Highlights: Novel insect eye – CMOS sensor generation with global shutter – World’s smallest machine vision systems – First USB 3.0 cameras
The countdown is on! It’s only a few weeks until the world’s most important annual trade fair event of the machine vision industry opens its doors. Then VISION 2012, the international trade fair for machine vision, will celebrate its silver anniversary. And for the first time the large exhibition will take place in the most attractive and largest trade fair hall of Messe Stuttgart, Hall 1. Under the motto “One VISION” all of the roughly 360 expected exhibitors will now be together under one roof and from 6 – 8 November on over 21,000 square metres of exhibition space will present their new products and highlights in the areas of machine vision components such as cameras, image sensors, vision sensors, frame grabbers, illumination, lasers, optics, software, as well as machine vision systems, application solutions and services. And it promises to be really exciting because the machine vision industry is characterised by its strong innovative power. Based on the model of an insect eye, the exhibitor Xapt for example developed its eye-sect X16, an adaptable image sensor cluster with 3D vision and extremely high scene resolution. “This is a completely new type of sensor technology, which enables optical inspection in many areas where otherwise it would be inconceivable due to minimal space or costs”, states Managing Director Marco Brinker. The “compound eye” will be presented for the first time at VISION 2012. The desire for innovation in the machine vision industry is also fittingly honoured at the 25th VISION with the presentation of the 20th VISION award. The following medley of innovations gives you a taste of what’s in store at the leading world trade fair VISION 2012:
Next generation of CMOS image sensors with global shutter function
CMOS technology is coming out on top as the core of many camera systems, primarily where high image capture speeds and high resolutions are required. Sensors with a global shutter function and microlenses are considered to be pioneering technology because they read the sensor image instantly and are not line-based which has been the case up until now. Sharper images of moving objects can thus be captured. One exhibitor showcasing this technology at VISION 2012 is ON Semiconductor Belgium with a new CMOS range of sensors which offer up to 25 megapixels resolution. Also at VISION 2012 Viimagic will present its new CMOS image sensor generation with full HDTV resolution and global shutter, as well as simplified activation of the sensor. “These sensors are suitable for the highest requirements in industry automation, safety and traffic surveillance, as well as medical technology and metrology – everywhere where optimal image quality is required under the toughest light conditions”, states Dr. Rainer Schweer, CEO from Viimagic. The team from the Swiss-based company CSEM Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique developed an ultra-quick optical line sensor. It can capture white, red, green and blue lines at up to 200,000 images per second at the same time and in a single light exposure cycle.
Balancing act: More precise at increasing speed
Many camera manufacturers have already jumped on the CMOS bandwagon and are constantly further developing their products. Camera systems must be able to reliably detect and analyse faults accurately in every detail for example in manufacturing processes, also at extreme speeds. For instance Teledyne Dalsa presents the high-performance camera range Falcon2 with up to 12 megapixels of CMOS technology of the next generation at VISION 2012 – including global shutter function. OptoMotive introduces onto the market the forward-looking high-speed smart camera range Velociraptor EVO with CMOSIS sensors with a sensor area of up to one inch. Thanks to the user programmability of the FPGA they can be ideally tailored to the user’s requirements. FastecImaging has a new hand-held high-speed camera range TS3 100 in its portfolio at VISION 2012, which produces over 500 ultra-sharp images per second with a high resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels.
What happens to the diesel drops during injection? How does a shock wave spread after the explosion? Such questions can be examined using high-speed cameras from VKT. For example the Fastcam SAX from Photron has been optimised. It records approximately 12,500 images per second and at 1,024 x 1,024 pixels. The high image quality is thus guaranteed by the extreme sensitivity to light.
With 100,000 images per second at 3 megapixels resolution the high-speed camera system Q-MIZE from AOS Technologies is setting standards. The trade fair innovation is particularly suited for taking images under difficult conditions such as at high speeds, heavy knocks, as well as vibrations. “It represents what’s feasible at the moment in terms of technology”, states Stephan Trost, Managing Director at AOS, “and is also well equipped for future requirements.”
