Learning from others
Learning from others
Andy Wilson Editor
Whether you are designing a scientific, industrial, medical, or military vision system, one thing is certain--you can always learn from other people. This doesn`t just apply to learning from those in your field. For example, ideas and components used in scientific vision systems are used in developing medical workstations. High-performance processors used in military systems also are found in industrial web-inspection systems.
That`s why in this premiere issue of Vision Systems Design you`ll find articles describing industrial, scientific, military, and medical systems. In every feature article, you`ll read how OEM components help designers build vision systems. In the design of an x-ray microanalysis system, Noran chose the VME bus to couple off-the shelf VME boards with custom interfaces and a Sun workstation. In the design of its latest ultrasound system, Perception used an off-the shelf PCI-based frame grabber from Matrox and built a custom interface with Microsoft`s Visual Basic. Of course, the horsepower required in any image-processing design is application dependent, as Mike Leary of Ross Microsystems explains. In his article, you`ll read about applications developed with PC, PCI, and VME image processors.
If you are considering the PCI for your next imaging system, take a look at the novel print-inspection systems from KDY Inc. on p. 32. You`ll see how Yair Kipman built a system using off-the-shelf line-scan and array cameras, frame grabbers, and x-y stages.
From these systems-integration features, you`ll understand how other designers built vision systems. To help you build yours, we`ll be featuring a Product Focus on some of the more popular OEM products. This month, Yvonne Carts-Powell takes a look at digital cameras and suggests some vendors you may want to call.
Leading-edge technology won`t escape us either. If you have ever wondered what a wavelet is or if you could use it in your system, take a look at Dave Wilson`s article on p. 52. There you`ll see how "the little wave" is being used in image compression and noise removal.
From each article, you`ll see how designers built systems using a combination of custom and off-the shelf components. We hope that the cross-fertilization of ideas will help you design your next vision system.