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VisionSystems
D E S I G N

D e c e mb e r 2 0 0 7
A PENNWELL PUBLICATION
VOL. 12 NO. 12
Vision and Automation Solutions for
Engineers and Integrators Worldwide
Feat ur es
On t he Web www.vision-systems.com
www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 3
Depar t ment s Col umns
Business Views
Interview with
John Nagle,
Nagle Research
Pg. 9
13 Technology Trends
IMAGE PROCESSING System
speeds package production
BIOMETRICS Vision systems
tackle ngerprint analysis
LABEL TRACKING RFID and
vision team for pharmaceutical
packaging
QUALITY CONTROL Machine
vision checks bottle-cap seals
QUALITY CONTROL Vendors
benet from document-validation
systems
6 Letter to the Editor
9 Business Views
47 Vision+Automation
Products
55 Ad Index/Sales Ofces
Complete Archives
Industry News
Buyers Guide
Webcasts
White Papers
Feedback Forum
Free e-newsletter
Video Library

25
Industrial Automation Products:
Developing vision-guided robotic work-
cells Robot, smart cameras, lighting,
and PC teamed in auto-racking
application. Valerie Bolhouse

35
Prole in Industry Solutions:
OCV supports FDA-compliant
packaging line Multiple machine-
vision stations inspect and verify
pharmaceutical-vial packaging
system. Winn Hardin

39
Product Focus: Sensors tackle
machine-vision applications Vision
sensors are closing the gap between
traditional photoelectric sensors and
more complex image-processing
systems. Andrew Wilson
5 Inside Vision
Signed, sealed,
delivered
56 My View
Blue rinse group
Cover St or y
Packaging device integrates
packaging, barcoding, and
labeling systems. (See p. 13;
photo courtesy SuperUser
Solutions)
See pg. 39
0712VSD_3 3 11/29/07 10:49:29 AM
The IVC-3D Smart Camera brings the advantage of seeing all three dimensions for location
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0712VSD_4 4 11/29/07 10:52:02 AM
InsideVision
5 www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7
Signed, sealed, delivered
T
rade shows can be dangerous places. Tey can overwhelm a visitor with sensory
input as vendors compete for attention with ashy booths, pulsing music, and at-
tractions such as food and drink. Shows in the machine-vision industry have been
notable for their lack of these marketing lures, but times are changing. VISION
2007, held in Stuttgart this past November, certainly opened new realms for the industry,
with its expanded oor space that now encompasses two vast halls of the New Stuttgart
Trade Fair Centre. Te show drew 280 exhibitors, up 30% from last year, and more than
6000 visitors, a 13% increase. Te show had lots of ash and, fortunately, most of the sub-
stance that a major show should have, delivering many innovative new products. To show
how new technologies and products could be used in machine-vision applications, many
companies displayed systems using these products. Our coverage of the technical develop-
ments, new products, and applications at the show will appear in our January issue.
Meanwhile, the topic of packaging dominates our coverage in this issue. Pack Expo
held in Las Vegas, NV, in Octoberdrew 1200 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors. Although
the dierence in scale was stark between the two trade shows, the importance of machine
vision to the packaging industry is apparent.
VALIDATING VISION
Our cover story by editor Andy Wilson describing an automatic labeling and verica-
tion system from SuperUser Solutions is the rst in a series of articles on machine vision
in packaging. Subsequent articles on pharmaceutical packaging show how RFID and
vision can be teamed to track drugs and inspect the documents that accompany many
drug packages. A feature article by contributing editor Winn Hardin describes a multi-
camera and barcode-reader inspection line from Systech International that helps manu-
facturers meet US FDA requirements. For another perspective, visit our Web site to view
a recent webcast by David Dechow of Aptra Machine Vision Solutions describing how
machine-vision systems are being used for container and packaging inspection.
One of the tools that has been driving the acceptance of machine vision in packaging
systems is the vision sensora relatively low-cost device that uses embedded software. Our
Product Focus by editor Andy Wilson reviews the growing number of these products and
how they are being integrated into a new generation of production equipment.
How to integrate machine vision into a more sophisticated application such as a robot
workcell is the topic of an article by Valerie Bolhouse, formerly at Ford Motor Company.
She relates the details of how an auto-racking system was developed for an automotive-
parts stamping plant. And, nally, system-integrator John Nagle, in our Business Views
interview, provides insight into how an end user or OEM should evaluate the prospect
of working with system integrators to develop complex 2- or 3-D vision systems.
Trade shows may be the place where these products and systems are put on display, but the
factory oor, minus the fanfare, remains one place where machine vision proves its value.
Kathy Bush: Publisher
Tel.: (603) 891-9434; e-mail: kathyb@pennwell.com
W. Conard Holton: Editor in Chief
Tel.: (603) 891-9161; e-mail: cholton@pennwell.com
Andrew Wilson: Editor
Tel.: (603) 891-9115; e-mail: andyw@pennwell.com
Bonnie Heines: Managing Editor
Tel.: (603) 891-9143; e-mail: bonnief@pennwell.com
Winn Hardin: Contributing Editor
e-mail: winn@hardingroup.com
David Lieberman: Contributing Editor
e-mail: davidlieberman@bellsouth.net
Adrienne Adler: Director of Marketing
Suzanne Heiser: Art Director
Dan Rodd: Senior Illustrator
Mari Rodriguez: Production Director
James Kirkland: Ad Services Manager
Debbie Bouley: Circulation Manager
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Ben Dawson,DALSA IPD; David Dechow,
Aptura; Christian Demant, NeuroCheck
GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany; Prof. Dr. B.
Hfinger, Institute for Microelectronics
Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany; Toshi Hori,
GEViCAM; Henrik Ilsby, Copenhagen,
Denmark; Joseph A. Sgro, Alacron;
William Silver, Cognex Corp.; Wilhelm
Stemmer; Stemmer Imaging GmbH,
Puchheim, Germany; Nello Zuech,
Vision Systems International
EDITORIAL OFFICES: Vision Systems Design,
98 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, NH 03062-5737;
Tel: (603) 891-0123; FAX: (603) 891-9297;
http://www.vision-systems.com
CORPORATE OFFICERS:
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ATD PUBLISHING SERVICES:
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We make portions of our subscriber list available to
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want to receive those offers and/or information, please let
us know by contacting us at List Services, Vision Systems
Design, 98 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, NH 03062.
W. Conard Holton
Editor in Chief
cholton@pennwell.com
0712VSD_5 5 11/29/07 10:52:30 AM
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David Storks article in the October issue
of Vision Systems Design (p. 69) is notable
for failing to mention that the artist Da-
vid Hockney and I have published a half-
dozen papers and one book on this subject
since 2000. Our work is widely acknowl-
edged as having established the power
of an artists visual skills for making
discoveries in art history, and the com-
puter techniques we developed could
signicantly aid the analysis of imag-
es in paintings. As a result, this has
now developed into a eld in its own
right, with the scientists who Stork did
mention subsequently applying their
own computer techniques to analyze
aspects of paintings.
Unfortunately, some of the work
in this eld has been misguided. As
has been known for more than a half-
century, results from a computer are
no better than the input data and
underlying assumptions. An article
written at the request of the editor
(IEEE MultiMedia 14 (2), 8 (2007))
details the false conclusions in three pa-
pers written by David Stork, all due to
errors in his data and assumptions, and
references in that article detail the awed
conclusions in a number of his other pa-
pers on this topic.
Since the mind and hand of the artist are
intimately involved in the creation process,
even when portions of a particular painting
are based on optical projections, these im-
ages are much more complex to analyze than
are photographs. However, as our results of
the past eight years show, a fundamental-
ly new approach to image analysis can be
developed when an optical scientist works
closely with a highly skilled artist.
Charles M. Falco
Chair of Condensed Matter Physics
and Professor of Optical Sciences
University of Arizona
falco@u.arizona.edu
Power of vision in art
C
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w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e m s . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 7
Tin-lm physicist Charles Falco nds it
notable that I did not cite his work (none
of which has passed rigorous peer review)
but my piece
1
was to promote the rst
International Symposium on Computer
Image Analysis in Art,
2
so I focused on
research by scholars who will present there
(see Vision Systems Design, Oct. 2007, p.
69). If I had been writing a historical over-
view, I would have cited many research-
ers who possess a scientists rigor and an
artists vision, such as Richard Taylor
a professor of physics and painter with
a masters degree in art, who pioneered
fractal image analysis of Jackson Pollocks
paintings a half-decade before Hockney
published his speculations. Surprisingly,
Falco feels his work with Hockney es-
tablished the power of an artists visual
skills for making discoveries in art histo-
ry, but everyone who has studied art his-
tory knows this rich tradition goes back
to artist Giorgio Vasaris Lives of the Art-
ists (1568) and earlier.
I am unaware, too, who widely ac-
knowledges the Hockney/Falco discover-
ies, given the fact that the unanimous con-
sensus in a four-day symposium and every
appropriate scholarly publicationby one
curator, seven historians of art and optics,
seven scientists and countingrejects their
highly promoted claim that artists as early
as 1420 secretly traced optical projections.
Moreover, rigorously peer-reviewed papers
in the relevant disciplines (computer vision
and pattern recognition) have pointed out
technical aws in Hockneys and Falcos
unpeer-reviewed methods.
3

Falco touts his collaboration with Hock-
ney, but their methodology is fraught with
problems. If two artists have dierent vi-
sions that t the evidence in a painting
equally well (as has happened numer-
ous times), which one is right? Science
can never appeal to fame or authority, of
course. Unless Falco gures out an objec-
tive way to prove to scientists that Hock-
neys beliefs are correct in such cases, then
Falcos resultseven if expressed in rig-
orous mathwill be mere interpretation
or speculation, not science.
Upset about the conclusion from sev-
eral scholars rebutting his theory, Falco
has complained to editors of at least 10
journals and conferences and the host in-
stitutions of at least three such scholars.
Falco suggests here and many places that
in publishing his rebuttal the editors of
IEEE MultiMedia had found errors in the
papers of at least three scholars, but he is
wrong. Sethuraman Panchanathan, its ed-
itor in chief, sets the record straight: It is
not accurate to suggest IEEE MultiMedia
was doing anything more than facilitating
a healthy exchange of ideas. Indeed, the
editors invited me and a coauthor to pub-
lish a rebuttal to Falcos claims.
4
To the
best of my knowledge, not a single such
editor or scholar has agreed with any of
Falcos protestations; moreover, every ex-
pert who has reviewed Falcos claims and
these scholars counter-arguments nds
his protestations without foundation.
Open debate, peer review, expert con-
sensus, and the rejection of statements that
appeal to authority have beenand will
always bethe proper scientic method
for determining truth.
David G. Stork
Chief Scientist, Ricoh Innovations
Visiting Scholar, Stanford University
artanalyst@gmail.com
1. D. G. Stork, Imaging technology en-
hances the study of art, Vision Systems
Design 12(10):69 (2007).
2. D. G. Stork and J. Coddington, eds.,
Computer image analysis in the study
of art, SPIE Press (2008).
3. For example, A. Criminisi and D. G.
Stork, Did the great masters use opti-
cal projections while painting? Perspec-
tive comparison of paintings and pho-
tographs of Renaissance chandeliers, J.
Kittler, M. Petrou, and M. S. Nixon,
eds., Proc. 17th Intl Conference on Pat-
tern Recognition IV, 645 (2004).
4. D. G. Stork and M. Duarte, Revisit-
ing computer image analysis and art,
IEEE MultiMedia 14(3):108 (cf., www.
diatrope.com/stork/FAQs.html; July-
September 2007).
Computer image analysis in the study of art
Te author replies
0712VSD_7 7 11/29/07 10:43:21 AM

