1stVision, Author at 1stVision Inc. - Machine Vision Articles

December 16, 2024December 16, 2024

Plug’n Stream IDS Imaging μEye SCP / μEye SLE industrial dashcams

Unpacking the μEye SCP/ μEyeSLE product names to preview what’s on offer, the “S” stands for Streaming. The rest of the product names come from IDS Imaging’s popular GigE Vision camera families μEye CP and μEye LE, respectively. So the value proposition is a bundled streaming solution piggybacked on top of another product platform. This creates economies of scale for the manufacturer and the customer alike.

Continuous monitoring with event-triggered video recording

Anybody running complex systems has to monitor them for performance and quality control – and/or to recover from breakdowns or detected concerns. Traditionally one had two options:

Wait for a breakdown and try to deduce what went wrong, or
Construct a video monitoring system from the constituent components… and program as needed

The “wait and see” options is attractively inexpensive on the face of it. But it risks expensive losses from the period prior to detecting the failures. Worse, it may not be possible to determine what went wrong if one missed the event that triggered the failure.

Constructing a video monitoring system from scratch is possible – and many have done it. Until now it generally required sourcing camera, lens, and PC, and writing complex software capable of episodic streaming and recording, and event-detection and logging.

IDS μEye SCP / μEye SLE provide Plug’n Stream no-PC-needed solution

Systems evolution in many fields, including machine vision, periodically takes what once had to be programmed to something that need only be configured. The system provider helpfully packages the algorithms into parameterized controls that are user-friendly to the deployer. That way one can focus on the application domain, event management, and process control.

IDS Imaging has done exactly that to create μEye SCP / μEye SLE – think “industrial dashcam” – with both housed and board-level options. The comprehensive 9 minute video below provides a great introduction to the product, its capabilities, and some applications examples.

Discuss the stream cameras with our sales engineer

The comprehensive 9 minute video below provides a great introduction to the product, its capabilities, and some applications examples.

9 minute introduction and overview – Courtesy IDS Imaging

Event Recording

The system streams continuously to internal persistent memory, periodically overwriting previous streams that were not part of any events deemed worth saving. This creates a recorded stream for a defined period from x seconds prior to an event, through the event, and to y seconds afterwards, where x and y are user-definable.

That documents machine malfunctions or failures. Which makes it easier to analyze process errors – and address them for system improvement.

No PC needed – System on a Chip (SoC)

With System on a Chip (SoC) from Ambarella, the camera has the onboard smarts to directly process and evaluate image data.

The user need only configure the parameters that define an “event”, the duration to capture before and after the event, which of several formats to record, and whether to operate standalone or integrated into other systems.

Use cases

Just to get the juices flowing, consider use cases like the following:

Industrial process monitoring – the human operator has the overview but μEye SCP / SLE can monitor automatically at the detail level – recording events and raising alerts if needed – Courtesy IDS Imaging

Video analysis – for scouting or officiating for example – Courtesy IDS Imaging

Smart city applications – let the system identify pedestrians within a specific field of view – Courtesy IDS Imaging

WebCockpit configuration

With no PC required to operate the system in standalone mode, configuration may be done through a frontend in the browser. The frontend settings control streaming, recording, and video modes.

Optionally on can use the web service and a REST API to seamlessly integrate into existing systems, for those who prefer or require integrate over standalone deployments.

1st Vision’s sales engineers have over 100 years of combined experience to assist in your camera and components selection. With a large portfolio of cameras, lenses, cables, NIC cards and industrial computers, we can provide a full vision solution!

About you: We want to hear from you! We’ve built our brand on our know-how and like to educate the marketplace on imaging technology topics… What would you like to hear about?… Drop a line to info@1stvision.com with what topics you’d like to know more about.

December 13, 2024December 13, 2024

Edmund Optics C-Series Fixed Focal Length SWIR Lenses

Ideal when paired with SONY IMX990 or SONY IMX991 sensors, Edmund Optics’ C-Series fixed focal length SWIR lenses support a 2.8µm pixel pitch far smaller than classic SWIR pixel sizes in the 5 – 15µm range.

Fixed focal lengths help the lens designers achieve great performance while minimizing production costs due to fewer parts.

Please help me choose the right lens.

Industry-insider tip

Certain sensors marketed as Vis-SWIR (Visible plus SWIR spectrum coverage) are far less expensive than those traditionally designed for SWIR alone – and perform really well in the SWIR range (900 – 1700nm). The SONY IMX990 and SONY IMX991 are two such sensors, the former available in AVT Goldeye 130, and the latter in AVT Alvium 1800. So are SONY IMX992 and SONY IMX993, as featured in AVT Alvium cameras with diverse interface options.

