A Grand Imaging Challenge

The 20th Century saw a staggeringly large number of advances in technology. In fact, the US National Academy of Engineering recently compiled a list of twenty of the greatest achievements of that century. These included electrification, the automobile and the airplane, computers, the laser, nuclear technologies, and air conditioning. The list also included imaging; it ranked 14th based on the judges’ opinion of its benefit to society.

The Academy then looked to the challenges of this century and compiled what it calls the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering (www.engineeringchallenges.org). These challenges are meant as a call to action for academia and society, with the goal of improving the quality of life for people around the world. This list includes such goals as making solar energy more economical, preventing nuclear terror, providing access to clean water, engineering better medicines, enhancing virtual reality, and reverse engineering the brain.

Two facts make these lists notable. First, achievements in the last century tended to spring from innovation by a small number of people trying to solve specific problems with a discrete component or technology. This century’s challenges will require a more systematic approach and a large number of engineers. Second, imaging and machine vision will provide important tools to allow engineers to meet most of these new challenges.

The long view

Improved transportation, higher security, and more effective use of the environment are also challenges in which imaging will play an increasing role. Based on advances in component and system technologies, these challenges will be met by numerous products ranging from high-resolution image sensors, GigE cameras, smarter lighting, and more sophisticated image-processing software.

Already, the latest CCD and CMOS image sensors are delivering image data at increasingly higher resolution and faster data rates. To match these large-format sensors to high performance lenses, our Product Focus this month highlights the standards currently used by camera and lens manufacturers and the future standards that will need to be developed.

Just as imaging and machine vision have been key to advancements in the last century, it is clear that these technologies have an even greater role to play in the future. So when developing products or building systems for today’s markets, ask yourself—how will these products and systems help meet the grand challenges we are facing?