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w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e m s . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 9
Business Views
VSD: What sort of systems or services
does Nagle Research provide?
Nagle: We have decided to devote ourselves
almost exclusively to 3-D machine-vision
development, allowing us to build an ex-
pertise and body of experience with 3-D
technology that is second to none in the
industry. Nagle Research is a SICK (Min-
neapolis, MN, USA; www.sick.com) vision
integrator. We are entirely brand loyal to
SICK|IVP vision products, most often us-
ing the Ranger series of cameras.
My business partner Andy Tyssen, also a
software engineer, and I started the compa-
ny in June 2003. Our rst project and what
is generally regarded as our claim to fame
is the Aurora automated high-speed railroad
track-inspection system. We have each spent
more than a decade making video games for
Nintendo, Playstation, and others. Tat ex-
perience has been immeasurably valuable in
keeping the performance of our
systems on the leading edge.
VSD: What should be asked when consider-
ing the services of a system integrator?
Nagle: It is impossible to engineer a solu-
tion without a thorough understanding of
the problem. But to truly know the prob-
lem, you have to get past the supercial
goals and get to the meat of the challenges
that a solution will have to face. Tere can
be many gremlins hiding below the surface
of what seems like an easy project.
For example, a candy factory needs a vision
system that can count jellybeans moving down
a conveyor belt. Tats the supercial goal. Ob-
viously this is a very straightforward task for a
vision system to accomplish. To be able to intel-
ligently plan a solution, however, requires much
more information. What should the system
do with the count? Does it need to trigger a
signal when a certain count is reached? Does
it need to communicate with a PLC? What if
a jellybean is malformed, does it count? And
how does the system deter-
mine what is a good jelly-
bean? How fast are the jelly-
beans moving? Do we need
to count the individual colors?
What are the space consider-
ations for the vision system?
Tis is very goal-orient-
ed fact-nding research,
and so this sort of question-
and-answer probing can be
done even by nontechnical
people. Once all of the major and minor
goals are known, then it is straightforward
to isolate the specic disciplines and skill
sets required to make the project a suc-
cess.
VSD: So what can be done in-house
by a company?
Nagle: Evaluating ones own capabilities or
the capabilities of company sta members
is the next step in deciding how much, if
any, of the project can be done in-house. If
the project can be accomplished with o-
the-shelf vision solutions or relatively sim-
ple smart cameras and only minor external
connectivity is required, then the chances
of being able to do this are good. If compli-
cated record keeping, PLC connectivity, or
advanced image-processing algorithms are
required, it is almost certain that a third-par-
ty vision-system integrator with software-de-
velopment capability will be necessary.
Dierent skills are required to integrate vi-
sion systems of varying degrees of complex-
ity. Even a good list of necessary skills can-
not be comprehensive and should be treated
only as a guideline or rule of thumb (see
table on p. 10).
VSD: What are the implications of
working with a 2-D vs. 3-D system?
Nagle: Most people who have experience
with vision are likely to have worked only
with 2-D systems. Two-dimensional sys-
tems deal with color and contrast; three-
dimensional systems deal with materials
and geometry. Te share a lot of the same
concepts, but, in general, 3-D is more dif-
cult to implement. Tis is because now
we are not just dealing with a light and a
camera, we have to deal with laser light fre-
quency; beam spread angle and thickness;
laser power requirements based on material
properties and stand-o distance; ranging
algorithms; angular orientation of cam-
era/subject/laser to obtain required accu-
racy; safety issues related to working with
the laser; and coping with less than ideal
material properties.
Integrating a SICK IVC-3D or a Ruler
product can mitigate some of these issues,
in that the camera lens, laser type, and ori-
entation are xed at the factory (which also
limits to some degree their applicability.)
Ranging algorithms and material proper-
ties must still be dealt with in any case.
Working with a machine-vision-system integrator
A discussion with John Nagle,
Nagle Research
JOHN NAGLE is president
and CEO of Nagle Research,
Cedar Park, TX, USA;
www.nagleresearch.com.
He is a professional software
engineer with more than 20
years experience developing real-time,
high-performance systems, including
more than four years of high-speed
3-D machine-vision development.
Editor in chief Conard Holton spoke
to him about how to evaluate the
need to hire a system integrator to
implement a machine-vision solution.
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BusinessViews
VSD: Is a vision software-development
kit di cult to learn?
Nagle: In any nonsmart camera system, the
integrator must have a thorough knowledge
of the vision hardware software develop-
ment kit (SDK), including the SDK for
the frame grabber, if applicable. Tese are
highly nontrivial software toolkits and a
deep-rooted foundation in C++ and soft-
ware development is essential. Even with
the requisite C++ experience, the SDK
itselflike any complex systemhas a
learning curve.
VSD: What are the benets of third-party
integration?
Nagle: Any competent vision integrator
should be able to integrate vision in sim-
ple to moderately complex projects. Many
vision integrators do not have great depth in
software and electrical engineering, and so
the more complicated vision projects are be-
yond them. When choosing an integrator,
it becomes important to match the skills
they bring to the table with the skills that
will be required. Dealing with an integra-
tor can save an enormous amount of time
and development eort. In many cases, ex-
perienced integrators have saved companies
from spending hundreds of thousands of
dollars on inappropriate equipment and
software.
For example, we were asked by a railroad-
equipment manufacturer to provide consul-
VI SI ON SKI LL SET / COMPLEXI TY RELATI ONSHI P
Basic understanding of lenses
Smart-camera systems
with only basic external
connectivity
Basic understanding of lighting for vision
Ability to owchart and use a PC
Working knowledge of Visual Basic
Simple 2-D/3-D systems
with limited external
connectivity
Professional-grade VB prociency (integrating
ActiveX, writing algorithms, and so forth)
Pro-level Prociency with C++ (clean, efcient
code, performance-tuned)
More complex 2-D/3-D
systemshigher speeds,
more connectivity
multiple cameras, and
high-speed image
processing
Pro-level understanding of the vision hardware
(operating modes, speeds, and so forth)
Pro-level understanding of communication
protocols (UDP/TCP, RS232, and so forth)
Ability to generate logic-level signals from PC,
either via ports or electrical circuit
Pro-level understanding of optics (lenses, lters,
lights, lasers, and so forth)
0712VSD_10 10 11/29/07 10:51:14 AM
> COMMON VISION BLOX The freedom to develop your imaging application your way.
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picture a programming library
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w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e m s . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 11
BusinessViews
tation as to what camera would be required
for a 2-D high-speed-railroad-inspection
system. Te company had already spent
many thousands of dollars on image-pro-
cessing software to locate defects in cross-
ties using 2-D imaging techniques. Te
problem was that their approach had not
accounted for surface stains, sealant, and
debris confusing the analysis software. We
ultimately concluded that a 3-D solution
was more appropriate for this application
and developed a Ranger-based solution that
handles these material properties nicely.
VSD: When working with a system
integrator, what are you paying for?
Nagle: Speaking only for Nagle Research,
in most cases vision projects are quoted
on a at fee basis. Usually the process is
phone conference to discuss the challenges
and goals; if possible, samples are sent for
testing and proof-of-concept, If the project
proves solvable, we submit a proposal.
With projects whose goals are a moving tar-
getfor example, additional defects to detect
or additional accuracy requiring more cam-
erasthere will most likely be proposed a at
fee for a dened scope of work and a standard
hourly fee for work that is out of scope..
For our fee, the client receives our profes-
sional consultation, software and electrical
engineering resources, and a solution that
meets their requirements. In most cases, un-
less specically agreed to, the client does not
get source code to the nal solution. In some
arrangements we will relinquish source code
for the application, for example, their user in-
terface and project-specic algorithms. Our
proprietary Javelin Vision Engine, however,
remains closed source. Javelin is the 3-D tech-
nology infrastructure to help us in developing
more robust vision systems
VSD: What are the fundamental questions
to ask before calling an integrator?
Nagle: Te basic questions that need to
be answered before an integrator is called
are
Is the project outside the scope of
in-house capabilities?
Is the company open to using third-
party integrators?
What is the price of failure or delays
arising from lack of internal experience?
Is there a budget for vision that
includes third-party integration?
Is there likelihood that given a
workable solution within budget,
the project would proceed?
If the answer to all of these is yes, then
most any integrator would be willing to
take the challenge. A competent integra-
tor is key to a sucessful system.
Whether or not that expertise comes
from within or from a third party is a deci-
sion the client ultimately will have to make.
Te most important thing is that a broad
skill set and expertise in a variety of disci-
plines will be required to complete the proj-
ect on time and on budget.
0712VSD_11 11 11/29/07 10:51:36 AM
Main Entry:
1
FireSync

Definition: a field-proven, scalable vision engineering platform

Pronunciation: 'fi(-&)r /'si[ng]k/
Usage: for rapid development of OEM vision systems
An integrated system approach
to a present day jungle of
machine vision components.
The low-level complexities in
developing hardware interfaces,
network communications and
event synchronization are
resolved within the FireSync
platform; freeing up valuable
engineering resources to
concentrate on tailoring sensor
geometry and algorithm
development.
FireSync is a scalable design of
tightly integrated, real-time
vision system components.
Discover the FireSync vision
engineering platform at
www.FireSync.com
2007 LMI Technologies. All rights reserved. FireSync is a registered trademark of LMI Technologies Inc.
North & South America: +1 604 636 1011
Europe: +31 45 850 7000
info@FireSync.com
www.FireSync.com
A: painful B: elegant
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Each kit includes software, vision components,
sensor controls, and two reference designs for
colour vision or 3D dual triangulation
applications.
Enter to win your own kit at:
www.FireSync.com/registration
0712VSD_12 12 11/29/07 10:43:40 AM
w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 13
Technology
Trends
Andrew Wilson, Editor, andyw@pennwell.com
System speeds package production
W
ith the demand for increased throughput and dispa-
rate product runs, manufacturers are increasingly in-
corporating automated systems into their production
lines. With these systems in place, the manual printing,
application, and verication of product labels has evolved into an
automated process, relieving human operators of tedious and re-
petitive tasks. Tis also has led to demand for system integrators
that know how to integrate mechanical, electrical, and electronic
systems. When faced with building systems, integrators must un-
derstand the intricacies of labeling heads, conveyor mechanisms,
PLC controllers, and vision-based label-verication systems.
One integrator, SuperUser Solutions (Bradford, PA, USA;
www.su-solutions.com), specializes in developing integrated
packaging, barcoding, wireless, and labeling systems. By con-
trolling the entire automation process from equipment design,
database and machine programming, installation, and main-
tenance, to the management of label and ribbon systems, says
Andy Messineo, director of integration, we can quickly diag-
nose and correct any problems whether they be equipment or
programming related. Tis minimizes the customers downtime
and keeps their operations running e ciently.
At this years Pack Expo in October (Las Vegas, NV, USA),
the company showed its latest system, an automatic top label-
ing system capable of printing, labeling, and verifying products
at rates as high as 45 packages per minute. Te SuperUser Solu-
tions system is based around an Allen-Bradley Series 1200 pro-
grammable logic controller (PLC; see gure). Te applicator is
built by SuperUsers equipment manufacturing division, Label-
Pack (www.labelpackequipment.com).
In the SuperUser Solutions system, boxes to be labeled move along
a conveyor, and labels are applied to the center of each package. To
do this, data regarding the contents of each label must rst be print-
ed and then stored in a smart G3 operator interface panel from Red
Lion Controls (York, PA, USA; www.redlion.net) that is interfaced
to the PLC, printer, and label-verication system via Ethernet.
As packages move along the conveyor, labels are simultaneous-
ly printed on a PAX 110R integrated printer from Zebra Technol-
ogies (Vernon Hills, IL, USA; www.zebra.com). After each label
is printed, it is transferred to a tamper that can mechanically ap-
ply each label to the carton. Before this can occur, the PLC must
wait for a trigger signal from an integrated photoelectric sensor from
Banner Engineering (Minneapolis, MN, USA; www.
bannerengineering.com) placed along the conveyor. When the photo-
electric sensor detects a box, the tamping mechanism is lowered onto
the box and the label applied. After the box has passed, the photoelec-
tric sensor is reset, ready to be triggered again by the next box.
After each box has been labeled, the barcodes containing in-
formation regarding the date, time of packaging, and ingredi-
ents of each package must be veried. A photoelectric sensor is
used to trigger a P4 Omni PresencePLUS sensor from Banner
Engineering. After each label is read, the barcode information
is displayed on the G3 operator interface. Tis information can
be tied to a reject mechanism or an alarm to alert the operator
of misread codes.
To implement a system based on the G3 interface, says Messi-
neo, Red Lions PC-based Crimson software must be used. Tis
graphical-user interface software can be congured on a host PC

I MAGE PROCESSI NG
SuperUser Solutions automatic top labeling system can print,
label, and verify packaged labels. Using an embedded PC
smart HMI user interface to control the printing mechanism,
applicator, and barcode verication system, the labeling
system can achieve speeds of up to 45 packages per minute.
0712VSD_13 13 11/29/07 10:43:54 AM
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 14
TechnologyTrends
Conventional ngerprint systems process
inked ngerprint cards that have been
manually scanned or ngerprints that
are electronically digitized with atbed
scanners. To date, hundreds of millions
of such prints have been collected and en-
rolled into systems such as the US Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Integrated
Automated Fingerprint Identication Sys-
tem and the US Department of Homeland
Security (Washington, DC, USA; www.
dhs.gov) Automated Biometric Identica-
tion System.
To digitize all ten prints from the dig-
its of the hands, todays capture tech-
nology requires approximately three
minutes. In 2004, the Department of
Homeland Security instructed the FBI
to expand its ngerprint database, man-
dating the use of faster scanning times.
Tat same year, the National Institute
of Justice (NIJ; Washington, DC, USA;
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij) solicited applica-
tions for a fast ngerprint-capture pro-
gram to develop more e cient methods
for collecting ngerprints.
Te NIJ has two basic requirements
for fast ngerprint-capture systems, says
Laurence Hassebrook, associate profes-
sor of electrical and computer engineer-
ing at the University of Kentucky (Lex-
ington, KY, USA; www.uky.edu). First,
the system must scan all the digits of one
hand in less than 10 s, and second, it must
generate an image of a rolled-equivalent
scannger nail to nger nailat 500
pixels/in. or better without the help of a
human operator.
Four independent projects for live-scan
replacement are included under the NIJ
Fast Fingerprint Capture Program us-
ing sensor technologies that are consid-
erably dierent from either ink or atbed-
scanner based systems. At Cross Match
Technologies (West Palm Beach, FL,
USA; www.crossmatch.com), the com-
pany is developing a U-shaped exible
polymer-foil-based substrate with a sen-
sor that conforms to the shape of each
nger. Using a dierent approach, TBS
North America (Herndon, VA, USA;
www.tbsinc.com) is developing a circu-
lar optical mirror system that the ngers
are drawn across, creating an image. At
the International Association for Identi-
cation Exhibition and Conference (July
2428; San Diego, CA, USA) the com-
pany announced a single-nger version of
the product, known as the Touchless Ten
Printer, capable of digitizing 10 rolled
equivalents in less than 20 s. A prototype
device capable of multiple nger digitiza-
tion is expected soon.
Finally, both Carnegie Mellon Universi-
ty (CMU; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; www.cmu.
edu) and the University of Kentucky are de-
veloping camera-based systems that capture
the 3-D shape of the hand and the friction

