FireWire cameras combine resolution, speed
XCD series of machine-vision cameras use the high-bandwidth 1394b interface. The six units feature a range of resolutions combined with high frame rates. The series comprises three sets of cameras offered in VGA, SXGA, and UXGA resolutions, available in either monochrome or RAW color. Each fits the same form factor to ease integration in industrial environments, and all can be configured as a star connection or daisy-chained. When daisy-chained, the bus synchronization and broadcast delivery features further extend their utility.
Sony Electronics
Park Ridge, NJ, USA
www.sony.com/videocameras
Software controls IR cameras
ThermoVision ExaminIR software is compatible with Microsoft Windows XP and Vista operating systems and provides thermographic analysis and control functions for FLIR SC series infrared (IR) cameras. It features a set of thermal-analysis and measurement tools including spot, line, and area measurements. A new image-segmentation tool provides quick designation of complex ROIs for precise data analysis. For the cooled ThermoVision SC series cameras, ExaminIR supports preset sequencing and superframing for analysis of scenes with large temperature differences.
FLIR Systems
North Billerica, MA, USA
www.infraredresearchcameras.com
GigE cameras suit diverse environments
TXG series Gigabit Ethernet cameras have data-transfer rates up to 1000 Mbits/s and cable length up to 100 m. Resolution is from VGA to 5 Mpixels in monochrome; color versions are available. The cameras are plug-and-play with the supplied driver software, as well as with established image-processing solutions. They can be integrated either with Windows or Linux-based programming environments using different programming languages.
Baumer Optronic
Radeberg, Germany
www.baumeroptronic.com
Megapixel lenses expand video line
Specifically designed for megapixel cameras, 1- and 2/3-in. megapixel lenses are compact and offer low distortion and excellent resolution. They provide good light transmission and brightness from center to edge. One-inch lenses are available with focal lengths from 8 to 75 mm, and 2/3-in. lenses are available with focal lengths from 5 to 100 mm. Manual focus and iris, as well as locking screws, come standard on all lenses.
Navitar
Rochester, NY, USA
www.navitar.com
SDK is for GigE Vision cameras
ActiveGigE SDK is a universal software-development kit (SDK) for GigE Vision- compliant cameras. It allows immediate access to multiple GigE Vision cameras through a simple drop of ActiveX objects onto an application surface. The ActiveX interface integrates into programming environments including C++, C#, VB6, VB.NET, Delphi, Java, and Matlab. Among its features are Bayer and YUV color interpolation, AVI and image recording, real-time image processing, color overlays of graphics and text, image flipping and rotation, antitearing, and histogram and statistical calculations. Included TWAIN and DirectShow drivers provide plug-and-play compatibility with third-party imaging and video-recording applications.
A&B Software
New London, CT, USA
www.ab-soft.com
Industrial USB 2.0 camera is improved
The mvBlueFOX now includes three improvements: By using an analog/digital converter, its image quality is increased; the new memory option optimizes data transfer via USB; and the range of available CMOS sensors is expanded. The 1/2-in. gray-scale Micron sensor with a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels reaches a frame rate of 30 frames/s, and it has low noise and high photosensitivity. The mvBlueFOX is 38.8 × 38.8 × 58.5 mm and is available with a lens holder for C-, CS-, and S-mount lenses. The module supports DirectShow, NeuroCheck, Halcon, LabView, and mvIMPACT.
Matrix Vision
Oppenweiler, Germany
www.matrix-vision.de
Device gives three-color lighting
CROSSFIRE-RGB is a versatile platform for three-color illumination solutions. It offers high intensity, especially in strobed applications, due to the large number of RGB-LEDs. The mechanical design and integration of an internal acrylic diffusor, available with different optical characteristics, allows it to adapt the light incident angle. The CROSSFIRE platform offers functionality such as configurations for diffuse dome lighting, three-channel color control, or structured lighting by activating dedicated sub-areas of the LED fields.
Buechner Lichtsysteme
Welden, Germany
www.imaging-light-technology.com
Software is hardware-independent
VisionPro 5.0 software, available for download from the company’s Web site, provides preconfigured, tightly integrated acquisition support for its complete range of industrial cameras and video formats. This allows cost-effective image acquisition using GigE Vision, FireWire, Camera Link, high-speed analog, or any other image source. Configuring acquisition tools, defining vision tasks, and making pass/fail decisions can all be done without any programming.
Cognex
Natick, MA, USA
www.cognex.com
Software reads barcodes
New version 3.2 of ActivVisionTools is easy to use and comes with a highly robust barcode reader. The speed has been significantly increased by using the SSE2 acceleration of the underlying HALCON 8.0 library. Beside the already supported barcodes, such as EAN-13, UPC, and Pharma Code, and data codes such as ECC 200, QR code, and PDF417, ActivVisionTools 3.2 reads RSS-14 (GS1 DataBar), including all of its stacked and composite variations. ActivViewer, which is supplied free of charge, can acquire images from more than 50 frame grabbers and hundreds of industrial cameras.
