As airline fleets age, maintenance issues inevitably arise and aircraft inspection becomes more critical. Travelers suffering through recent airport delays associated with these issues surely understand the impact of aircraft maintenance and may appreciate the value of the inspection tools used—especially those that rely on imaging technology.
As our cover story relates, infrared imaging offers a penetrating and nondestructive method of inspecting aircraft fuselages. Using a variation of infrared imaging known as lock-in thermography, Automation Technology in Trittau, Germany, inspects internal flaws including cracks that are revealed by changes in the propagation characteristics of a thermal wave. The technique, first studied by Lufthansa, is now accepted by aircraft manufacturers and the US Federal Aviation Administration.
In a similar fashion, the internal structure of wood being cut into boards is an issue for the lumber industry. Contributing editor Winn Hardin reveals how once defects are revealed by the cut of a saw blade, the boards can be inspected and efficiently graded by a color imaging and laser scanning system. In this way, a saw mill can compensate for any internal damage and discoloration that may occur in the wood.
Revealing slices
Other articles in this issue highlight how applying machine-vision systems can improve efficiency and lower cost. In the meat-processing industry, a vision-guided robot is reducing worker stress and injury using visual servoing to automate hock-cutting. Machine-vision systems are also being used in the high-speed visual inspection of electronic connectors to eliminate defective parts from safety systems in automobiles. In addition, ruggedized, high-speed frame grabbers are being used in image-recording systems to ensure the safety and performance of the solid rocket boosters that lift the space shuttle into orbit.
Despite such exciting developments, our Business Views interview with Ned Lecky at Lecky Integration shows that little has changed in developing new algorithms and machine architectures to address these applications. Indeed, despite the standardization and advances in component technology, frustrations remain with the lack of research and development that are hindering true advances in both machine vision and image-processing hardware and software.
From a business perspective, of course, technology is driven by customer demand. Working with customers requires a deep knowledge of their technical and financial needs, their businesses, and, as Lecky points out, even their own internal politics. If only we had a vision system that could reveal such structures! Maybe then, the advancement of machine-vision and image-processing technology would be much faster.
W. Conard Holton, Editor in Chief
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