CVB Image Manager

CVB Image Manager is the core of the product and is required in every CVB application. The unique functionality and approach of the CVB Image Manager as an open standard provides an excellent basis for custom algorithms and applications in industrial image processing.

The CVB Image Manager offers unrivalled functionality in image acquisition, image handling, image display and image processing.

It contains an extensive set of basic functionality allowing you to control many different types of image acquisition devices, as well as a wide range of image handling and processing functions. Furthermore it provides an optimised display with DirectX support and non-destructive overlays, a flexible coordinate system and support for multithreaded operation.

Using CVB Image Manager for image data access, it is also possible to create your own algorithms for your application.

Based on a clear architecture and integrated modularity, Common Vision Blox enables manufacturer independent changes of acquisition hardware and technology at any time, simply by loading the respective driver. An advanced abstraction of the image captured allows complete decoupling of the algorithm from the image acquisition.

Function overview

Central management console for configuration of system settings
Support of different image file formats (including 16-bit formats)
Camera emulator mode for simulation of image sequences without a camera connected
Flickerfree live display with interactive zoom, ROI selector, labels and overlays
Display refresh synchronisation with the monitor to prevent artefacts
Hardware control supports multiple boards/cameras with direct access to hardware features
Direct pixel-level access by pointer to embed own algorithms
Flexible coordinate system to move and rotate the origin easily and access pixels in application specific units
Image normalisation and histograms
Efficient ROI processing and subimage generation
Direct digital I/O support
Support for GigE Vision and USB3 Vision cameras/devices
Fully GenICam compliant supporting MultiStream, MultiPart, FlowSet Pools
New object-oriented APIs supporting Python, .NET and C++
CVB Web Streaming to display or process on multiple applications/devices
Drivers for all major acquisition product families
Direct image access via pointer to images generated by 3rd party SDK without specific drivers
Support for high bit and multilayer images

Acquisition interface: Ring buffer, line scan camera and secure acquisition

By default CVB applications acquire images into a ring buffer. Ring buffer acquisition helps to decouple the acquisition rate and the processing rate to allow variations in acquisition and processing speeds to be accommodated without losing images. A variation of the ring buffer acquisition allows continuous line scan images to be broken up into virtual buffers so that 'edge effects' can be dealt with where a defect might occur over the boundary between images. These two applications show that CVB is designed from the start with image security in mind. Where the hardware supports it, CVB will report acquisition errors and missed triggers.

Core 3D capabilities

Since the release of CVB 2018, Image Manager has included core 3D capabilities, supported under Windows and Linux. The acquisition and handling of 3D data, including display, saving and loading of files (including numerous pointcloud formats) has been added to Image Manager.