MVTec
Munich, Germany
www.mvtec.com
Battery powers industrial cameras
In conjunction with the StreamPix TroublePIx laptop solution, the BL-45 is a lightweight, compact, high-performance battery solution to power industrial video cameras. It is useful for portable inspection, predictive maintenance, and high-speed recording applications and offers long battery life.
NorPix
Montreal, QC, Canada
www.norpix.com
Sensors integrate functions
Camat sensors unite all functional components (optics, lighting, computer, and digital I/Os) in one compact housing that has high EMV stability, making them reliable and suitable for use in industrial environments. Functions are based on the pictor machine-vision library. Operating software allows a step-by-step teach-in procedure to be carried out using clear and easily understandable function dialogues. A CCD image sensor allows resolutions down to 0.14 mm.
Vision & Control
Suhl, Germany
www.vision-control.com
Camera has intelligence
mvBlueCOUGAR-P GigE camera is available with a range of CCD sensors: 640 × 480-pixel resolution (frame rate: 60 Hz), 1024 × 768-pixel resolution (39 Hz), and 1600 × 1200-pixel resolution (16 Hz). They are available as color and gray-scale versions. Additionally the camera offers two digital inputs and two digital outputs for trigger and flash. With 64 Mbytes SDRAM, the mvBlueCOUGAR-P has enough memory to effectively reduce delays during the sending and reception of data packages. C-mount as well as CS-mount and S-mount lens-holder versions are available.
Matrix Vision
Oppenweiler, Germany
www.matrix-vision.de
FireWire family grows
The Grasshopper IEEE-1394b (FireWire) 800Mbit/s digital camera line now offers 11 monochrome and color models to address demands for high resolution, high frame rate, and/or high sensitivity. The five new models are based on three additions: the high-sensitivity Sony ICX414; the high-resolution, cost-effective Sony ICX267; and the high-speed Kodak KAI-0340DM. With these additions, the Grasshopper gives users a choice of resolution (0.3 to 5 Mpixel), frame rate (up to 200 frames/s, VGA), sensitivity (square pixels up to 9.9 µm), and price (US$1195 to $3495). Each model is available in a 44 × 29 ×58-mm form factor with dual IEEE-1394b ports, general-purpose I/O connector, and industry standard C-mount lens holder.
Point Grey Research
Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.ptgrey.com
Camera suite is multitiered
Digital progressive-scan CCD cameras—CM-140GE, CB-140GE, CM-200GE, and CB-200GE—belong to the C3 Compact product tier, an entry-level series with a small form factor and a single-tap high-frame-rate architecture. All have a 29 × 44 × 75-mm housing and are equipped with standard GigE Vision/GenICam digital interfaces. The CM-140GE and CB-140GE deliver 1.4-Mpixel resolution in monochrome or raw Bayer color, respectively. The CM-200GE (monochrome) and CB-200GE (raw Bayer color) models offer 2-Mpixel resolution. The CM-140GE and CB-140GE operate at 31 frames/s, while the CM-200GE and CB-200GE run at a rate of 25 frames/s. Partial scanning and binning modes are also provided.
JAI
Copenhagen, Denmark
www.jai.com/switch
Linear stage is rugged
The ATS165 is a rugged, linear stage for applications requiring debris protection and medium-travel, mid-tier positioning performance. It travels up to 600 mm, has side-seal design with hard cover, and comes with NEMA 23 motor flange mount. The stage also can be ordered without a motor so that third-party dc brush, brushless, or stepper motors can be used. It is equipped with a ground 5 mm/rev ball screw that provides 0.5-µm resolution, and it can be outfitted with English and metric bolt-hole pattern tabletops. A stage-mounted brake option is available.
Aerotech
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
www.aerotech.com
GigE cameras offer near-IR sensitivity
GP-151400 series consists of four high-performance cameras with resolution of 1392 × 1040 pixels and increased near-IR sensitivity incorporating the ICX285 sensor by Sony. Low noise translates to a S/N of greater than 60 dB. The camera is user selectable to output 12-bit/10-bit/8-bit images. In addition, it offers both auto-iris and video-iris controls for ITS, high-end surveillance, and military-research applications. The GP-151400 is available in monochrome or color and with either a GigE Vision-compliant version or iPORT version compatible with a software interface offered by Pleora Technologies.
GEViCAM
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
www.gevicam.com
Cameras have high frame rates
The MV2-D1280-640 camera series offers high frame rates and Camera Link Full interface with 8 and 10 taps mode. The cameras perform at up to 488 frames/s at full resolution and have dynamic range up to 59 dB and advanced trigger and strobe functions over optoisolated I/O interface.