BI OMETRI CS
Vision systems tackle ngerprint analysis
and at runtime transferred to the host G3
HMI over USB, Ethernet, or manually
using ash memory. For simple applica-
tions, says Messineo, the software allows
you to add, edit, and delete modules such
as PLCs, motor drivers, photoelectric sen-
sors, and barcode readers and map data col-
lected from them to other external devices
on the network.
To congure the PresencePLUS sensor
for this application, it is interfaced to a PC
running PresencePLUS PC software, says
Messineo. Ten system settings, the bar-
code inspection, and the communication
interface must be set before the sensor is in-
terfaced to the Red Lion HMI. After con-
guring the sensor to operate over Ethernet,
the Banner vision sensor can automatically
transfer discrete I/O and inspection pass/
fail information over Ethernet. In this case,
however, it was necessary to transfer vision
tool results to the Red Lion HMI. Because
of this, a communication tool, available as
part of the PresencePLUS software, was
used to export measured barcode infor-
mation to the HMI over an Ethernet in-
terface, Messineo says. It allows you to
adjust printer and applicator parameters re-
motely over any Internet connection.
Four independent projects for live-scan
replacement are included under the NIJ
Fast Fingerprint Capture Program using
sensor techno logies that are consider-
ably different from either ink- or atbed-
scanner-based systems. These include
a exible foil contact sensor from Cross
Match Technologies (top left), a Hand-
Shot identication system from CMU
(top right), and prototype nger and
hand readers from the University of
Kentucky (bottom right).
0712VSD_14 14 11/29/07 10:44:16 AM
0712VSD_15 15 11/29/07 10:44:37 AM
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TechnologyTrends
w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m
ridges of the ngers and palms. CMUs sys-
tem, the Hand Shot ID system, constructs
a 3-D model of both hands by stitching im-
ages from multiple cameras.
To simultaneously obtain 1000-pix-
el/in. images of all 10 rolled-equivalent
nger and both palm ridge patterns and
minutiae within less than 5 s, the Hand-
Shot ID System uses multiple cameras
and spotlights to eliminate the need for
glass platen imaging. For HandShot to
accurately and instantly capture and re-
cord friction ridge skin detail on 10 rolled-
equivalent ngerprints and both palm
prints within 5 s, says Latanya Sweeney
of CMUs Data Privacy Lab, the system
constructs a 3-D model of both hands,
including palms, ngerprints, ngertips,
and sides of the ngers. Image-processing
algorithms then stitch images from mul-
tiple cameras together to form a complete
3-D model of both hands, extract ridge
detail, and translate the 3-D images to
standard formats.
Rather than use spotlights to illumi-
nate the hand, Hassebrook and his col-
leagues at the University of Kentucky re-
ly on structured light. By projecting and
capturing a series of striped patterns over
an object, its shape can then be deduced
by analyzing the way the stripes warp over
the objects surface when viewed at an an-
gle by a camera. In Hassebrooks system,
the hand is scanned, a 3-D image gener-
ated in real-time and then converted to
simulate a 2-D rolled ngerprint.
Developed in conjunction with Flash-
Scan 3-D (Austin, TX, USA; www.
ashscan3D.com), the initial prototype
scanned a single nger. Te subject plac-
es a nger over an opening in the systems
enclosure. A digital light projector projects
a series of striped patters onto the ngers
ridges. An array of three Camera Link cam-
eras from Basler (Ahrensburg, Germany;
www.baslerweb.com) then acquires a se-
ries of images that wrap around the nger.
Tese images are transferred to a host PC
using two Solios XCL video-capture cards
from Matrox Imaging (Dorval, QC, Can-
ada; www.matrox.com/imaging).
A second prototype uses a single 4M-
pixel Camera Link camera with a single
Matrox Helios capture card to acquire
a scan region large enough to capture a
human subjects palm. Te system can
also acquire the prints of all four ngers
simultaneously but does not achieve
wraparound scanning of any nger. To
achieve instantaneous acquisition, future
prototypes will feature a single, contin-
uously projected custom designed com-
posite pattern instead of the projected
striped patters and higher-resolution
cameras for simultaneous acquisition of
the entire hand with wraparound nger
scanning. After the system is completed,
it will be tested by the Kentucky State
Police and then delivered to the NIJ for
further evaluation.
0712VSD_16 16 11/29/07 10:44:54 AM
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De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 18
TechnologyTrends
Shipping the correct product in the proper
package is vitally important in the phar-
maceutical industry. Should drugs be
wrongly packaged, the patient could suf-
fer serious medical complications. Tus, it
is vital that each drug be properly pack-
aged and labeled. However, since similar
containers are often used by pharmaceuti-
cal vendors, proper labeling alone may not
guarantee that the correct drug is placed
in the package.
To overcome these limitations, suppli-
ers of such containers are now embedding
radio frequency identication (RFID)
ICs into the containers before shipping
them to pharmaceutical vendors. By pro-
gramming these RFID tags with the type
and strength of each drug and other rel-
evant data, pharmaceutical vendors are
providing their customers with a secure
way of packaging the correct product in
the proper package.
RFID tags provide only one level of secu-
rity, says Brian Mack, sales engineer with
CIVision (Aurora, IL, USA; www.civision.
com), a manufacturer of machine-vision
systems. As well as reading the RFID tags,
each package must be inspected to ensure
that the information contained in the bar-
code label on the package corresponds with
that of the RFID tag.
CIVision has developed a pharmaceuti-
cal-packaging-inspection system, known
as LOMAX RFID, using o-the-shelf ma-
chine-vision components (see gure). PC-
based, the system inspects pharmaceutical
packages as they move along a conveyor
belt and into a specially designed housing
that accommodates the lighting, RFID
reader, and CCD cameras.
As containers enter this housing, a
Cobalt HF reader from Escort Memory
Systems (EMS; Scotts Valley, CA, USA;
www.ems-rdj.com) reads the informa-
tion stored in the RFID tag. Because
tags emit signals with power levels on
the order of millwatts, the readers sen-
sitivity is paramount, says Mack. De-
velopers must also take into account
the receive noise, interference, and oth-
er eects that may increase a readers bit-
error rate the ratio of the number of
bits incorrectly received to the total num-
ber of bits sent in a specied period. Te
EMS Cobalt HF reader, with 77-dBm
sensitivity, provides enough power to acti-
vate a tag buried inside a pallet of stacked
cases, he says.
After the Cobalt HF reader checks each
tag, data from each tag are transferred to
the host PC over an Ethernet interface. To
compare this information with the two-
dimensional Data Matrix code located
on each container, the barcode of each la-
bel is then read. As containers move along
the conveyor, they are illuminated by a 4
0.5-in. FL201 area red LED front light
from Metaphase Technologies (Bensalem,
PA, USA; www.metaphase-tech.com), and
an image of the package is captured us-
ing an A640 640 480-pixel gray-scale
Gigabit Ethernet camera from Basler
Vision Technologies (Ahrensburg, Germa-
ny; www.baslerweb.com).
To transfer captured images to the host
PC, CIVision Engineers used a Solios
GigE interface card from Matrox Imaging
(Dorval, QC, Canada; www.matrox.com/
imaging) that o oads the GigE Vision
protocol and reconstructs images from
transmitted data packets and passes the
resulting image to the computer host. Ac-
cording to CIVisions Mack, this frees
up host resources and avoiding interrupt
loading on the PC. Just as with its suc-
cessful LOMAX NB (Neck and Bottle
Inspection) CIVision used the Matrox
Imaging Library (MIL) to capture and
process these images(see Vision Systems
Design, February 2007, p. 19).
Using MIL measurement functions, a re-
gion of interest around the barcode of each
package is isolated and then read. Tese
data are then compared with the data col-
lected from the RFID system and the re-
sults of the comparison displayed on the
operators console. Once again, the compa-
ny used its CIVCore, a user interface with
MIL low-level vision processing, to control
the inspection process.
As each part emerges from the inspec-
tion station, packages where both barcode
and RFID information can be rejected by
pneumatically controlled actuators using a
PLC programmed from the host PC. With
the ability to inspect approximately 400
packages per minute on a single production
line, the LOMAX RFID can be supplied
in a number of dierent congurations, ac-
cording to Mack. Pricing of each system
is dependent on a number of factors, in-
cluding the type of product and the speed
required, he adds.

LABEL TRACKI NG
RFID and vision team for pharmaceutical packaging
LOMAX RFID system combines off-the-
shelf machine-vision components to
inspect parts at more than 400 packages
per minute (left). Software from Matrox
reads Data Matrix codes and compares
the data from embedded RFID tags; the
results are displayed on a graphical user
interface (below).
0712VSD_18 18 11/29/07 10:45:56 AM
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TechnologyTrends
To meet supplier demands, manufacturers
of bottled products must ll, cap, and seal
products rapidly using high-speed systems.
Ten each of these products must be checked
to determine whether the bottle has been
lled to an acceptable level and whether the
cap is correctly placed and positioned.
Today, says Steve Belling, product
manager with Silgan Equipment Com-
pany (Downers Grove, IL, USA; www.
silganequipmentcompany.com), these
manufacturers are also incorporating add-
ed levels of protection in the form of tam-
per bands that are wrapped around the cap.
With tamper bands in place at the base of
the closure, consumers are assured that the
product has not been altered. Furthermore,
such sealing also guarantees the quality and
freshness of the bottled product.
While such packaging techniques may
provide the consumer with an added level
of security, they present the system
integrator tasked with high-speed in-
spection an extra level of complex-
ity. Not only must the automated
inspection system check for correct
ll level and proper cap placement,
it must also inspect the integrity of
the tamper band. At this years Pack
Expo (Las Vegas, NV, USA), Silgan
Equipment presented its latest bot-
tle-inspection system capable of per-
forming all three tasks at speeds of
up to 1200 bottles/min (see gure).
Conveyor-based, the Silgan sys-
tem uses an embedded host PC and
a PLC to control all the functions of
the machine, including the conveyor
speed, lighting control, camera inter-
face, triggering mechanisms, and re-
jection mechanisms. In operation, bottles to
be inspected move along the conveyor where
they are illuminated by a 2.5-in.-square
white at-panel LED. After their presence

QUALI TY CONTROL
Machine vision checks bottle-cap seals
Capable of inspecting as many as 1200 bottles/min,
Silgans bottle-cap-inspection system uses multiple
cameras to provide 360
o
views of each bottle as it
passes through a vision-based inspection station.
0712VSD_20 20 11/29/07 10:46:46 AM
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De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 22
TechnologyTrends
is detected by a photoelectric detector from
Banner Engineering (Minneapolis, MN,
USA; www.bannerengineering.com), three
RGB FireWire cameras from Sony Electron-
ics (Park Ridge, NJ, USA; www.sony.com/
videocameras) digitize three images of the
top of the container. By placing these cam-
eras 180
o
apart, says Belling, each camera
can capture at least a 120
o
view of the con-
tainer. In this way, a complete 360
o
inspec-
tion can be accomplished.
After the images are captured and trans-
ferred to the host PC, they are processed by
software running on the host PC. Rather than
use o-the shelf software, Silgan contracted
Manufacturing Control Solutions (MCS;
Glen Ellyn, IL, USA; mcsvision.com) to de-
velop the software application, based on MCS
C++ image-processing library and Visual C++
user interface. As bottles pass through the
inspection station, says Belling, the height,
width, gap size, and horizontal position of the
tamper band must be measured and com-
pared with programmable limits.
A known region of interest (ROI) within
the image is determined and edge detection
performed to nd the middle of the cap and
the middle of the neck of the bottle. Since
the tamper band should be located between
the middle of the cap and the middle of the
neck, says Belling, any missing band will
make this region appear brighter, since light
will not be obstructed by a tamper band. In
this way, the system can detect the presence
or absence of the tamper band.
Fill-level inspection is performed similarly.
Should a bottle be incorrectly lled, the inten-
sity of light passing though the bottle will ap-
pear lower than if the bottle is correctly lled,
since the contents will attenuate light.
To inspect for the correct position and col-
or of each cap, the software measures the dis-
tance of the lefthand side, righthand side, and
middle distance between the neck of the bot-
tle and each cap. In this way, says Belling,
the software can determine whether the cap is
correctly placed. By measuring the color in a
specic ROI within the cap, the color consis-
tency of each cap can also be checked.
After each of these parameters is stored in
host-PC memory, a networked encoder mod-
ule under control of a Series 1200 PLC from
Micrologix/Allen-Bradley (Milwaukee, WI,
USA; www.ab.com) tracks the bottle position
for potential rejection. Should any bottle fail
some or all of the inspection, the PC triggers
the PLC to reject the bottle using a pneumatic
actuator. Says Belling, Te system also stores
the information about each inspection in a
Microsoft-compatible database, allowing
quality-assurance information to be written
to a spreadsheet for later retrieval.
Often called inserts or outserts (depending
if they are in the carton or on the bottle),
folded documents are placed on the inside
or outside of prescription medications and
provide the consumer with a complete de-
scription of the drug, its properties, any
health hazards associated with its use, lot
dates, and other manufacturers codes. Te
documents can also include chemical for-
mulas, barcodes, and graphical molecu-
lar diagrams that are printed, then folded,
and attached to each medication. Although
consumers rarely read these documents, the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
mandates that they be included.
In the past, says Gary Parish of Complete
Integration Systems (CIS; Indialantic, FL,
USA; www.completeinspectionsystems.
com), the original documents were created
in a Word format. Ten images such as
diagrams were scanned and pasted on and
submitted to the FDA for approval. After
the documentation was created, it was for-
matted in a single-page document and sent
to the printer. To ensure the correct infor-
mation was printed on the document, the
original Word version was compared with
the printed version before multiple docu-
ments could be printed.
To ensure accuracy, the FDA created the