So while certain users buy those sensors for applications that generate an image in both the visible and SWIR portions of the spectrum – MOST buyers are purchasing these sensors “just” do do SWIR applications in a cost-effective way.

It’s a bit like buying a dual-function toaster oven and never using one of the functions – but if it creates a valuable solution for you, who cares about the feature not used?

Edmund Optics saw the opportunity to create a lens series for the customers using the sensors referenced above to do dedicated SWIR applications. So they created their C-Series fixed focal length SWIR family, with 7 members, and focal lengths from 6 – 50mm.

Did we mention performance?

Recall that lens performance is typically expressed by the Modular Transfer Function (MTF). Below is the MTF chart for the 6mm FL at 1.3µm wavelength, from the Edmund Optics C-Series fixed focal length lenses. All 8 members of the family show comparable performance – see spec sheets for details.

MTF graph for the 6mm FL at 1.3µm wavelength” – Courtesy Edmund Optics

Shorter focal lengths not always easy to find

With fixed focal lengths at 6mm, 8.5mm, 12mm, 16mm, 25mm, 35mm, and 50mm, knowledgeable customers may note that especially the shorter focal length offerings are not that common in the machine vision optical market.

Compact and cost-effective

As fixed focal length lenses, each member of this lens series only need a focus adjustment – fine tuning – which is lockable against vibration slippage. They do NOT need the complexity of a varifocal lens. That means fewer glass elements and less metal, yielding a smaller form factor, handy if space is an issue.

It also means the lenses are less expensive to manufacture, a savings the user can enjoy in achieving a cost-effective way to get good performance in the SWIR spectrum.

Built as a variation on another lens series

It’s worth noting this SWIR-optimized lens series piggybacks on Edmund Optics visible spectrum C-Series fixed focal lenses. The key difference is the new lens series are optically coated for the SWIR spectrum. The benefit to the user is that Edmund Optics could do a spin on an existing lens series, which is cost-effective for the customer as well.

Optimized for factory automation applications

Both the visible and SWIR versions of the C-Series lenses have been optimized with factory automation in mind, particularly with respect to WD, size, and cost.

November 20, 2024November 20, 2024

Teledyne DALSA 16k TDI line scan camera 1 MHz line rate

Product innovation continues to serve machine vision customers well. Clever designs are built for evolving customer demands and new markets, supported by electronics miniaturization and speed. Long a market leader in line scan imaging, Teledyne DALSA now offers the Linea HS2 TDI line scan camera family.

Linea HS2 16k TDI line scan camera with 1 MHz line rate – courtesy Teledyne DALSA

Video overview

The video below is just over one minute in duration, and provides a nice overview:

Backside illumination enhances quantum efficiency

Early sensors were all used frontside illumination, and everybody lived with that until about 10 years ago when backside illumination was innovated and refined. The key insight was to let the photons hit the light-sensitive surface first, with the sensor’s wiring layer on the other side. This greatly improves quantum efficiency, as seen in the graph below:

QE substantially enhanced using backside illumination (BSI – Courtesy Teledyne DALSA

Applications

This camera series is designed for high-speed imaging in light staved conditions. Applications include but are not limited to inspecting flat panel displays, semiconductor wafers, high density interconnects, and diverse life science uses.

Line scan cameras

You may already be a user of line scan cameras. If you are new to that branch of machine vision, compare and contrast line scan vs. area scan imaging. If you want the concept in a phrase or two, think “slice” or line of pixels obtained as the continuous wide target is passed beneath the camera. Repeat indefinitely. Can be used to monitor quality, detect defects, and/or tune controls.

Time Delay Integration (TDI)

Perhaps you even use Time Delay Integration (TDI) technology already. TDI builds on top of “simple” line scan by tracking how a pixel appears across several successive time slices, turning motion blur into an asset through hardware or software averaging and analysis.

Maybe you already have one or more of Teledyne DALSA’s prior-generation Linea HS line scan cameras. They feature the same pixel size, optics, and cables as the new Linea HS2 series. With a 2.5x speed increase the Linea HS2 provides a seamless upgrade. The Linea HS2 offers an optional cooling accessory to enhance thermal stability.

Frame grabber

The Linea HS2 utilizes Camera Link High Speed (CLHS) to match the camera’s data output rate with an interface that can keep up. Teledyne DALSA manufactures not just the camera, but also the Xtium2-CL MX4 Camera Link Frame Grabber.

