[Page 2] Q&A: Machine vision industry trends, 3D imaging, and EMVA1288 testing

Editor's note: This article is continued from page one.

We heard a lot of success stories about the standard, from people who debugged sensors or cameras based on measurement results or tuned their camera performance to optimize a given parameter. The EMVA1288 standard is also less expensive to use than other methods thanks to the limited hardware requirements.

Is there a particular trend or product in the next few years that you see as “the next big thing?”

If I knew what the next big thing would be then I would invest in it today. We have seen several recent significant breakthroughs in 3D imaging and in HDR imaging, but who knows what will be coming next.

Do you have any new exciting products or developments on the horizon?

We are currently developing a new generation of our EMVA1288 test equipment; the redesign is driven by cost reduction. We are, of course, working on other products but these are confidential custom designs.

Is there anything vision-related that you’ve seen recently, in any particular market, that you thought was particularly interesting?

The new Intel RealSense “rear” camera may be a good camera for some niche 3D industrial applications that require quick deployment. Some people already use the Microsoft Kinect for this but I think the RealSense has more future in our industry because the API and documentation seem more open.

You are involved in conference committees and write technical books, how important is it to share your knowledge?

It is not just about sharing knowledge with peers and students or a networking and marketing opportunity. It is very interesting to share and debate ideas with others and to see the trends of the fundamental research years ahead of any commercial product to sense an early trend in the market. Conferences are also a very nice opportunity to learn new things. It is also enjoyable and rewarding to be a conference chair and a book author.

How can a small company be visible next to the large camera manufacturers?

Indeed the cost of marketing for a small company like ours is high compared to our revenues. Most of our customers find us because they have a problem and they need a solution that most standard camera manufacturers can't offer. Our website and network of professionals is our primary source of leads. Building a strong network and a good reputation over the years has helped to promote the company.

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