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TechnologyTrends
200% manual inspection rule, requiring
two individuals to compare the two docu-
ments. Recently, the FDA has standardized
the initial original New Drug Application
submission format to an XML structure,
but the conversion to the insert requires the
same proofreading intensity to improve ac-
curacy of the nal printed material. But, un-
like the standard drug facts on label copy,
the type size, paper, and print color and con-
trast may still make reading di cult. Now,
says Parish, with the introduction of the
FDA 21 CFR Part 11 requirements, regula-
tions are in place for electronic records and
signatures to also ensure pharmaceutical
manufacturers must validate that the docu-
ment and revisions are correctly identied as
well as containing the correct copy.
With documents so highly complex, proof-
readers may spend many hours on each docu-
ment to ensure that each one is correct. Add
in multiple languages such as Japanese, Greek,
or Chinese, and the task is almost impossible.
Even with such people in place, says Parish,
any human error such as a misplaced deci-
mal point can result in costly recalls for the
pharmaceutical manufacturer or vendors or
a fatal dosage for the patient.
CIS has developed a number of auto-
mated documentation systems and soft-
ware suites that can scan, recognize, and
automatically detect any errors between an
original electronically generated document
and a proof or press version. Te suite of
software, known as AutoProof Pro, consists
of a number of dierent modules.
Most original documents are created by
the manufacturer and sent to a printer. Te
printed inserts are shipped to the pharma-
ceutical manufacturer for incoming 200%
inspection. To reduce the inspection process
by up to 95%, CIS provides an image-com-
pare module integrated with several input
devices. For comparing materials up to 11
17 in., a atbed scanner is used. For larg-
er material, a sheet-fed scanner that can ac-
commodate up to a 54 54-in. documents
at up to 1200 dpi is used. After images are
scanned, Docu-Match software auto-aligns
the two images and nds any dierence in
text, images, and color. Te software auto-
matically aligns the master and incoming
material for accurate comparison.
In many cases, says Parish, the pre-
press version must be compared with a
document generated as an Adobe Acro-
bat PDF le. To do this, the PDF is con-
verted to a bitmap and compared at the
same resolution as the scanned materials.
For comparing electronic revisions, CIS
can compare each character, character for
character, even though the format and lo-
cation of the copy has moved. Results of
the dierences between digitized and orig-
inal documents can then be compared on
the PCs monitor (see gure).
Many of these vendors produce drugs
for clinical trials, for which small batches
of labels must also be checked for accuracy.
For these companies, CIS has developed a
programmable vision workstation that us-
es a digital camera with the same software
suite to check labels printed on laser, ther-
mal-transfer, or dot-matrix printers. To do
this, the camera captures each label to detect
defects as small as 0.005 in. and uses optical
character recognition to read multiple areas
on the labels and compare the data with that
from clinical-label generation program.
Says Parish, We generally oer a to-
tally integrated system including com-
puter, cameras, scanners, and software to
simplify validation and use. It has already
been adopted by several pharmaceutical,
prepress, and printing companies, which
need to rapidly and accurately check high-
ly complex documents.
By registering original pharmaceutical
documents with prepress versions,
pharmaceutical vendors are using soft-
ware from CIS to proofread text, bar-
codes, graphics, and molecular diagrams.
0712VSD_23 23 11/29/07 10:47:58 AM
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IndustrialAutomation Products
w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e m s . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 25
A
hot application for machine vi-
sion right now is vision-guided
robotics for automatic loading
and unloading of shipping racks.
Te benets provided to manufacturers for
automating this application make the job
of cost justication easy. A manufacturing
line fully automated except for
the load/unload process will
be constrained by the opera-
tor tending the line. And since
many times the parts are heavy
and awkward, the safety of the
operator is often a concern.
A typical shipping rack in an
automotive stamping plant has
a footprint of 4 8 ft and will
hold about an hours worth of
production, depending on the
complexity of the subassembly
or the size of the parts. A fork-
lift driver will pick up a full
rack and drop o a new empty
rack in station in a loosely de-
ned location.
Shipping racks are not preci-
sion tooling. Tey are designed
to provide maximum protection to the prod-
uct at a minimum cost, since there might be
100 or more racks in the system at one time.
Tey are handled roughly, jostled during tran-
sit in the trailer, and can be stored outside. An
automated cell to load the racks has to take all
of these factors into consideration.
THE PROBLEM
Lets look at what goes into a completed
solution for an auto-racking application.
Well do this in the context of a case study
of a system successfully integrated and in-
stalled in a stamping plant. Te application
is loading completed side sill assemblies in-
to a rack. Te side sill is a sheet-metal
stamped part about 6 ft long weigh-
ing 25 lb. Te rack has seven hooks
on each side and each hook holds sev-
en parts. When completely lled, the
rack is rotated and the other side is
loaded (see Fig. 1).
Besides nding the overall location
of the rack, the vision system has to
ensure the rack is not damaged and ac-
ceptable to load without a crash.
If the shipping bar is up, the
part will crash into
the rack. If an arm
is bent down, the
robot will scrape
the part across
the bar and dam-
age the part .
On the surface
this type of appli-
cation appears to
be a fait accom-
plian automa-
tion solution that
can be purchased
o-the-shelf. But seeing
a demonstration of feasibility is
about 5% to 10% of the total engineer-
ing eort it takes to get a fully imple-
Developing vision-guided
robotic workcells
Robot, smart cameras, lighting, and PC teamed in auto-racking application.
By Val eri e Bol house
FIGURE 1. An auto-racking
application in a automotive
stamping plant required
that completed side sill
assemblies be loaded in a
shipping rack (top); a
drawing shows the rack
with two parts loaded and
the shipping bar (yellow)
in the up position (right).
VALERIE BOLHOUSE was
formerly a vision specialist at
Ford Motor Company, Detroit,
MI, USA. She has presented
ve Vision Systems Design
Webcasts on the Fundamentals
of Machine Vision, available
on demand at www.vision-
systems.com.
0712VSD_25 25 11/29/07 11:02:35 AM
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 26
IndustrialAutomation Products
mented system in your facility. So if you see
a demonstration at a vision show or supplier
shop, all you really know is that the vision sys-
tem is able to locate features on that particular
rack and provide osets to a robot to load a
small sample of parts into the rack.
A fully automated cell has to handle all
the variation in parts and racks that you
will see in production and anything else
you can throw at it. A successful applica-
tion has planned for and tested the varia-
tion before installation. Te process steps
we used at Ford Motor Co. for one such
application are
Dene system requirements
Develop vision solution feasibility
Optimize overall system process
Develop hardware/software architecture
Vision solution development
Integration & debug
Validation
Installation
Te process ow for the overall cell op-
eration should be dened. It has to include
both dened functions and any possible
exceptions to the ow. For example, you
might want to design the cell to start load-
ing only completely empty racks. What will
happen if the driver drops o a partially
loaded rack? How will the automation
identify the situation, and what is the next
step? Any interaction that requires operator
intervention should be closely analyzed.
Since you are developing an automated
cell, an operator might not be readily avail-
able to x the situation and resume cell oper-
ation. You could lose substantial throughput
if the cell sits in an error state for an extended
period. Also, there are safety concerns if the
operator is expected to enter the area around
the robot or the drop o area where the truck
drives, or if the fork lift driver has to exit his
vehicle to tend to the rack or automation.
Before you get too far down the path,
you need to verify the feasibility of us-
ing vision to solve this application. At this
point, you might want to consider both ro-
bot-mounted and stationary cameras. Eval-
uate the robustness, cost, and complexity
of each solution. Te shipping rack should
be evaluated for strong, repeatable features
that can be used to provide osets.
Dierent solutions using competing sup-
pliers systems and various lighting tech-
niques can be analyzed. Determine the
camera resolution requirements. Te solu-
tion with the highest probability of success
at an aordable cost should be selected
not necessarily the lowest cost proposal.
Once you understand the issues with the
vision application and have selected a vision
integrator, it is time for the team to discuss
the entire system. An optimal system solution
requires trade-os between the vision, robot,
material handling, cell controller, and other
automation devices in the cell. By knowing
the hardware and software capabilities of the
selected equipment, you can determine which
equipment handles which tasks.
Te entire project team, including vision
integrator, process equipment integrator,
plant operations, material-handling spe-
cialists, and system integrator should meet
early and often to develop the concepts and
architecture for the overall solution. Repeat
steps 1 through 4 iteratively until the team
is satised that the solution meets the cost,
complexity, and robustness targets identi-
ed. Decisions made at this point in the
project will determine the overall success
you will achieve.
Once the architecture is dened, an over-
all system specication must be written. Be
specic. Missing details (that is, just say-
ing that the robot must automatically load
parts) can lead to disappointments with
the operator interface, calibration proce-
dure, and packaging. If the vision solution
for robot guidance is a commercial prod-
ucteither embedded in the robot control-
ler or a third party PC-based vision sys-
temyou have an advantage because you
can evaluate the system before you make
the decision to purchase. When each sub-
system has a specication for its tasks, the
vision integrator can then design the spe-
cic solution.
Do not underestimate the amount of en-
gineering it takes to provide a good operator
interface and calibration procedure. Many
suppliers believe their intellectual proper-
ty is contained in their vision algorithms.
In practice, customer satisfaction is deter-
mined almost entirely on ease of recovering
from problems during production. Vision
algorithm performance is simply the mini-
mum requirement to do the application.
Te integration, debug, and installation
procedures follow standard project man-
agement guidelines. While they are also
critical to the success of the project, it is
not a subject covered in this article.
WHAT WE DID
We shipped a rack and some parts to the vi-
sion integrator to program a feasibility dem-
FIGURE 2. Target ducials were drilled in the rack for the vision system to use for
hook location (left). The vision system locates the black targets against the white
background (right).
0712VSD_26 26 11/29/07 11:03:07 AM
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0712VSD_29 29 11/29/07 11:04:44 AM
Vision
junction
box
Lights
Robot
controller
Vision
computer
Robot mounted
Smart
cameras
Ethernet
Light control
Power
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 30
IndustrialAutomation Products
onstration. Te preferred solution was sta-
tionary cameras to eliminate the problem of
video cable breakage on the robot. However,
because of the size of the rack and the resolu-
tion needed for loading, more than 16 cam-
eras would have been required. Tis made the
system too expensive, so we proceeded with a
robot-mounted solution with trepidation. Ro-
bot-mounted cameras actually turned out to
be the easier, lower risk solution.
With our sample parts we determined
that the clearance between the part and
hook was too tight for reliable operation.
More important, we did not have any vi-
sion features on the rack to locate the angle
of the hook to accommodate the variabil-
ity caused by age and damage to the racks.
Fortunately, the racks were going to be re-
furbished anyway, and simple inexpensive
modications could be included.
Te rst thing we did was to reduce the
size of the hook. It was the top tab holding
the parts in, not the sides, so these were re-
duced to the width of the bar. Ten we add-
ed vision targets (ducials) to critical areas of
the rack. Since the racks get damaged and
rust over time, we did not want labels or
painted-on targets. We had the rack supplier
drill holes in the rack for the targets.
Te lighting was congured to saturate the
surface of the hook, enabling the vision sys-
tem to look for black holes against a white
background. Even if the edges of the hook are
damaged or corroded, the features of the hole
will be unchanged. Te best vision features
are those designed right into the product spe-
cically for vision, not just working with what
you have. Having the shipping rack designer
on the team early enabled us to make these
critical design changes (see Fig. 2).
We still had to address our maintenance
concern with robot-mounted cameras and
the durability of the cables. At other plants
we had had to redo the wiring on many ro-
bot cells because the cables would break af-
ter a few thousand cycles. A decision to use
smart cameras instead of PC-based vision
had a huge impact on cable simplication
and packaging.
Te wiring and controls for the cameras
and lights were consolidated in a junction
box mounted on the robot arm. Ten an
FIGURE 4. Because the smart cameras have on-board I/O, they can control the light
from the vision junction box, so only a power and Ethernet connection need to be
made to the robot and vision controller.
FIGURE 3. End-
effector mounted
camera junction
box on the back
of the robot
consolidates the
wiring from three
cameras and two
light sources. An
Ethernet switch
reduces the
connection to the
vision computer
to one cable.
0712VSD_30 30 11/29/07 11:05:11 AM
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w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e m s . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 31
IndustrialAutomation Products
Ethernet switch mounted in the junction
box further consolidated the wiring. And
since the smart camera could trigger the
LEDs with on-board I/O, we only had to
route two cables on the robot itselfan
Ethernet cable and power.
Te cable was further sectioned with a
junction at the base of the robot, so that
if the robot-mounted cable broke an op-
erator would not have to go into the cable
trays and sh out the wires. Tis greatly re-
duces maintenance time. Compare this to
a PC-based vision system and all the wires
that would have to be routed, and you can
see why people get so excited about smart
camera packaging for machine vision. We
paid a $15,000 premium to use smart cam-
eras over PC-based vision for this applica-
tion, but everyone thought it was worth the
money (see Figs. 3 and 4).
Te cell integrator designed the robot
end-eector tooling and did a good job of
protecting the cameras from a robot crash.
Because the smart camera comes in a fac-
tory hardened enclosure, it did not have to
be put in a separate enclosure, saving both
money and weight. A screw-on lens protec-
tor cap was used to cover the lens. Te in-
tegrator provided a heavy gauge guarding
around the cameras and lights. Near-in-
frared LEDs were selected for the lighting
to protect the fork truck drivers from the
annoyance of ashing lights. Tese devices
are strobed and packaged in a factory-hard-
ened, thermally e cient housing, ensuring
their 50,000-hour-rated lifetime exceeds
the anticipated life of the cell (see Fig. 5).
If you talk about the robot crashing, ro-
bot suppliers will tell you that robots dont
crashthey are reliable and the controllers
dont get out of sequence or go in the weeds.
While it might be true that robots dont
crash, people do crash robots. Most crashes
happen during or after some maintenance
operation. We had two crashes already on
this robot, one during system debug and
another when there was a damaged rack in
the cell and the maintenance operator, at-
tempting to remove the part, got the coor-
dinate frames mixed up. Te cameras sur-
vived both crashes (see Fig. 6).
Even with smart cameras, the vision sys-
tem requires a PC to provide an operator
interface and do the math calculations of
3-D stereo vision. Te PC can also be used
to store images of failed operations and data
logging. Dont forget to make the PC ro-
bust, since it is required for the operation
of the cell. A desktop PC in an enclosure is
not an industrial PC. You also need to back
up the hard drive, either over the network
or with a redundant hard drive.
Te programming console for the vision
guidance system should be designed for an
operator, not vision engineer. While engi-
FIGURE 5. The smart camera was well
protected from a robot crash and, since it
came in a factory hardened shell, did not
require a separate enclosure.
FIGURE 6. Two cameras with IR LED light
view the hooks to nd the full depth of
eld position of the hook in the rack
using stereo vision. This geometry is
used to guide the side sill to the back of
the arm without scraping.
0712VSD_31 31 11/29/07 11:05:50 AM
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 32
IndustrialAutomation Products
neers get excited about programming vision
systems, operators and skilled trades can be
intimidated. Operators should not have to use
gray-scale or pixels. Osets are in millimeters.
Make it simple and graphical for ease of use.
HANDLING THE SYSTEM
You will need functions available to handle
vision system setup when things go wrong
in the cell. A really important function is
calibration verication. When the robot
can no longer load parts in the right loca-
tion, the rst thing people suspect is what
is considered to be the most complex thing
in the cellthe vision system.
Tey will tweak the calibration between
the vision system and robot, and usually
end up making the problem worse. If you
provide a calibration verication function,
the operator can test calibration before
changing it. One simple push of a button,
and the system will say whether the cali-
bration is OK or not. If it is OK, they can
look elsewhere for problems.
Another important function is autocalibra-
tion. If a calibration target is in the cell, anoth-
er push of the button, and the system can reca-
librate itself without the operator ever having
to lock out the cell and enter the work area.
Te third function is simplied camera
replacement. If you provide graphic over-
lays, you can guide the repositioning of a
camera so that the system will require only
minimal recalibration. A post in the cell is
our calibration target (see Fig. 7).
Te vision system consists of a PC and
three smart cameras running under a com-
mercial robot-guidance software package. It
is a slave device to the robot controller that
gets its commands from the cell controller
PLC. All communication is done over Eth-
ernet. Te three smart cameras are mounted
on the robot tooling: two cameras at the top
form a stereo pair to nd the hook position
and angle and the bottom camera locates
the center between the guides.
Te vision PC calculates osets and angles
from the location of target ducials on the
front tab and the back of the rack. Te front
tab establishes the position of the hook so
that the robot can center the hole in the part
over the tabsimilar to threading a nee-
dle. Te rear ducial in combination with
the front ducial establishes the angle of the
hook. Once the rst part is loaded, it is as-
sumed that the angle of the hook does not
change for the next six parts on that hook,
but the location is measured again for each
subsequent part in case the rack was moved
between parts. Camera 3 is used to center
the 6-ft part between the guide rails at the
bottom and the hook at the top.
Te cameras also use Ethernet to commu-
nicate with the vision PC, but their commu-
nication is local and restricted to the vision
PC in the cell. Te robot controls all motion
and positions within the cell and only uses
the vision system to provide osets to the
load positions. Using robot-mounted cam-
eras enables a lower-risk, more-robust solu-
tion because the magnitude of allowable o-
set for robot motion can be restricted to what
is reasonable for an undamaged rack. If the
vision camera should misidentify a feature
and make an erroneous calculation, an error
would be agged before the robot was sent
to an invalid location.
IN OPERATION
Te vision PC initiates an acquire-image
command to the smart cameras. Te cam-
eras snap the picture, process the image, and
return the location of the target it identi-
es. Te intelligence of the system resides
in the PC, which under the control of the
robot guidance software package, uses the
target locations to perform one of its speci-
ed functions: calibrate, verify calibration,
and provide the robot with osets and angles
for loading parts on the hooks.
Before loading the rst part in the rack
it is necessary to check for the shipping
bar to be in the down position and for
the rack to be empty. Te team decided
not to automatically load partially lled
racks. Tis decision simplied the system
design considerably, and t in with stan-
dard production practice. Initially, it was
going to be the vision integrators respon-
sibility to verify that the rack was ready
to load. Vision cameras were considered,
but these two checks were actually quite
di cult to do with vision.
We decided to use a laser safety curtain
to verify empty racks and a laser proxim-
ity switch for the shipping bar position.
Breaking a through-beam safety curtain
is intuitively more straight forward than
programming a vision system to look
through an empty rack onto the factory
oor and verifying no parts are in the rack.
Te system integrator took responsibility
for these two checks, again simplifying
the overall system.
Tis project was successful primarily be-
cause the entire team got together early and
made good trade-os in the system design.
What could have been a di cult vision so-
lution turned out to be almost trivial for the
vision system: nding three black circles
against a white background. Te most ro-
bust automation solutions are those where
no detail is overlooked and good engineer-
ing principles are used to solve complex
problems with the simplest approach.
KUKA Flexible Production Systems
Sterling Heights, MI, USA
www.kukarobotics.com
Sha, Brighton, MI, USA
www.shainc.com
CEC Controls, Wixom, MI, USA
www.ceccontrols.com
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FIGURE 7. A calibration post is positioned
in the cell, and trained to the robot
coordinate system during installation.
After the installation, the column post is
used to verify calibration and to recalibrate
the system in case of camera replacement
or robot crash.
0712VSD_32 32 11/29/07 11:06:37 AM
0712VSD_33 33 11/29/07 11:07:09 AM
0712VSD_34 34 11/29/07 11:08:41 AM
P
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www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 35
Industry Solutions
By Wi nn Hardi n, Contributing Editor
We use true optical character verication, which compares fonts to libraries of digital images,
explains Systech software engineer Mike Soborski. We use digital stacking to create variet-
ies of the code that include common skew and other distortions based on our knowledge of
what typically happens in a pharmaceutical laser printer. Unlike items in the food industry,
a vial of medicine may cost $100 and be produced at 350 vials a minute. Pharmaceutical
manufacturers do not want this line to go down. Engineers spending their time tweaking
thresholds or optical character recognition tools is simply not acceptable.
OCV supports FDA-compliant
packaging line
Multiple machine-vision stations inspect and verify
pharmaceutical vial-packaging system.
A
major pharmaceutical manufacturer with a
packaging facility in Puerto Rico recently
asked Systech International to design, qual-
ify, and install a vial-packaging line compli-
ant with US FDA 21 CFR standards, including label
application, tray lling, and palletizing. Te line had
to be exible enough to accommodate new products
or to add new sensors and software and to report ca-
pabilities without having to be recertied.
Any software or hardware change to a pharmaceu-
tical manufacturing line must provide an audit trail
for 100% of lot production. If a systemparticularly
softwareis not properly designed and compartmen-
talized, changes to any part of the system can warrant
a revalidation of the entire line. By using o-the-shelf
modular software proven to comply with 21 CFR 211,
only the new modules and aected supervisory func-
tions must be validated when something is added to
or subtracted from the production line.
Te Systech manufacturing line includes two mono-
chrome optical-character-verication
(OCV) machine-vision inspection sta-
tions at the front-end cut-away labeler
and back-end expiration-lot labeler, a
third for Data Matrix verication, and
a fourth color vision system to check col-
or codes on the vials in packing trays be-
fore shrink wrapping, casing, and pallet-
izing. Each vision station provides a key
inspection and documentation step on
the way to FDA compliance.
SINGLE POINT OF CONTROL
An end-to-end audit trial for pharmaceutical produc-
tion and packaging is simplied if the line has a single
point of operation and data I/O for all but operators
with management clearance and above, according to
Systech International regional sales manager Len Va-
leo. If the system has only one data I/O and control
point, the likelihood of operator error altering a sub-
system or resulting in lost data is greatly reduced.
Supervisory-control-and-data-acquisition systems
for industrial manufacturing and automation inher-
ently do not provide secure access or data tracking to 21
CFR levels. About 75% of all pharmaceutical packag-
ing equipment is not compliant with 21 CFR Part 11,
says Systech International regional sales manager Len
Valeo. Placing our Advisor Line Management Soft-
ware on top of the Allen-Bradley PLC network enables
the equipment with a form of compliance.
A secondary proprietary physical layer based on a CAN
network connects and secures all intelligent equipment
features, advantages, benets
0712VSD_35 35 11/29/07 11:09:32 AM
Barcode 1
tray
ADVISOR display
(tray packer)
ADVISOR display
(tray packer)
Camera
Data Matrix
Camera
OCV
Camera
OCV
Color
camera
vial count
Barcode 2
insert Barcode 3
insert
To shipping
Master
5/05 PLC
ISX
computer
Hub
RS-232
RS-232
Labeler
laser printer
Tray packer
laser printer
Conveyor
belt
Ethernet
Cut-away
labeler
(with PLC)
Expiration-lot
labeler
(with PLC)
Tray packer
(with PLC)
Discrete
I/O
Discrete
I/O
Shrink wrapper
(with PLC)
Case packer
(with PLC)
TIPS ADVISOR panel
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 36
ProleIn Vision Solutions
on the line through a Systech TIPS LINK
proprietary cable and Vision Integration Kit
(VIK) I/O box attached to the PLC. Te VIK
provides a high-bandwidth data channel to
the vision system, as well as access to the PLC
through an embedded Allan-Bradley indus-
trial Ethernet-compatible embedded chipset.
Te high-bandwidth channel allows for low-
latency transmission of images from all three
machine-vision inspection stations to the Sys-
tech central ISX computer, which runs Sentri
vision software and associated image-process-
ing modules along with the Advisor super-
visory program and the main HMI for the
pharmaceutical production line. Te ISX is
an industrial, Pentium-based PC with VIK
master card to access the Systech network and
Allan-Bradley SLC card to access the indus-
trial Ethernet PLC network.
To initiate a lot run, a supervisory-level
operator selects the production lot recipe
from a library of recipes stored on the ISX
central computer. Te Advisor software
queries the operator for each relevant vari-
able (for example, lot size, expiration dates)
and initiates the production run. Advisor
sends out operational information to the
cut-out labeler, expiration/lot labeler, tray-
loading machine, smart barcode readers,
and associated vision inspection stations,
as well as resetting counters and relevant
settings for each PLC on the Allan-Brad-
ley network (see Fig. 1).
Te labeler and tray PLCs both have laser
printers, while the lot/expiration code print-
er uses a Lastec laser etching system, ex-
plains Valeo. If Advisor wasnt sending the
information to these printers, the operator
would have to manually input the informa-
tion separately into each
machine, increasing the chances of errors.
Valeo says customers can save upward of
$30,000 by eliminating the need for a com-
plete barcode reader system and HMI and
by using $5000 smart barcode readers from
Microscan or Accu-Sort directly integrated
to the Advisor program and HMI. Once
the operator initiates the lot, Advisor sends
a lock code to every intelligent machine
on the system so that variables cannot be
changed locallywith few exceptions.
SECURING THE UNSECURED
Te majority of packaging equipment used
in pharmaceuticals is not 21 CFR compli-
ant, which means the entire line is not FDA
compliant. Te cut-out labeler PLC, expira-
tion/lot-code printer PLC, tray PLC, and
shrink-wrap-palletizer PLCs are all con-
nected to the Allen-Bradley industrial
Ethernet network, but control is not se-
cure against local access. Recipes for each
machines operation are stored locally on
the PLC, which does not include the se-
curity levels required to ensure production
lot integrity based on 21 CFR standards.
However, the PLC can be programmed for
a variety of alarm codes.
Systech set aside a 1-bit alarm code based
on data accessed at the PLC. If the local
recipe is accessed, the alarm bit is set to its
highest level of 3. Te Systech system has
full access to each PLCs data via its con-
nection to the
Al l a n- Br a d-
ley industrial
Ethernet LAN.
When a Level
3 code is issued,
Advisor halts the line. It can only be re-
started by a management-level supervisor.
So while the actual changes to the recipe
cannot be guarded on the PLC, Advisor
does track who approved restarting the line
in response to a Level 3 PLC recipe access
event, providing the requisite audit trail
and making unsecured PLCs secure to 21
CFR levels (see Fig. 2).
KEY PRODUCTION STEPS
After the operator initiates the operation
and inputs all values and each PLC and
vision system is programmed with the ap-
propriate procedure based on the stored
recipe in the Systech program, lled glass
vials enter the labeler station from an ac-
cumulator. A laser printer inside the la-
beler machine begins printing the cut-out
labels with the appropriate information,
and an image of each label is captured by
a Systech CCD-610 monochrome digi-
tal camera through a local trigger. Te
camera is outtted with standard optics
and bandpass lter to reduce interference
from ambient light and focus on the il-
lumination from a nearby Systech LED-
RR01 red LED ringlight. Te image is
transferred back through the VIK box to
the VIK master at the ISX host PC and
then passed into the PC memory where
the Systech OCV tool takes over.
If the label is passed by the Sentri in-
FIGURE 1. The Systech
TIPS Advisor network
for pharmaceutical
production lies on top
of the Allan-Bradley
Ethernet network
and uses minimal
proprietary discreet
runs, as well as the
AB network, to
communicate, initiate,
secure, and control
all equipment on the
packaging line.
0712VSD_36 36 11/29/07 11:10:03 AM
.BDIJOF7JTJPO-JHIUJOHT
The groundbreaking PHLOX
technology sets apart from the others
Uniformity : up to 5 %on the
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Heat free : a maximum
of 20C/68F, above room
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products, ensuring a longer
lifetime
Ultra slim : 8 mm - 0,315 thick
High protection : IP 65
Large sized (up to 600x600 mm)
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Energy saving and better
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Further Benelts :
24 months warranty
Certificate of uniformity and
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Seal of quality on each product
www.avisionahead.com
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w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e m s . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 37
ProleIn Industry Solutions
spection software, the labeler PLC ex-
tracts the label from the printed roll and
attaches it to the vial. A second printer
and monochrome vision system verify a
Data Matrix code, which is then also ap-
plied to the vial. Te vial passes through the
labeler, and a smart barcode reader veries
a separate Code 128 dense barcode on the
label against the programmed recipe. Us-
ing multiple codes provides redundancy in
the operation.
Te vial then enters the lot-code/expi-
ration-date laser printer, which etches the
lot code into the glass in the cut-out area.
A second OCV system veries the lot code
and expiration date (see Fig. 3).
Te vial continues to the tray packer
PLC. A pair of barcode readers read the
Code 128 codes on the plastic tray and
plastic insert and record those data with the
lot information on the local PLC, which
is then passed to Advisor. Te PLC places
vials in each of the trays holes and
places a colored dot on the top of
the vial that varies by recipe. When
the tray is lled, a Systech CCD-
645 megapixel color CCD camera
captures an image of the entire tray
from above and uses color thresh-
olding to identify each colored dot.
Te dots are counted to verify the
tray is full and checked against the
color code included in the recipe.
Systech has a variety of color soft-
ware modules for its Sentri vision
systems for pharmaceutical produc-
tion. One interesting feature is the
ability to do 15-bit digital stacking
of each color to identify all RGB
color space values that are near to
the target color code. Te color tool
creates a look-up table for each dot
based on nearby color extrapola-
tion. Tis allows the system to ac-
commodate slight changes in the
dots color without falsely rejecting
the vial. Also, the tool generates a
3-D RGB color space cub that can
show all colored labels used for lot
tracking. Tis allows the engineer
to verify that no colored dot can
be mistaken for another dot to its
proximity in color space.
After the color images are sent
back via VIK channel to the ISX comput-
er and passed, the Systech system sends a
signal for the PLC to pass the lled tray to
the shrink wrapper and robotic palletizer
for shipping to the customer.
FIGURE 3. Systech software for optical
character verication allows the system to read
slightly distorted or skewed codes.
FIGURE 2. During 21 CFR testing to validate
pharmaceutical production, the TIPs Advisor
screen shows the operator a view of a factory
acceptance test of vial-inspection packaging line.
Accu-Sort Systems, Telford, PA, USA
www.accusort.com
Lasetec, Torrance, CA, USA
www.ltec.com
Microscan, Renton, WA, USA
www.microscan.com
Rockwell Automation (Allen-Brad-
ley), Milwaukee, WI, USA www.
rockwellautomation.com
Systech International, Cranbury,
NJ, USA
www.systech-tips.com
US Food & Drug Administration,
Rockville, MD, USA
www.fda.gov
C
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0712VSD_37 37 11/29/07 11:10:29 AM
We offer the broadest spectrum of Machine Vision systems for all
fields of application from 1D/2D code readers to color sensors to
smart cameras to PC-based image processors. Wherever your
Machine Vision application takes you, we can help get you there.
Improve quality and productivity with SIMATIC sensors
For more information or to contact a sales representative, call,
e-mail, or visit our web site.

