After some lean years, the outlook is once again bright for machine vision as products have matured, functionality has increased, suppliers have become smarter and the cost and complexity of systems has come down. They also offer vastly improved performance, with much richer data at much higher speeds. System components at a glance Typically, a machine vision system is PC-based, using a group of devices to receive, analyze and interpret the image of a real scene. The system makes judgments on the image using predefined criteria set by the user. It is a common misperception that machine vision systems provide generic optical detection and processing capabilities.
Systems perform best in their own tightly controlled, highly specialized environment.
Application requirements vary drastically by industry, but a number of components are common to every machine vision system. Technology is evolving rapidly in all these areas, creating new opportunities on the manufacturing floor. Images are sharper and more accurate, and the new dual output cameras produce images twice as fast as previous models. A new generation of CCD color cameras adds another dimension to machine vision by enabling systems to better detect and discriminate between objects, remove backgrounds and perform spectral analysis. Today's frame grabbers offer greater stability and accuracy than earlier models, and some can even handle image processing and enhancement on the fly, using digital signal-processing techniques.