Fast data highways for high data volume
The trend towards ever smaller pixels, larger image sensor areas, as well as rapidly increasing frame rates, inevitably demands higher speeds for the transmission of immense image data volumes from the camera to the computer. The two new high-speed standards CoaXPress and CameraLink HS, as well as 10 GigabitEthernet Vision (GigE-Vision), Dual-GigE Vision and finally USB 3.0, are the focus of VISION 2012. What data interface is best suited is largely dependent on the respective application, however. Photonfocus presents for example the high-speed CMOS camera solutions with double-rate technology at VISION 2012. They are based on GigE-Vision, however have nearly double the range for data transmission. The standard interface GigE also has the advantage that multicamera systems can be built without any problems. The two new high-speed interface standards CoaXPress and CameraLink-HS must establish themselves first. At VISION 2012 exhibitors with the first cameras will be present. For instance Mikrotron has equipped a newly developed 4 megapixel high-speed camera with the high-performance CoaXPress real-time data interface, which manages up to 2.4 GByte/s (downlink) with a cable length up to 40 metres. Rauscher will showcase a line camera from e2v with CoaXPress interface at VISION 2012. At VISION 2012 PCO celebrates a première with the first camera models with CameraLink-HS interface. “We prefer CameraLink HS (X-protocol) because chipsets with the popular 10 GigE standard can be used; the protocol, however, is significantly more efficient than with the 10 GigE meaning data rates up to 1245 MByte/s per cable can be achieved. In addition, trigger signals can be transmitted in real time, and with fibre optic cables distances of up to 10 kilometres are possible”, explains Dr. Gerhard Holst, Head of Research at PCO.
First camera systems with USB 3.0
For cameras in the medium- to lower performance class the USB 3.0 interface is always more attractive as this connection technology is simple and reasonably priced. “The first release of the much awaited standard USB3 Vision will be ready just in time for VISION 2012 and at the same time the first products will also be available”, states Dietmar Unser, Sales Manager at Matrix Vision. The company is one of the leading companies in the development of the USB3 Vision standard and will be present at VISION 2012 with its own ultra-compact USB 3.0 CMOS camera range. The camera manufacturer Basler is also impressed with USB 3.0: “The USB 3.0 interface will replace the majority of the current FireWire and USB 2.0 cameras over the medium term and together with GigE will establish themselves as mainstream interfaces”, explains René von Fintel, responsible Product Manager at Basler. At VISION 2012 the company will present a wide range of ace two-dimensional cameras with USB 3.0 interface – compatible with the USB3 Vision standard. XIMEA is represented at VISION 2012 with USB 3.0 cameras in an ultra-slim design and presents for the first time the new GPU-supported PC camera CURRERA-G with connections for four additional USB 3.0 satellite cameras. And whoever wants to obtain general information on the advantages and benefits of the individual interface standards should come to the Special show: “International machine vision standards” of VISION 2012.
World’s smallest machine vision systems
VISION 2012 will not only show that machine vision systems are becoming more efficient and have higher resolutions, but also that their size is shrinking more and more: “With a height of only 15 millimetres miniMML is the world’s smallest telecentric lens inspection system for machine vision”, states Hiroaki Tomono, Product Manager Machine Vision from Schott. It is one twentieth smaller than conventional imaging equipment with comparable efficiency and performance. The telecentric lens, separate LED light, CMOS camera and the power pack, sit in the ultra-compact housing. “The selection of components, as well as adjustment of the setting will become superfluous”, emphasises Tomono. According to Kappa optronics, Tauri 2 is one of the smallest and most stable HD-SDI cameras on the market, which will be presented at VISION 2012 and is ready to go into production. It is extremely robust and proved this in an endurance test during the 24-hour run from Le Mans as a cockpit camera. With the IK-HD1 range Toshiba claims it has one of the world’s smallest Full-HD 3CCD colour cameras with detachable camera head. It is suitable for use in the medical device industry, print inspection, food controlling, as well as the pharmaceutical industry.
Demand for 3D – particularly also in medical technology
Medical technology is a growing market. Exhibitors offering machine vision components and solutions on this topic are clearly marked with the MDT logo under the leitmotif “Medical Discovery Tour” so that interested visitors can quickly find their way around. The Medical Discovery Tour is one of the absolute highlights of VISION 2012. At the AIT trade fair stand the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology will present live demonstrations of its further developed world’s smallest 3D dental scanner. Using AIT stereo vision technology a digital impression can be taken contactlessly. Dental impressions using plastic moulding compound are obsolete. There is huge potential in 3D machine vision, also where the medical area is concerned. Solectrix developed the proCam system which processes 3D videos in real time. At the beginning of the year a Portuguese surgical team successfully tested the system for the first time in use for 3D documentation and real-time monitoring in the operating theatre. The camera heads were integrated in a microscope for this purpose.