2
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E
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&

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0712VSD_38 38 11/29/07 10:52:58 AM
w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 39
ProductFocus
S M A R T C A M E R A S
Sensors tackle machine-
vision applications
Vision sensors are closing the gap between traditional photoelectric
sensors and more complex image-processing systems.
By Andrew Wi lson, Editor
A
t Pack Expo in Las Vegas, NV,
USA (October 2007) this year,
one emerging trend that was ev-
ident was incorporating more
sophisticated machine-vision systems
into packaging and production systems.
But those expecting to see sophisticated
machine-vision systems integrating expen-
sive telecentric lenses, large-format cameras,
high-speed Camera Link frame grabbers,
and image-processing software would sure-
ly have been disappointed.
While many systems featured relatively
low-cost devices to read one- and two-di-
mensional (1-D and 2-D) barcodes, very
few used more costly components with
which to perform machine-vision tasks.
Te reason, it seems, is multifold. Although
many packaging-system designers would
like to incorporate machine vision into
their systems, the expense of developing
and deploying such systems is prohibitive.
What developers are looking for is an inex-
pensive way to rapidly deploy single products
that perform simple functions such as pres-
ence detection, color analysis, and barcode
reading. Familiar with using low-cost pro-
grammable logic controllers (PLCs), system
integrators are now exploring the uses of smart
vision sensors to perform these functions with-
out the need to understand how to develop or
deploy machine-vision algorithms.
Of course, this trend is not new. One of
the rst companies to recognize the demand
for a low-cost way to solve relatively simple
machine-vision tasks was DVT, now part
of Cognex. Rather than develop simple bar-
code readers, DVTs concept was to develop
FIGURE 1. Range of smart sensors now available differ in the types of imaging
sensors used, the speed at which they operate, and the software support they
offer: (a) Cognex Checker 200 Series,(b) Datalogic Matrix 400, (c) Banners
PresencePLUS, (d) NI 1722, (e) Balluff Sharpshooter, and (f) Baumer Optronics
VeriSens sensors.
a)
c) d)
b)
e)
f)
0712VSD_39 39 11/29/07 10:53:33 AM
VGA resolution
(640 x 480 pixels)
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 40
ProductFocus on Smart Cameras
relatively inexpensive, compact, rug-
ged vision sensors that incorporated
the functions of a smart camera and
PLC. Tese include an integrated im-
ager, memory, processor, Ethernet, and
digital I/O capability, along with the
companys Intellect software that uses
an intuitive user interface and a library
of easy-to-congure vision tools.
For the packaging and production
industry, ease of mounting, industri-
al connectors, and integrated lighting
of smart sensors provided a way to
migrate from the limitations of pho-
toelectric sensors to provide addition-
al functionality with a moderate cost
increase. It is a concept that has been
further extended by Cognex in its lat-
est Checker 200 series (see Vision Sys-
tems Design, June 2007, p. 22).
NEW PRODUCTS EMERGE
Realizing the success of these products,
other companies are now developing
similar smart vision sensors with dier-
ent levels of sophistication (see table). In-
terestingly, these companies are emerging
from existing manufacturers of low-cost
barcode readers, companies known for
industrial control products, and existing
machine-vision vendors. While many of-
fer smart vision sensors rmly targeted to-
ward 1- and 2-D barcode reading, more
sophisticated machine-vision functions
are slowly being added to these products.
One thing is apparent when compar-
ing these products. Many of the techni-
cal hardware specications are very simi-
lar. Nearly all of the smart sensors on the
market today oer integrated sensors, pro-
cessors, memory, digital I/O, networking
capability, and LED lighting. Even more
noticeable, the design of such products is
also strikingly similar to products origi-
nally developed by DVT (see Fig. 1).
Te choice of which smart sensor to
use is rmly application-dependent. Te
sensor size, frame rate, type of built-in
FIGURE 2. Smart sensors with 1280 1024
resolution deliver a larger eld of view without
sacricing resolution. Microscan MS-4 EZ Match
can read barcoded test tubes or combinations of
linear and 2-D symbols while capturing the height
of the test tube and its cap for inspection
0712VSD_40 40 11/29/07 10:54:26 AM
www.stockeryale.com
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POWE R
Uniform laser line generator
1 W (infrared); 500 mW (red)
Focusable
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Copyright

