Knowledge base
Learn more about machine vision! In our knowledge base we are explaining key technical terms about image processing. We give you an overview to topics like 3D machine vision or the established standards like CameraLink, GigE Vision or GenICam.
Acquisition: IEEE 1394 - FireWire
IEEE 1394 (also known as FireWire) was originally developed by Apple Computers as a flexible interconnection bus for consumer digital video and computer peripherals such as hard drives and printers.
Acquisition: PTP Precision Time Protocol
The PTP Precision Time Protocol is used for synchronisation of several cameras in an Ethernet network.
Acquisition: Universal Serial Bus (USB)
The first version of USB (Universal Serial Bus) was developed in 1995 by a consortium of NEC, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and others. The purpose was to provide a simple link between computers and peripheral devices.
Acquisition: USB3 Vision
USB 3.0 has found interest of the machine vision market as it delivers a host based (i.e. no frame grabber) solution for faster cameras.
Edge detection
Fundamental method in machine vision for finding and marking adjacent image areas that differ in brightness (colour, grey level or texture).
Image processing and analysis tools
Machine vision systems deploy many image processing tools to manipulate input images and produce one or more output images.
Inspection tools
Inspection tools differ from processing tools in that they deliver single or multiple data sets gained from an image instead of the full image. Results can be in the form of simple pass/fail, a measurement, item location, feature count, text string or a classification score.
Optics: Morphological functions
Mathematical morphology gets its name from the study of shape. Morphological imaging functions are ideal for highlighting structures within images.
Software Development Kit (SDK)
Library of tools to develop programs and applications for a specific software.
Software: 2D calibration
Although not essential for all applications, calibrating a vision system is important if you are looking to extract data and make decisions based on measurements using real world units, such as for robot guidance.
Software: 3D tools
3D inspection is one of the latest buzzwords in the vision industry. The term 3D summarises a number of totally different acquisition and evaluation techniques that are used to gain object information that could not be easily analysed using 2D camera technology.
Software: Barcodes and matrix codes
There are many types of barcodes used in industry to track and identify products. Traditional 1D barcodes use a number of lines with varying widths and spaces, which define a numeric string. 1D barcode reading software analyses these patterns and returns a string.