The Xtium2-CL MX4 is built on next generation CLHS technology and features:

16 Gigapixels per second
dual CLHS CX4 connectors
drives active optical cables
supports parallel data processing in up to 12 PCs
allows cable lengths over 100 meters with complete EMI immunity

Which camera to choose?

As this blog is released, the Linea HS2, with 16k/5μm resolution provides an industry leading maximum line rate of 1 MHz, or 16 Gigapixels per second data throughput. Do you need the speed and sensitivity of this camera? Or is one of the “kid brother” models enough – they are already highly performant before the new kid came along. We can help you sort out the specifications according to your application requirements.

November 20, 2024November 21, 2024

Conquer the glare: CCS LFXV Flat Dome Light for Machine Vision

While the endless parade of new CMOS sensors get plenty of attention, each bringing new efficiency or features, lighting and lensing are too often overlooked. The classic three-legged stool metaphor is an apt reminder that each of sensor, lighting, and lensing are critical to achieving optimal outcomes.

LFXV flat dome lights – courtesy CCS Inc.

Lighting matters

If you haven’t investigated the importance of lighting, or want a refresher, see our Knowledge Base resources on lighting. In those illustrated articles, we review the importance of contrast for machine vision, and how lighting is so critical. By choosing the best type of light, the optimal wavelength, and the right orientation, the difference in outcomes can be remarkable. In fact, sometimes with the right lighting design one can utilize less expensive sensors and lenses, achieving great results by letting the lighting do the work.

Pictures worth a thousand words

Before digging into product details on CCS LFXV flat dome lights, let’s take a look at examples achieved without… and with… the selected models.

Consider an example from electronics parts identification:

Hairline surface of capacitor makes text difficult to read, despite diffuse ring lite (red), a seemingly reasonable lighting choice – courtesy CCS Inc.

Using LFXV-25RD (red) flat dome light, hairline finish is essentially eliminated, creating much better contrast – courtesy CCS Inc.

Here’s an example reading 2-D codes from contact lens packages:

Wavy and glossy surface makes 2-D code hard to discern with red ring light – courtesy CCS Inc.

LFXV50RD red flat dome light creates ideal contrast to read 2-D code – courtesy CCS Inc.

Consider identifying foreign materials in food products, for either automated removal or quality control logging:

Foreign object amidst tea leaves is barely discernable using white dome light – courtesy CCS Inc.

LFXV200IR infrared flat dome light creates contrast to easily identify the foreign object – courtesy CCS Inc.

More about wavelength

In the images above, you may have noticed various wavelengths were used – with better or worse outcomes. Above we showed “just” white light, red light, and infrared, but blue, green, and UV are also candidates, not to mention SWIR and LWIR. Light wavelength choice affects contrast – not just when using dome lights – see wavelengths overview in our knowledge base.

Key concepts

By way of contrast, let’s first look at the way a traditional dome light works:

Traditional dome light design – courtesy CCS Inc.

Notice the camera is mounted to the top of a traditional dome light. The reflective diffusion panel coats all the inside surfaces of the dome – except where the camera is mounted. The diffusion pattern created is pretty good in general – but not perfect at hiding the camera hole entirely. If the target object is highly reflective and tends towards flat, one gets a dark spot in the center of the image…. and the application underperforms the surface inspection one hoped to achieve.

So who needs newfangled flat dome lights?

There’s nothing wrong with conventional dome lights per se, if you’ve got the space for them, and they do the job.

Three downsides to traditional dome lights

1. A traditional dome light may leave a dark spot – if the target is flat and highly reflective

2. A traditional dome light takes up a lot of space

Conventional dome light on left vs. flat dome light on right – courtesy CCS Inc.

Notice how much space the conventional dome light takes up, compared to a “see through” LED flat dome light. But space-savings aren’t the only benefit to flat dome lights….

3. Working distance is “fixed” by a traditional dome light

Most imaging professionals know all about camera working distance (WD) and how to set up the optics for the camera sensor, a matching lens, and the object to be imaged, to get the optical geometry right.

Now let’s take a look at light working distance (LWD). Consider the following can-top inspection scenarios:

By varying the light working distance (LWD), easily done with see-through flat LED dome lights, one can emphasize or de-emphasize features, according to application objectives – courtesy CCS Inc.

Wondering how to light your application?

Send us your sample(s)! If you can ship it, we can set up lighting in our labs to do the work for you.