2007 StockerYale Inc. All rights reserved.

Applications include:
Machine vision
High speed inspection
3D profiling and mapping
Medical
w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 41
ProductFocus on Smart Cameras
lenses, and lighting must be carefully con-
sidered. Perhaps more important, however,
developers should properly evaluate the soft-
ware that is supplied with the device. While
many smart sensor vendors oer families of
devices suited to dierent types of applica-
tions, the software that is supplied with each
family of sensors remains consistent.
MORE THAN BARCODES
By embedding specic types of software in
their smart vision sensors, some manufactur-
ers can oer application-specic products such
as barcode/OCR/OCV readers. Others are
choosing to oer software development kits
to either allow companies to tailor the prod-
ucts for high-volume end users or for OEMs
to tailor these products for specic applica-
tions. At a more sophisticated level, graphical
user interfaces (GUIs) are available that allow
a developer to create host-based machine-vi-
sion applications and download them to the
smart sensor so that it can run autonomously
on a packaging or production line.
FIGURE 3. Several smart-sensor vendors offer PC-based software packages that
use intuitive GUIs with which to congure the sensors: GUI software from
(a) Banner Engineering, (b) NI, (c) Balluff, and (d) Baumer Optronics.
a)
b)
c) d)
0712VSD_41 41 11/29/07 10:54:53 AM
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 42
ProductFocus on Smart Cameras
SMART SENSORS ATTACK MACHI NE VI SI ON APPLI CATI ONS
Company Product Interface Software
Technical
Specications
Functions
Ascentics
www.asentics.de
BR510
RS-232, Ethernet,
digital I/O
Windows
cong software
659 x 494, white LED Barcode reading
Banner Engineering
www.bannerengineering.
com
Prescence-
PLUS
Ethernet, serial,
digital I/O
PresencePLUS
software
Integrated LED lighting
Pattern-match, count,
edge detection,
Barcode reading
Balluff
www.balluff.com
Sharp-
Shooter
Ethernet, digital I/O
ConVis GUI
software
640 x 480, integrated
red LED
Presence/feature
detection, dimensional
verication
Baumer Optronic
www.baumeroptronic.
com
VeriSens
USB 2.0, digital I/O,
RS485
PC-based apps
suite
320 x 240 to 656 x
494, white or red LED
Industrial machine-
vision applications
Cognex
www.cognex.com
Checker
200
Digital I/O, USB
Graphical devel-
opment system
Multicolor LEDs
Industrial machine-
vision applications
InSight
Series
Digital I/O, Ethernet,
RS-232
Insight Explorer
640 x 480 to
1600 x 1200
Industrial machine-
vision applications
Datalogic
www.automation.
datalogic.com
Matrix 400
Digital I/O, RS-232,
Ethernet
Vision library
1.3 or 2M pixel ver-
sions, 27 or
15 frames/s
Direct-part mark
reading, 1- or 2-D
symbologies
Diapolous
http://diaplous.com
DMV02 Ethernet, digital I/O Embedded apps
3M pixel imager, RISC
processor, white LEDs
Pattern recognition,
robot control
Microscan
www.microscan.com
MS-4 EZ
Match
Digital I/O, RS-232 Push button 1280 x 1024
Barcode reading,
machine vision
National Instruments
www.ni.com
NI 1722
Digital I/O, Gigabit
Ethernet
Vision Builder
AI software
640 x 480,
60 frames/s, 400-MHz
PowerPC, LED
Packaging inspection,
assembly verication,
1- and 2-D code
reading
NI 1742
Digital I/O, Gigabit
Ethernet
Vision Builder
AI software
640 x 480,
60 frames/s, 533-MHz
PowerPC, LED
Packaging inspection,
assembly verication,
1- and 2-D code
reading
Omron
www.omron247.com
ZFX Vision
Sensor
Digital I/O, USB 2.0,
RS-232
Programmable
interface
468 x 432, white LEDs
Pattern, hue, area,
with position matching
Panasonic Electric
Works
www.pewa.panasonic.com
LightPix
AE20
USB, digital I/O,
RS-232
AE Software
352 x 288, integrated
white LED
Edge detection, color
discrimination,
pattern-matching
Rockwell Automation
www.
rockwellautomation.com
48MS
MultiSight
Ethernet, digital I/O
PC conguration
software
640 x 480, I-integrated
red, white LEDs
Presence, posiiton,
marking detection
Siemens
www.acuitycimatrix.com
HawkEye
1525
RS-232, Ethernet,
digital I/O
QuickSet
conguration
Integrated LED
lighting
Barcode reading
HawkEye
1600T
RS-232, Ethernet,
digital I/O
VisionScape
40 x 480 or 1024 x 768
30 or 60 fps,
RISC processor
Industrial machine
vision applications
Tattile
www.tattile.com
Smart
Reader
MO
Digital I/O,
Ethernet, RS-232
Vision library
640 x 480,
200 frames/s, LED
OCR/OCV, barcode
reading
Vision Components
www.vision-components.
com
VisiCube Digital I/O, Ethernet VCRT OS
640 x 480, white and
red LEDs, TI DSP, 32
frames/s
Industral machine-
vision applications
Wenglor
www.wenglor.de
BS30V100 Digital I/O, RS-232 Teach pendant
126 x 98 imager,
300 frames/s, red LED
Presence check,
shape analysis, pixel
comparison
BS40V101 Digital I/O, RS-232 Teach pendant
640 x 480, 100
frames/s, white light
Sorting, size/control,
good/bad part
detection
0712VSD_42 42 11/29/07 10:55:23 AM
1-866-849-1662
www.imperx.com
A Team of Cameras
with Unmatched
Flexibility and
Performance
Proudly Made in the USA
Company Profile
Imperx is a recognized leading inno-
vator in the design and manufac-
ture of high-resolution industrial
interline transfer CCD cameras. With
their unmatched flexibility and field
upgradeable firmware, Imperx cam-
eras have become the choice of the
worlds top manufacturers for
industrial areas such as flat panel
inspection, medical, defense, aerial
mapping and recognizance as well
as many other demanding machine
vision applications. Imperx products
are designed and manufactured in
the U.S. with a software develop-
ment office in Moscow. Our prod-
ucts are offered through a world-
wide network of highly skilled, inde-
pendent sales and engineering
partners. Imperx is a proud member
of AIA, UKIVA and S.P.I.E.
Product Range
The Imperx Lynx line of cameras is
available in eight resolutions, includ-
ing high-speed VGA (640 x 480),
1MP (1k x 1k), 1.4MP (1384 x 1032),
2MP (1600 x 1200), 2MP (1920 x 1080),
4MP (2k x 2k), 11MP (4000 x 2672)
and 16MP (4872 x 3248). Imperx
has also introduced thermo-electric
cooled cameras in three resolution
models (4, 11 and 16 MP) for
extremely high dynamic range and
long integration applications. All
cameras are available in either
monochrome or color. Output
choices are either Camera Link or
Gigabit Ethernet.
Camera Features
A powerful internal image-process-
ing engine utilizing a 1 or 2 million
gate FPGA (depending on resolu-
tion) with 32-bit RISC processor
gives our cameras extraordinary
performance and programmability.
A major distinguishing feature of all
Imperx cameras is the ability to be
upgraded in the field. This capabili-
ty allows us to work in partnership
with our customers to tailor a cam-
era specifically to their application,
in their workplace, with their equip-
ment. This approach helps our
clients move forward with new
products and systems in record
time, thereby reducing engineer-
ing-in time, cost and risk. Our
unparalleled feature set includes:
Defective Pixel Correction
Flat Field Correction
Multiple 12-bit Look-Up-Tables
Dynamic S/N correction
8, 10, or 12-bit output
Area of Interest
Vertical and Horizontal binning
Long Integration
Markets Served
Machine Vision
Medical
Semiconductor
Flat Panel Inspection
Web Inspection
Aerial/Terrestrial sensing
Traffic/Mobile Police Systems
Military
Microscopy
Entertainment
Motion Picture and Post Processing
For more information about our cutting-edge imaging solutions, visit our website at www.imperx.com.
Cutting Edge Imaging Solutions
0712VSD_43 43 11/29/07 10:55:46 AM
Standard and Custom
Digital Cameras
illunis LLC offers high performance digital
cameras for Military, Industrial, and Security
market applications
CUSTOMIZED CAMERAS
illunis LLC specializes in
customizing our modular
industrial grade cameras for
OEM applications. We can
adapt our cameras to your
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help you achieve the results
you are looking for.
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x GigE or CameraLink
x Up to 16M Pixel Resolution
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x Internal Image Analysis
x Rugged Design
info@illunis.com
www.illunis.com
+1 952-975-9203
XMV-16M
www.opto-engineering.com
OPTO ENGINEERING
THE TELECENTRIC COMPANY
TELECENTRIC LENSES
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 44
ProductFocus on Smart Cameras
For example, at Pack Expo Datalogic
introduced two versions of its Matrix 400
smart sensor targeted directly toward direct-
part-mark reading of 1-D, 2-D stacked, and
postal symbologies. Two versions of the sen-
sor are available that feature either 1.3-Mpix-
el SXGA or 2-Mpixel UXGA sensors, inter-
nal LEDs, and adjustable C-mount lenses. A
multifunction pushbutton sets all relevant
functions such as aiming, focusing, auto-
matic imager calibration, and code setting.
Other manufacturers are realizing that
the embedded capabilities of smart sensors
allow them to be used for a wider range of
applications. Emerging from the highly com-
petitive barcode-inspection market, for exam-
ple, Microscan recently demonstrated how
its MS-4 EZ Match imager could be used
to perform more than barcode-recognition
functions.
Over the last four years, most array imagers
have read at VGA resolution (640 480) with
307,200 pixels. Tis has forced instrument de-
signers to choose between resolution and
eld of view. Megapixel imagers with
SXGA resolution (1280 1024), how-
ever, deliver a larger eld of view with-
out sacricing resolution (see Fig. 2). So
the MS-4 EZ Match can read barcoded
test tubes or combinations of linear and
2-D symbols while capturing the height
of the test tube and its cap for inspection.
In operation, the imager can read and
decode both long linear and high-den-
sity 2-D symbols such as Data Matrix,
the status of the test tubes position, the
presence or absence of a cap, the caps
diameter, and the tube height.
GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACES
While vendors such as Microscan are mov-
ing toward oering ever smarter vision sen-
sors, other manufacturers, notably Ballu,
Banner Engineering, Baumer Optoelectronic,
Cognex, and National Instruments (NI), are
oering more fully featured smart vision sen-
sors designed to perform a range of functions.
As well as oering smart vision sensors, these
companies oer PC-based software packages
that use intuitive GUIs with which to cong-
ure the sensor (see Fig. 3). Once congured,
the machine-vision program is downloaded
to the sensor so that it can operate autono-
FIGURE 4. Baumer Optronic VeriSens Series 1000
has been used to detect the correct alignment of
blister packs and cardboard packaging.
0712VSD_44 44 11/29/07 10:56:13 AM
Mikrotron GmbH
Landshuter Str. 20-22 D-85716 Unterschleissheim
Tel.: +49 (0) 89-72 63 42-00 Fax: +49 (0) 89-72 63 42-99
info@mikrotron.de www.mikrotron.de
Special Electronics
Digital Slow Motion
Image Processing
2,500 ASA
Supersensitive High Speed Camera
Dont Bother About Light!
The unprecedented light sensitivity of EoSens
opens up new high speed potentials without
complex lighting.
n 1280 x 1024 CMOS Sensor
n Up to 500 Frames per Second @ Full Resolution
n Up to 120,000 Frames per Second
n Non-Linear Dynamic Range Adjustment
n Multi Pixel-Exposure for Indenite Light Conditions
n Camera Link or GigE Vision Interface
ProductFocus on Smart Cameras
w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e m s . c o m
mously on a production line.
A good example is Banner Engineerings
PresencePLUS series. Designed for those with
a minimal knowledge of machine vision, in-
spections are set up using a PC. Te sensor cap-
tures images, and the PresencePLUS software
analyzes captured images using one or more
vision tools to pass or fail the product. After
the inspection les have been stored in the sen-
sors memory, the software can be run autono-
mously. Inspection setup involves focusing the
lens and selecting the appropriate analysis tools.
Because the sensor accommodates both trans-
lational and rotational variation, parts moving
down a production line or web need not be
oriented in exactly the same way.
Also at Pack Expo, SuperUser Solutions
demonstrated an integrated labeling and ver-
ication system that speeds packaging pro-
duction using the PresencePLUS sensor for
the less-complex task of barcode inspection.
After conguring the sensor to operate over
an Ethernet, discrete I/O and inspection
pass/fail information regarding each pack-
age barcode are transferred. After each label
is read, the barcode information is displayed
on an operator interface and is tied to a reject
mechanism or an alarm to alert the operator
of misread codes (see p. 13).
Like Banner Engineering, NI realized the
power of graphical-user-interface-based soft-
ware when it debuted two such vision sensors
developed for packaging inspection, assembly
verication, 1- and 2-D code reading, and
motion guidance at NIWeek (August 2007;
Austin, TX, USA). With the combination of
a PowerPC processor, CCD imager, in-built
LED illumination, digital I/O, and a Gigabit
Ethernet interface, both the 1722 and 1742
smart cameras can run NI Vision Builder
for Automated Inspection or NI LabVIEW
Real-Time module and suite of vision algo-
rithms (see Vision Systems Design, October
2007, p. 74).
NI also demonstrated how they could be
used to sort and check colored bottles. In
this application, the smart sensors were in-
tegrated with PLCs, smart HMI interfaces
and the companys CompactRIO program-
mable automation controller in a system that
sorted dierent colored bottles and aligned
and inspected these labels for quality (see
Vision Systems Design, October 2007, p. 21).
In developing its Sharpshooter smart sen-
sor, engineers at Ballu realized the need to
oer a simple, easy-to-use GUI. Ballu of-
fers its own GUI software, known as Con-
Vis, that uses a step-by-step conguration
process to guide developers through sensor
setup. With a multiple image-viewing buf-
fer to identify a reference image for setup,
the PC-based ConVis software also oper-
ates as an emulator to allow projects to be
set up and tested o-line and then down-
loaded to the sensor over Ethernet.
Similarly, Baumer Optronics VeriSens
vision sensors use an application suite of
congurable software running on a PC or
laptop. Up to 32 features can be used for a
single inspection of a typical product or its
surrounding. Each products conguration
and inspection parameters are stored within
one of the 255 supported jobs, which are se-
lected at runtime via digital input.
Recently, the company demonstrated
how the VeriSens Series 1000 ould detect
the correct alignment of blister packs and
cardboard packaging (see Fig. 4). First, three
horizontal and vertical positions are detected
by the sensor. Te reference edge shown on
the left is estimated with two horizontal and
vertical search arrows. Ten the position and
orientation of this edge is compared with its
expected position. Finally, the vision sensor
checks the alignment of the blister pack with
respect to the reference edge. Process toler-
ances are determined by the length of the ar-
rows. Results are sent to the vision sensors
output, which is connected to a PLC.
Balluff, Florence, KY, USA
www.balluff.com
Banner Engineering
Minneapolis, MN, USA
www.bannerengineering.com
Baumer Optoelectronic,
Radeburg, Germany
www.baumeroptronic.com
Cognex, Natick, MA, USA
www.cognex.com
Datalogic, Hebron, KY, USA
www.datalogic.com
Microscan, Renton, WA, USA
www.microscan.com
National Instruments, Austin, TX, USA
www.ni.com
SuperUser Solutions, Bradford, PA, USA
www.su-solutions.com
C
o
m
p
a
n
y