Photonfocus
Laachen, Switzerland
www.photonfocus.com
High-speed camera adds features
SpeedCam Visario g3 high-speed camera is the third generation of Visario cameras. It has maximum resolution of 1536 × 1024 pixels and maximum recording frequency of 1000 frames/s. The speed can be increased up to 100,000 frames/s in six different resolution levels. Its electronic shutter works up to 5 µs. With a color sensor the sensitivity reaches 800 ISO/ASA and with a monochrome sensor 2400 ISO/ASA. The camera features a standard Gigabit Ethernet interface and can be operated with any notebook or Windows PC.
Weinberger Deutschland
Erlangen, Germany
www.weinbergervision.com
Cameras feature CMOS technology
SPOT Idea digital cameras feature CMOS sensor technology and a USB 2.0 interface. They deliver 5-, 3-, or 1.3-Mpixel images utilizing Correct Color Technology based on ICC profiling. Every SPOT Idea camera is packaged with SPOT software that is fully compatible with Mac (including Intel processors) and PC (Windows including Vista). SPOT software includes live image focusing, a focus meter, automatic white balancing, calibration, measurements, annotations, time lapse imaging, and an automatic report generator.
Diagnostic Instruments
Sterling Heights, MI, USA
www.diaginc.com
New cable enhances system options
Company’s online design tool now has high flex round cable, giving equipment designers more standard cable solutions. The cable is available in two forms: single core with jacket for diameters less than 10 mm and hybrid round cable configurations for combining multiple core components into one cable design. It is available with a PU jacket for harsh environments and a PVC jacket for low particulation or clean room environments.
W. L. Gore & Associates
Elkton, MD, USA
www.gore.com
Imager is industrial
Matrix 400 is a modular, flexible, and compact 2-D imager for industrial applications. It features higher reading performance and improved flexibility to increase its field of use from traditional manufacturing to entry-level distribution and warehousing applications. Two sensor versions are available: 1.3 Mpixel-SXGA and 2.0 Mpixel-UXGA. Proprietary decoding libraries improve Matrix 400 performance on printed and direct-part-marked applications, including damaged and low-quality codes. Rugged, full-metal construction, IP67 protection, and maximum operating temperature of 50°C makes Matrix 400 useful for industrial applications in harsh environments.
Datalogic
Bologna, Italy
www.datalogic.com
LED lights are on-axis
On-axis lights provide optimal illumination of an inspected part by delivering collimated light in the same optical path as the camera. The lights provide even, diffused illumination of flat, reflective surfaces perpendicular to the camera. They are available in standard sizes of 100 × 100 or 50 × 50 mm and a variety of specialty sizes. Models are available with IR or visible red, green, white, or blue LEDs, and all models offer continuous or strobed operation through a dedicated input line. In addition, they are available with glass dust covers for protection in dirty, dusty plant environments.
Banner Engineering
Minneapolis, MN, USA
www.bannerengineering.com
Controllers support sub-nm resolution
Stand-alone multiaxis motion controllers, the SPiiPlus SA Series includes point-to-point, jog, segmented motion, master-slave, and arbitrary path with PVT cubic interpolation on two, four, six, or eight axes of motion. The devices can control systems with both servo and step motors and come with D-Type connectivity for interfacing with servo amplifiers, analog and incremental encoders, and digital and analog I/O. They can simultaneously host communication through multiple channels, 10/100baseT Ethernet, Ethernet/ModBus, and RS-232/RS-422. The motion-control simulator is free and can be downloaded from the company’s Web site.
ACS
Plymouth, MN, USA
www.acsmotioncontrol.com
Photomultiplier array is sensitive
Position-sensitive, multianode, silicon photomultiplier array (SPMArray) is a solid-state, large-array detector based on silicon photomultiplier technology. The device is sensitive to visible light in the 400- to 850-nm range, and it is suited to applications requiring direct light detection at these wavelengths or for radiation detection via scintillators. It is mounted in a low-profile housing and includes a Molex board-to-board connector through which the output signal of each pixel is addressed separately. The module can be supplied with appropriate interface/preamplifier electronics for each analog channel and a power supply.
SensL
Mountain View, CA, USA
www.sensl.com
Camera is industrial strength
HawkEye 1600T camera, which comes in an industrial IP67 housing and with M12 connections, allows up to 3600 analyses per minute. Different lighting components can be connected directly to the camera and triggered to provide sufficient lighting for inspection of objects on-site. The camera has multiple interfaces, such as Ethernet and RS-232, and eight digital, freely configurable I/Os. The camera comes with XGA and/or VGA resolution, each with and without the Intellifind function.
Siemens Automation & Drives
Norcross, GA, USA
www.sea.siemens.com
IR camera provides surveillance
Panoramic infrared (IR) vision system, VIGISCAN, is designed for surveillance of security perimeters. It includes a sensor head rotating continuously at 1 round/s for 360° azimuth coverage, ensuring that no event is missed in large areas in total darkness or fog. Dedicated software enables display in real time, zoom of selected zones, and automatic alarm on intrusion or scenery changes. The operator does not need to manually orient the camera.
HGH
Igny, France
www.hgh-infrared.com