Good-Bye to All That

In his autobiographical novel of 1929 entitled "Good-Bye to All That," Robert Graves writes of World War I, his experiences in the trenches and the societal changes that occurred during this period. Presented from a personal and historic perspective, the book propelled Graves into fame and fortune.

Three years before Graves died in 1985, I was fortunate to be employed by Morgan-Grampian publishers in Boston to spearhead a magazine entitled Electronic Imaging. The idea was rather simple - the paper promises of the past would be replaced by electronic systems that would revolutionize medical, industrial, consumer, automotive and military applications.

Just as Graves' book documented the changes that occurred during the first half of the last century, trade publications such as Electronic Imaging and Vision Systems Design have mirrored the technological developments that have occurred along the way.

In one editorial, my then supervisor on Electronic Imaging, Dr. Leonard Ravich, foretold of the future to follow. He complained that there was not a standards organization for the industry, that there was a lack of courses in universities about machine vision and that some organizations fail to change as technology and competition increases.

During the past 30 years, things have changed. The AIA is now firmly established as one of the leading standards organizations in the world. Others such as the EMVA, the JIAA and the BMVA have also taken up the challenge. Today, many university courses teach image processing theory and programming and many open-source code packages are available for students. Unfortunately, there still remains a lack of syllabuses that provide practical hands-on information.

One thing is certain however - as technology changes more rapidly, those that do not embrace change will fail. Embracing change, however, can be difficult. If the appropriate personnel are not placed in charge of a project, then it may be doomed to failure. If a single programmer leaves a team, then someone with the same experience may be difficult to replace. I should know.

When I decided to retire from PennWell last month as Editor of Vision Systems Design magazine, I was glad to discover that the same was not true of the stewardship of this magazine. Alan Bergstein, our Publisher, has employed John Lewis to fill my role. John has a technical degree, excellent writing and management skills, and over 20 years of experience in machine vision and image processing. Needless to say, I was delighted when I heard that he had accepted the position of Editor-in-Chief.

Of course, many of you who know me will realize that, for me, this will not be "Goodbye to All That." If you want to see me, send me a message - I'll meet you any place, any time, and when we do meet - it's you I want to see, not the police.

With best wishes,