I
n
f
o
0712VSD_45 45 11/29/07 10:56:41 AM
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E-mail your product announcements, with photo if available, to vsdproducts@pennwell.com.
PRODUCTS
Vision+Automation
www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 47
Vision-guided robot
assembles small parts
LR Mate 200iC/5H robot is designed
for small-part assembly applications
typically handled by SCARA-type
robots. The ve-axis LR Mate 200iC/5H
supports a variety of intelligent functions
including an internal programmable
controller, Ethernet, iRVision (built-in),
force sensing, and the iPendant. The
iRVision system is a ready-to-use robotic
vision package, requiring only a camera
and cable. It has a 2-D robot-guidance
tool to accomplish part location, error
proong, and other operations that
normally require special sensors or
custom xtures.
FANUC Robotics America
Rochester Hills, MI, USA
www.fanucrobotics.com
Microscope measures
without contact
LSM 5 EXCITER laser scanning micro-
scope system analyzes relatively soft
materials such as polymers in a noncon-
tact procedure with high accuracy and
resolution. Users can visualize and mea-
sure 2- and 3-D topographies, deter-
mine roughness and waviness, and
measure porosity and volume content.
Additionally, the possibility of working
in both reected and uorescent light
expands the exibility of analytical tech-
niques. The microscopes StitchArt plus
option allows for extra-long line proles
or image stack arrays that extend over
more than 800 times the size of the scan
eld to be captured automatically with
variable overlapping areas.
Carl Zeiss MicroImaging
Thornwood, NY, USA
www.zeiss.com/micro
Stepper/servomotion
card gives control
PCI-8174 stepper and servomotion
control card has an on-board DSP with
motion ASIC for simplied implementa-
tion of time-critical motion sequences.
The PCI-8174 can operate as a stand-
alone controller by executing all pro-
cesses in the hardware layer and can
simultaneously execute a sequence
via the motion ASIC without consum-
ing CPU resources. It is for applications
such as semiconductor front- and back-
end equipment, TFT/LCD manufactur-
ing equipment, and electronic assem-
bly and testing equipment. Features
include high-frequency pulse output
rates up to 6.55 MHz and software
security protection.
Adlink Technology
Irvine, CA, USA
www.adlinktech.com
Smart vision sensor has built-in touch screen
ZFX machine-vision sensor simplies automated inspection. It consists of a camera
with intelligent lighting and a controller with built-in HMI. The ZFX programming
environment uses a live color image for maximum accuracy in setup and
monitoring. It can inspect up to 32 regions of interest with 360 rotational search in
less than 28 ms. Onboard communication ports include RS-232C/RS-422, USB 2.0,
and Ethernet. The controller for the ZFX has a built-in 3.5-in. TFT color LCD
touch screen with stylus and is available in NPN or PNP output models.
Omron Electronics
Schaumburg, IL, USA
www.omron247.com
0712VSD_47 47 11/29/07 10:58:08 AM
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 48
Vision + AutomationProducts
Small camera uses GigE interface
GC2450 Gigabit Ethernet camera runs 15
frames/s at 2456 2048-pixel resolution
over a GigE Vision-compliant interface. It
uses a Sony 5-Mpixel ICX-625 progres-
sive-scan CCD sensor with global elec-
tronic shutter suitable for capturing high-
speed motion events. Key features include
programmable exposure controls, area-of-
interest readout, advanced binning modes,
12-bit readout, asynchronous external trig-
ger and sync I/O, autoiris control, and RS-
232 peripheral port. The GC2450 does not
require a frame grabber because it con-
nects directly to the Gigabit Ethernet port
on the host computer. The camera hous-
ing measures 33 46 43 mm.
Prosilica
Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.prosilica.com
Positioning stages are compact
Compact, single-rail positioning stages are
lightweight, have a small footprint, and
offer high acceleration up to 12 g, zero
cogging, high resolution to 0.1 m, high
repeatability to 1 m, and load capacity
to 25 kg. These high-speed linear motor
stages are ideal for applications requiring
high acceleration, high accuracy, repeat-
ability, and reliability. For easy integration
into new and existing applications the
stages can be supplied vacuum compat-
ible, custom mounting holes can be speci-
ed, and the stages can be specied as part
of a complete motion-control system,
H2W Technologies
Valencia, CA, USA
www.h2wtech.com
Color monitor assists in surgery
LMD-2450MD 24-in. at-panel LCD mon-
itor from Sony is specically designed for
use in medical applications and deliv-
ers precise color reproduction and high-
brightness, high-contrast images using
its superwide-aperture WUXGA LCD pan-
els. The monitor utilizes Sonys Chroma-
TRU color-processing technology to pro-
vide consistent color calibration. It also
includes a second calibration so that white
balance is maintained at consistent color
temperatures throughout all gray-scale
levels. Parallel and serial control (includ-
ing via Ethernet) are standard.
Scientic Vision Systems
Carlsbad, CA, USA
www.svsimaging.com
Camera is progressive-scan
CCD-16000 VDS is a 16-Mpixel CCD cam-
era based on a sensor within a 36 24-
mm format. Readout is 2 images/s with
12-bit dynamics. The CCD-16000 has an
RS-644 output that is pin-to-pin compat-
ible to the companys entire CCD series.
Additional modules for IEEE 1394, Camera
Link, and Gigabit Ethernet are available.
VDS Vosskhler
Osnabrck, Germany
www.vdsvossk.de
Controllers aid in harsh environments
HE-1400 and HE-1600 Series controllers
are designed to aid manufacturers build-
ing hardened LCD display systems for
military and industrial applications. Both
controllers feature wide-tolerance power
supplies (12 Vdc 25%), locking connec-
tors, and low-mass tantalum capacitors
for maximum tolerance to shock and
vibration, Mil-spec silicon resin conformal
coatings, laboratory-certied operating
temperature ranges of -40C to +80C,
and calculated MTBF in excess of 150 K
hours (HE-1600) and 200 K hours (HE-
1400). Both are RoHS compliant. Acces-
sories are available.
Digital View
Morgan Hill, CA, USA
www.digitalview.com
Array delivers high-intensity light
PresencePLUS sealed linear-array lights
provide high-intensity lighting of large
areas or objects at long distances with
maintenance-free LED illumination.
These high-power, solid-state arrays are
housed in a durable, waterproof, IP68-
rated housing. They connect directly to
24-Vdc power; constant intensity and
strobe control are built into the light.
They are offered in models with infrared
or visible red, blue, green, or white LEDs
and with a choice of clear acrylic, glass,
or acrylic diffusing windows.
Banner Engineering
Minneapolis, MN, USA
www.bannerengineering.com
Capture card is scalable
Morphis DVR-16 is a scalable video-capture
card with real-time multichannel compres-
sion designed for digital video recorders.
The Morphis DVR-16 captures from NTSC,
PAL, RS-170, and CCIR video sources. It can
record from 4 to 16 channels of compressed
video and audio. Each channel supports
motion, blind and night detection, as well
as detection of video loss. The hardware
engine can perform real-time compression
in MJPEG and MPEG-4 formats. The dis-
play overlay also supports region blanking.
Software support is available for Microsoft
Windows XP and consists of the Matrox
Imaging Library (MIL)/ActiveMIL or MIL-
Lite/ActiveMIL-Lite development toolkits.
Matrox Imaging
Dorval, QC, Canada
www.matrox.com/imaging
Camera delivers high frame rates
Falcon 1.4M100, a 1.4-Mpixel area camera,
delivers 100 frames/s at full resolution in
an ultracompact body. Fully programma-
ble via Base mini-Camera Link, the Falcon
1.4M100 incorporates exposure control,
windowing, gain and offset adjustment,
and at-eld correction. Ease of use is
enhanced through direct camera control
using the companys CamExpert point-and-
click graphical user interface and the ability
0712VSD_48 48 11/29/07 10:58:45 AM
www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 49
Vision + AutomationProducts
to transmit data with 10-m-long mini-Camera Link cables. Other
features include 7.4 7.4-m pixel pitch, 2 80-MHz data rates,
and a dynamic range of 57 dB.
DALSA
Waterloo, ON, Canada
www.dalsa.com
Camera delivers high resolution
Fastcam MC1 high-speed camera is designed for production-line
fault nding and process control. The small remote-head camera,
tted with a C-mount lens adaptor, delivers 2000 frames/s at full
resolution and up to 10,000 frames/s at reduced resolution. The
head connects to a compact processor unit via a exible, shielded 7-
m camera cable, allowing for easy placement into conned spaces.
The Fastcam MC-1 is available with an optional remote keypad with
a built-in 5-in. LCD via the RS-422 connector. Fastcam Viewer soft-
ware is included. Power supply is 24 Vdc.
Photron
San Diego, CA, USA
www.photron.com
Viewer works without PC
SensorView 35 is a
compact, industrial,
color panel-mount
viewer for Checker
200 Series inspec-
tion sensors. It allows
operators to view
production statistics
and inspection im-
ages without connecting to a PC. SensorView 350 features a
simple interface for displaying images of passed or failed parts,
along with status indicators and results statistics to more easily
monitor the production process.
Cognex
Natick, MA, USA
www.cognex.com
Microscope views still or video
MSX-500Di is a small, lightweight, 2.11-Mpixel digital CCD micro-
scope that features an integrated 3.5-in. TFT LCD monitor and SD
card ash memory storage The microscope incorporates a CCD
imaging system and adjustable high-intensity LED lighting to de-
liver sharp, well-lit images from 1X to 500X magnication with-
out changing lenses. The proprietary LED lighting is arranged in
two concentric rings. By selecting combinations of the LED arrays
in the inner and outer rings subject lighting can be optimized so
that features can be highlighted or unwanted reections elimi-
nated. A freeze button allows switching between still images and
video mode.
Moritex Europe
Cambridge, UK
www.moritex.com
0712VSD_49 49 11/29/07 10:59:16 AM
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Vision + AutomationProducts
www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m
Embedded computers are compact
ARK-1000 series compact embedded
computers are powerful all-in-one fan-
less systems designed for rugged and
space-critical applications in automation
control. A solid, sealed-aluminum case
provides vibration and water resistance
and functions as a passive cooling solu-
tion. The ARK-1000 computers feature
AMD Geode to Intel Core Duo proces-
sors, along with exible storage and con-
nectivity, from multiple Gigabit Ethernet
and COM ports to wireless connectivity.
The systems can be mounted inside ma-
chinery or other equipment, or they can
be stand-alone, wall-mounted, DIN-rail
mounted, or VESA mounted. The series
accepts a range of power supplies.
Advantech
Irvine, CA, USA
www.advantech.com
Operating system for smart cameras
The 5.26 version of the real-time operat-
ing system VCRT can be used to update
VC2xxx, VC4xxx, VCSBC4xxx, and Visi-
Cube smart cameras. It features upgrades
such as improved read and write perfor-
mance on SD memory cards, higher up-
load speed for the FTP server, faster tim-
ing for the TCP/IP stack, speed-optimized
memory allocation, automatic event con-
nection, and an increased number of
events. Additionally, the display can be
switched off in VC4038 cameras and up-
ward, and emulator debugging is possi-
ble with relocatable programs. Registered
customers can download the operating
system from the companys Web site.
Vision Components
Ettlingen, Germany
www.vision-components.com
Board connects cameras
CL-500, a Camera Link mezzanine board
for the companys StreamStor Amazon
high-speed recording system, provides
connectivity for one to two cameras at
data rates up to 500 Mbytes/s. It offers
high-speed and long-duration recording
capability required when shooting high-
resolution and/or high-frame-rate digital
video. The Camera Link mezzanine board
provides support for nearly any Camera
Link Full, Medium, or Base conguration.
The board is priced at less than $4000.
Conduant
Longmont, CO, USA
www.conduant.com
Sensor is multifunctional
Sharpshooter combines CMOS-sensor-
based vision capability, LED lighting, and
photoelectric sensor design simplicity
and provides reliable error proong and
quality inspection. Sharpshooter can re-
place up to 32 sensors in an error-proof-
ing process and can take the place of up
to seven different discrete or analog sen-
sor functions. It provides reliable part or
feature presence/absence, position detec-
tion, and dimensional verication.
Balluff
Florence, KY, USA
www.balluff.com
Objectives increase magnication
Optimized for use with Optem zoom and
FMOS lenses and A-Zoom2 automated
microscopes, the family of Optem inn-
ity-corrected objectives is an alternative to
Mitutoyo objectives. Optems eld-proven
high-resolution objectives are designed to
deliver increased magnication for those
applications requiring maximum resolution
while maintaining 3413-mm working dis-
0712VSD_51 51 11/29/07 11:00:17 AM
www.aostechnologies.com www.axtel.com
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 52
Vision + AutomationProducts
tances. Optem objectives can be mounted
onto A-Zoom2 microscopes, as well as the
Optem FMOS CCD lens family.
Qioptic Imaging Solutions
Fairport, NY, USA
www.qiopticimaging.com
DSP supports imaging systems
TMS320C6452 digital signal processor
(DSP) is designed to optimize price and
performance for multichannel infrastruc-
ture and medical imaging systems. Based
on the enhanced TMS320C64x+ core, the
C6452 DSP delivers double the L1 cache
memory and 40% more L2 cache than
the C6415T. The C6452 DSP also includes
two Gigabit Ethernet MAC ports and one
Gigabit switch, which improves the ef-
ciency of multichip designs by automati-
cally monitoring the data stream.
Texas Instruments
Dallas, TX, USA
www.ti.com
Motion capture out of the box
FLEX:V100 camera is an integral part of the
companys Foundation Package, which
features ARENA motion-capture software
that allows a single user to create advanced
motion-capture sequences, work with the
data, and export in popular formats such
as BVH, C3D, and real-time MotionBuilder.
The B&W CMOS imager can capture 100
frames/s in the integrated image capture
and processing camera.
Natural Point
Corvallis, OR, USA
www.NaturalPoint.com
Surveillance system is small
ADAMANT IR camera is a compact, ther-
mal surveillance system featuring a 640
512 MCT, 15-m pitch FPA packaged
in a fully mil-spec, marine-qualied en-
closure weighing 9 kg. The triple eld-of-
view lens features a 21.7 17.5 FOV, a
medium-range 6.9 5.5 FOV, and a
narrow 1.7 x 1.4 FOV, enabling detec-
tion of a tank-sized target at 16 km. The
system is designed for xed-position sur-
veillance, passive observation, detection,
and recognition of targets. ADAMANT
can be delivered with Ethernet or opti-
cal-ber output, allowing remote control
and video display over long distances.
Cedip Infrared Systems
Croissy-Beaubourg, France
www.cedip-infrared.com
Camera is for industrial applications
Phantom Miro cameras are compact,
lightweight, and rugged cameras tar-
geted at industrial applications ranging
from vehicle crash testing to automated
assembly-line manufacturing processes.
The Miro 1, the entry-level camera in the
Miro family, can take images with resolu-
tion up to 640 480 pixels at any of eight
xed-frame rates, ranging from 50 to 500
frames/s. The Miro 2 gives users the ad-
ditional ability to control key camera pa-
rameters such as frame rates and shutter
speeds in increments of one unit.
Vision Research
Wayne, NJ, USA
www.visionresearch.com
P R O D U C T
S H O W C A S E
PROMON HD
High Speed Image
Streaming
High speed image streaming
platform
640 x 480 pixels (VGA)
Records up to 200 fps directly
to hard disk
Recording times up to 45
minutes (@ 200 fps and VGA)
Powerful yet simple to
operate software
Available as components
for system integrators, or as
complete ready-to-use
systems
Machine Vision Express
TM