Find solutions or partners in the Integration Area
The Integration Area is aimed directly at end users and provides exhibitors with a platform especially for system integrators and solution providers. For example TEMA offers modern concepts for optimal print inspection for quality assurance from a single source – from the pre-printing stage to the evaluation of the test results. “In addition to the precise inspection of the product itself, it is necessary to already avoid errors in advance and evaluate test results practically”, states Achim Hartmann, Sales Manager at TEMA. In the Integration Area Neogramm presents a machine vision solution with a line camera for the automated counting of random products in motion. “The separation of products becomes superfluous. At speeds of up to one metre per second the system reliably detects each individual object – also in the case of overlapping”, confirms Managing Director Philipp Hüthwohl. “With the Integration Area VISION 2012 is fully meeting the increasing market requirements for complete solutions”, states Florian Niethammer, Project Manager of VISION at Messe Stuttgart.
Many more attractions, premières and trends await you at the leading world trade fair, as well as a comprehensive framework programme for the exchange of knowledge and expertise and education and training offers. Not only the main visitor target groups such as the machine vision industry itself, electro-technology and electronics industry, the automotive industry including suppliers, mechanical engineering industry, as well as the medical technology industry, are catered for at VISION 2012. Machine vision systems are interesting for almost all areas of life. The exhibition is expected to attract over 7,000 visitors.
Suggestions for image captions:
Xapt IMAGE: Xapt presents eye-sect X16, a completely new type of sensor technology, at VISION 2012. It is based on the model of an insect eye, has 3D vision and extremely high scene resolution.
Viimagic image: At VISION 2012 Viimagic will present its new CMOS image sensor generation with full HDTV resolution and global shutter, as well as simplified activation of the sensor.
AOS image: With 100,000 images per second at 3 megapixels resolution the high-speed camera system Q-MIZE from AOS Technologies is setting standards.
Image 1 or 2 Mikrotron: Mikrotron has equipped its 4 megapixel high-speed camera with the high-performance CoaXPress real-time data interface, which manages up to 2.4 GByte/s (downlink) with a cable length of up to 40 m.
PCO image: At VISION 2012 PCO celebrates a première with the first camera models with CameraLink-HS interface.
Matrix Vision image: Matrix Vision is one of the leading companies in the development of the USB3 Vision standard and will be present at VISION 2012 with its own ultra-compact USB 3.0 CMOS camera range.
Basler image: At VISION 2012 Basler will present a wide range of ace two-dimensional cameras with USB 3.0 interface – compatible with the USB3 Vision standard. They are even more compact in comparison to previous ace models.
Ximea image: XIMEA is represented at VISION 2012 with the very compact xiQ USB 3.0 cameras and presents for the first time the new GPU-supported PC camera CURRERA-G, which offers four further USB 3 connections for satellite cameras.
Schott image: With a height of only 15 millimetres, according to its manufacturer miniMML is the world’s smallest telecentric lens inspection system for machine vision. Schott will present it for the first time at VISION 2012.
Kappa image: According to Kappa optronics, Tauri 2 is one of the smallest and most stable HD-SDI cameras on the market, which will be presented at VISION 2012 and is ready to go into production.
AIT image: At the AIT trade fair stand the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology will provide live demonstrations of its further developed world’s smallest 3D dental scanner for modelling digital dental impressions. Image source: a-tron3d.com ((image source must be specified here!))
Solectrix image: Solectrix developed the proCam system which processes 3D videos in real time. It is suitable for example for 3D documentation and real-time monitoring in the operating theatre.
TEMA image: Quality assurance from a single source is what TEMA offers in the Integration Area at VISION 2012. Here it is about modern concepts for optimal print inspection.
Neogramm image: In the Integration Area at VISION 2012 Neogramm presents a machine vision solution with line camera for the automated counting of random products in motion.
Toshiba image: With the IK-HD1 range Toshiba presents one of the world’s smallest Full-HD 3CCD colour cameras with a detachable head at VISION 2012.
[info] More info:
International Trade Fair for Machine Vision
Messe Stuttgart – Mitten im Markt
06.11. – 08.11.2012
www.vision-fair.de
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