germany, well read on.

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First things first though, Stuttgart actually means ‘mare’s garden’, from the original name Stutengarten. It’s the sixth largest city in Germany and in case anyone was wondering why there are so many nice cars around (I once had a taxi which must cost more than any home I’ve bought), it’s the home of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

It’s a also very green City and open spaces are wrapped around a charming city centre. There are a number of large parks and just north of the Rosenstein Castle, is one of the largest zoos and botanical gardens in Europe.

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So, given that, here’s the five things you don’t want to know about Stuttgart: 1. Home to the world’s largest pig museum.

I have to admit, this is a new one on me. I didn’t know this, nor did I think there were such things as pig museums.

However, and appropriately enough, the Schweine Museum Stuttgart occupies an old city slaughterhouse. It’s made up of 29 rooms, many of them themed (such as the Piggy Bank Room) and over 50,000 varying artifacts with a pig connection. As you might imagine, it has a restaurant which specialises in, yes, you’ve guessed it, pork.

2. Only German city with a municipal wine estate.

Surely too cold I thought when I heard this fact. Apparently not though, as there have been vineyards there since c.30AD and by now, they have got it right. The municipal wine estate covers a very respectable 15.5 hectares and no doubt is used to keep the local officials happy during official events.

3. Enjoys its own Oktoberfest Someone told me that Oktoberfest in Munich actually takes place in September, not October, which I find strange, but who am I to argue? All I know that this is where you go to drink a lot of beer, with a load of others in a large hall and get served by people in traditional dress.

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Well, the hot location for such activity is Munich, but Stuttgart also boasts its own celebration of beer, its own Oktoberfest. It actually takes place twice a year (anytime but October no doubt) and is said to host as nearly as many people as Munich attracts for its beer fest. Cheers.

4. Birthplace of the Teddy Bear Pooh Bear and Paddington were in invented, in concept form, in Stuttgart by a chap called Richard Steiff. I’m embarrassed to say I used my Teddy Bear as a punchbag, throwing him around the room as I tried out various kung-fu techniques. It was the time when Bruce Lee was a screen idol and my Teddy Bear was useful for practising roundhouse kicks. Lee died young and so did my Teddy Bear, more’s the pity. I understand that old Teddy Bears are worth quite a lot nowadays!

5. It’s Christmas Time It may be a time of tedious songs which we’ve now heard year in, year out for seemingly decades, but it’s also the time of one of Europe’s biggest Christmas markets. It kicks off on the last Thursday of November (not long after VISION if you want to hang around) and finishes on the 23rd of December (good time to buy the turkey). It is said to date back to 1692 (watch those sell-by dates on the Christmas cakes) and the near 300 decorated stalls are visited by almost three million people every year.

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EMVA OBIT E MVA releases statement regarding tragic death of standards manager Arnaud Darmont

The EMVA Board of Directors and the entire EMVA staff are shocked about the sudden and unexpected death of Arnaud Darmont who died on September 12th after a tragic accident in the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico/USA. “With the death of Arnaud, the EMVA and in more general the entire imaging industry lost a bright and driven person who contributed significantly to both educating and advancing the industry” said EMVA President Jochem Herrmann. “Arnaud will be terribly missed. Our thoughts are with his parents and his brother”.

Vision entrepreneur driven by education idea Arnaud Darmont dedicated his entire professional life to the computer vision industry. After his degree in electronic engineering from University of Liège (Belgium) in 2002 he began to work in the field of CMOS image sensors and high dynamic range imaging. Arnaud combined technical enthusiasm for optoelectronics with human values which led him to found his own enterprise APHESA in 2008. He authored several publications and was author of the book “High Dynamic Range Imaging – Sensors and Architectures”, which was published in a first edition 2013. He was just about finishing up the second edition to appear this year. A strong focus of his work always was the dissemination of his knowledge within the vision community and to newcomers in the computer vision domain through trainings and custom electronics design of imaging devices. He already prepared the celebration of the 10 years anniversary of APHESA at the end of this month.

December 2017 the EMVA was gifted to get him on board as Standards Manager. In this position he oversaw the development of EMVA standards, but also fostered cooperation with other imaging associations worldwide on the development and the dissemination of vision standards. “We all remember how Arnaud took this role with enthusiasm and high commitment. Though he served in this position for a bit less than a year, he facilitated the start of two new EMVA standards, and built bridges to other associations. As such, he established links with standards groups of IEEE and was an active member of SPIE and IS&T. The foundation he led during this time will be part of his legacy to the entire machine vision industry”, said EMVA President Jochem Herrmann.

Arnaud contributed to the life of his city community by being an active member of local associations. When his job gave him some freedom, Arnaud indulged his passion for photography and piloted private planes as hobby.

A passion for machine vision standardization Since the very beginning of his professional career, Arnaud was an active and much valued member of the EMVA 1288 standardization group. “By his profound knowledge of image sensors and by his rich experience he helped to shape the EMVA 1288 standard to the globally used standard it is today. Arnaud was also busy advertising the standard all around the globe giving courses and educating the machine vision community”, said Prof. Dr. Bernd Jähne, Chair of the EMVA 1288 Standard Group and EMVA Board Member.

Starting the successful cooperation of his company APHESA with DELTATEC SA in 2017 Arnaud gained freedom to devote more of his professional time to education and standardization activities. As such, in

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EMVA Standards Manager died at age 39

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