is a Development Studio to
create, debug and simulate
Machine Vision Applications.
Included are a Library with OCR,
Pattern Matching, Barcode Rec-
ognition and three program-
ming languages: GUI, Python
and C++. Each language accom-
modates individual preferences,
from simple drag and drop, to
Python based scripting, as well
as complex C++ programming.
Applications run on PCs and
Axtel cameras with PC-Inside
TM
.
Machine Vision Express
TM
enables
computers to see like a human.
0712VSD_52 52 11/29/07 11:00:51 AM
www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 53
P R O D U C T
S H O W C A S E
www.vision-sensors-illuminators.com
www.zeiss.com/optics
Telecentric
VISIONMES Lenses
Precise measuring results inde-
pendent from proportions gain
more and more signicance in
many elds of industrial mea-
suring technology and auto-
mated processes. Quality mea-
suring techniques telecentric
Visionmes lenses offer almost
distortion-free imaging for
these complex requirements.
Visionmes lenses are available
for camera systems with 1/3-
and 1 2-, 2/3- and 1 CCD
sensors.
SVS2 The easy way
to machine vision
The DATASENSOR SVS2 series
of smart vision sensors is able
to solve articial machine vision
problems in a exible and intui-
tive manner. The sensor is con-
gured using a simple PC soft-
ware and works standing alone.
Wizard Based PC Software
Ethernet communication
360 Pattern Match
Integrated lens and lighting
8-bit 640 x 480 CMOS sensor
Up to 60fps
info@datasensor.com
view
www.basler-vc.com
Basler runner
GigE Vision Line Scan
Camera Series
The runner camera series
features seven new line scan
models with either 1024 or
2098 pixels and a range of line
rates up to 59 kHz. The pre-
mier member of the runner
series is a tri-linear CCD color
line scan camera that builds on
the success of Baslers extreme-
ly popular L301kc.
vc.sales@baslerweb.com
www.edt.com
EDTs PCIe DV C-Link high
resolution image capture card
uses the increased bandwidth
of PCI Express to take high
performance image acquisition
to a new level.
Dual channel DMA
Uses virtually any camera link
camera.
Best technical support in the
business!
Tel: 800-435-4320
www.dnvllc.com
Supplier of:
Smart Cameras
USB 2.0 Cameras
GiGE Cameras
Frame Grabbers PCI,
PCIe, CL
Machine Vision/Image
Analysis Software
Windows and LINUX Drivers
North American Distributor
for MATRIX VISION
Digital Network Vision, LLC
405 Waltham Street #304
Lexington, MA 02421-7934 USA
voice/fax: (781) 577-9585
0712VSD_53 53 11/29/07 1:20:12 PM
P R O D U C T
S H O W C A S E
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 54
www.vision-components.com
Fast, intelligent color
image processing:
VC4465 from Vision
Components
The new color sensor version of
the intelligent high-performance
camera VC4465, which can be
used in a wide range of new ap-
plications. The Smart Cameras
key component is a 1 GHz pro-
cessor from TI with a comput-
ing power of 8,000 MIPS. The
cameras feature a
1
2 CCD sen-
sor with a 768 582 pixel resolu-
tion which provides a maximum
frame rate of 55 fps.
www.zeiss.com/optics
ZF Lenses
Outstanding image quality,
manual focusing and a longlife
all-metal barrel. These features
guarantee unprecedented im-
ages for industrial applications.
High resolution optics and in-
variable colour rendering with
all models offer reliable and
objective measuring results.
With the new ZF-I series, Carl
Zeiss has launched a line of
high-quality lenses which are
optimized for the challenging
tasks in industrial applications.
www.norpix.com
Multi camera
recording system
StreamPix 4 is a multi camera
digital video recording software
package. Acquire direct to disk
in uncompressed format from 4
cameras at 200 fps 640 480.
Compatible with various trig-
ger modes and prepost module
for saving disk space. Solutions
available with portable or desk-
top computers. Camera frame
rate can vary from 100 to 1000
frames per second, check with
NorPix for available options.
www.optikos.com
I-SITE: For Imager
Test and Evaluation
Optikos offers I-SITE, an inte-
grated E-O testing suite that
can measure thermal/visible/
intensied imagers, uncooled/
cooled FLIR cameras, focal
plane imaging arrays, direct-
view thermal, and I2 sights.
I-SITE systems support the fol-
lowing electro-optical mea-
surements: MTF, NETD, SiTF,
NPS, MRTD, MDTD, 3D noise
and more. Contact us today
to discuss your electro-optical
testing needs.
GigE over Fiber by
Pleora
Pleoras iPORT FB1000-CL IP En-
gine delivers high-performance,
ber-based GigE connections
between Base-conguration
Camera Link cameras and PCs.
Cost-effective
Very long distance
Optical isolation
Extends capabilities of exist-
ing Camera Link platforms
Ideal for military, scientic
imaging, high-end surveil-
lance etc.
Sales@pleora.com
www.pleora.com
www.opto-engineering.com
The TELECENTRIC KIT CASE
is a selection of telecentric
optics with FOV ranging from
16 mm up to 64 mm. A colli-
mated light source and a clamp-
ing ange are included.
This tool is indicated for:
Prototyping
Feasibility Studies
Demo System Set-Up
Educational Activities
and for all those who want to
explore the advantages of a
telecentric lens.
OPTO ENGI NEERI NG
THE TELECENTRI C COMPANY
Email:sales@norpix.com
Tel: 514-907-1588
0712VSD_54 54 11/29/07 11:24:34 AM
www. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 55
AdvertisersIndex
This ad index is published as a service. The publisher does not assume
any liability for errors or omissions.
Sales Ofces
NORTH AMERICA
Publisher
Kathy Bush
(603) 891-9434
FAX: (603) 891-0574
E-mail: kathyb@pennwell.com
USA/East, Eastern Canada
Judy Leger
(603) 891-9113
FAX: (603) 891-0574
E-mail: judyl@pennwell.com
USA/West, Western Canada
Bill Healey
(415) 247-8200
FAX: (415) 247-8240
E-mail: wjhealey@infoasis.com
Product Showcase
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(603) 891-9113
FAX: (603) 891-0574
E-mail: judyl@pennwell.com
Reprints
Mary Donnelly
(603) 891-9398
E-mail: maryd@pennwell.com
Internet Sales Manager
Sue McAdam
(603) 891-9213
E-mail: suem@pennwell.com
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E-mail: johannb@pennwell.com
UK, Sweden, Denmark,
Finland, Norway
Amanda Loftus
44-1793-862111
FAX: 44-1793-862110
E-mail: amandal@pennwell.com
ASIA
Hong Kong, China
Adonis Mak
852-2-838-6298
FAX: 852-2-838-2766
E-mail: adonism@actintl.com.hk
Israel
Dan Aronovic, Tel Aviv
972-(9) 899-5813
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E-mail: aronovic@actcom.co.il
Japan
Manami Konishi
81-3-3556-1575
FAX: 81-3-3556-1576
E-mail: manami.
konishi@ex-press.jp
Korea
Paek Kwon, Seoul
82-2-420-1293
FAX: 82-2-420-1294
E-mail: pkwon@keskor.co.kr
Singapore
Grace Leung
65-6836-2272
FAX: 65-6735-9653
E-mail: gleung@publicitas.com
Taiwan
Anita Chen
886-2-8751-5162
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E-mail: prisco@globalitmedia.com
Advertiser Page no.
Vision Systems Design, Vol. 12 No. 12, Copyright 2007 (ISSN-1089-3709) is
published 12 times a year, monthly, by PennWell Corp., 1421 S. Sheridan,
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Aegis Electronic Group Inc. 40
Alacron Inc. C3
Allied Vision Technologies 27
AOS Technologies AG 52
Arvoo 21
Axtel Inc. 52
Basler AG 10, 53
Carl Zeiss AG 53, 54
Chunghwa Telecom Laboratories 23
Computer Modules Inc. 53
DALSA 28-29
Datasensor SpA 53
Digital Network Vision 53
Edmund Optics 7
EDT 53
Euresys 24
illunis 44
IMI North America 41
Imperx Inc. 43
JAI 19
LMI Technologies 12
Matrox Imaging C4
Mikrotron GmbH 45
MVTec Software GmbH C2, 6
National Instruments 1
Navitar Inc. 30
NET New Electronic Technology GmbH 51
NorPix 54
Optikos 54
Opto Engineering 44
Panasonic Medical Vision 17
Phlox 37
Pleora Technologies Inc. 54
Point Grey Research 8
Prosilica 15
SICK/IVP 4
Siemens Energy & Automation 38
Sill Optics GmbH & Co. KG 22
SPIE 20
Stemmer Imaging GmbH 11
StockerYale Inc. 41
Tamron USA Inc. 33
The Imaging Source Europe GmbH 2
Vision Components 49, 54
W. L. Gore & Associates 31
INTERNATIONAL
NeuroCheck GmbH 16
0712VSD_55 55 11/29/07 11:24:56 AM
De c e mb e r 2 0 0 7 Vi s i o n S y s t e ms De s i g n w w w. v i s i o n - s y s t e ms . c o m 56
My View
by Andy Wilson
E D I T O R
andyw@pennwell.com
Blue rinse group
Machine vision looks more like a bargain when
its viewed as another helping hand.
I
ts always good to save money. And with
this in mind, I decided that I would y
to Octobers Pack Expo show in Las
Vegas, NV, using a vacation package
from Southwest Airlines. For a cost of less
than $600, the airline ew me from Man-
chester, NH, and back, booked me three
nights in the Circus Circus hotel/casino/re-
sort, and gave me complimentary passes to
a day trip to the Hoover Dam.
Upon boarding the aircraft, I discovered
that Blue Man Group was playing at the
Venetian Resort for a price of just $70. Along
with the Hoover Dam trip, this was an event
I would never attend.
Looking around the aircraft passengers, it
appeared many of them were of the blue
rinse grouppeople aged 65 and older
who were on a similar low-cost trip destined
for Las Vegas. Why anyone would want to
go to a town reputed to have been founded
by gangsters in the middle of the desert still
amazes me, but I was later to nd out. Af-
ter interviewing several passengers on the
aircraft and at the hotel I discovered the
reason. It was very inexpensive.
While some companies attending Pack
Expo had booked their employees into
$200/night hotels (some taking hundreds
of their customers to Las Vegas entertain-
ment), I was stuck in Circus Circus with
the blue rinse group, where the average cost
of a room is $60. On reection, perhaps
this was not one of my wisest decisions. Af-
ter battling though a myriad of slot ma-
chines, I went to bed.
Te next day, I decided to take a cab
to Pack Expo. In more than ve halls,
most the size of two baseball elds, nearly
every packaging company in North Amer-
ica displayed products and machines that
produce, ll, label, wrap, and inspect bot-
tles, paper packages, and plastic containers.
With more than 2000 exhibitors and more
than 20,000 attendees, the show was, like
Las Vegas itself, over-the-top, outrageous,
and extreme.
Although my trusty companion, Judy
Leger, could not attend the trip, she had
supplied me with a list of companies to vis-
it. Without it, I would have been lost. In
the space of three days, I managed to vis-
it about 20 companies that incorporate or
produce machine-vision products used in
the packaging and production industries.
Many of these systems can be found in this
issue of Vision Systems Design.
Traversing the show oor, I also had the
opportunity to visit companies that simply
had not embraced the concept of adding
machine vision to their production equip-
ment. While many produce machinery
that manufactures, wraps, and lls specif-
ic products, very fewin fact fewer than
20were exhibiting machines that provide
any kind of inspection of the nished prod-
uct. It all seemed rather odd.
On the last day of the show, I sat at our
tiny booth contemplating the subject. I was
then approached by an engineer who need-
ed to perform web inspection of wrapped
lm traveling at 400 ft/min. He had been
quoted a price by a system integrator of
$20,000 for a system that could accom-
plish the task. He felt that the price was
far too high. He wanted something for less
than $15,000.
After I explained that the cost of
linescan cameras, Camera Link frame
grabbers, lighting, and software would
probably be about $15,000, and nonre-
curring engineering costs would be at
least $15,000 for his application, he left
our booth rather amazed. I could not help
wondering, however, whether the bill for
his trip to Pack Expo would be more than
$2000. Perhaps those who need to ex-
pense machine-vision systems need a dif-
ferent model.
As Preben Hjornet, chief technology of-
cer at InMoTx (Sacramento, CA, USA),
suggested to me, Engineering manag-
ers should perhaps regard any automat-
ed system, whether it uses a robot or oth-
er automated equipment, as an employee
rather than a machine. Tat way, the ma-
chine would not be regarded as a capital
expense. Until that happens, however,
many in the packaging industry will still
regard machine vision as an expense they
cannot aord.
0712VSD_56 56 11/29/07 10:57:13 AM
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