During the first day ofVISION 2016, I had the opportunity to sit down with Martin Hund, President and CTO of Chromasens, to discuss the latest in line scan imaging technology, hot topics such as 3D imaging and multispectral imaging, and how some of these products are being deployed today.
First, we talked about the ever-popular topic of3D imaging. When asked about what he was most excited about at the time we met, Hund (pictured, holding an allPIXA wave camera), mentioned the company’s 3DPIXA product portfolio, which is a range of line scan technology dedicated to web inspection applications. With 3D line scan tech, however, new applications and markets have opened up, he said.
"3DPIXA products fit into a range of high-speed, more challenging applications," he said.
3DPIXA cameras are stereo line scan cameras with either single or double tri-linear CCD sensors with a 10 µm pixel size and a line rate of up to 60 kHz. The sensors feature either 3500 (compact) or 7300 (dual) pixels and simultaneously capture two images of the same object to output both color images and 3D altitude data in real time. Height and shape are calculated using special algorithms running on the latest GPU designs, including the Nvidia GTX Titan.
There are a number of different applications that the 3D PIXA products can be used in, suggested Hund.
"There are many difficult materials on the market that need to be inspected or measured," he said. "We’ve had inquiries as well as solutions in a huge range, including semiconductor and electronics inspection, food and beverage inspection, automotive inspection, train inspection, and more."
Another trending topic we discussed during our meeting was multispectral imaging. Chromasens has addressed this market with its truePIXA multispectral line scan cameras. These cameras feature tri-linear CCD line scan sensors with a 10 µm pixel size and a line rate of up to 50.8 kHz. In the design, four lenses in front of the sensor each project an image on a separate part of the RGB line sensor and are oriented to provide to same field of view. By placing these filters in front of the lenses, the spectral responsivity of the RGB line sensor can be changed. These particular cameras feature a spectral sensitivity of 380 – 730 nm.
These cameras, according to Hund, are suitable for use in such applications as bank note counterfeit detection or in the reproduction of paintings, where the need to measure accurate color information is paramount to success, to name a few.
In terms of the state of business, Hund said that Chromasens is doing well as a result of a number of factors.
"Typically, customers come to us if their existing technology is failing, and we fill in the gap with high-end 3D and mid-range 3D," he said. "We are growing larger because we have new products going into new markets, as well as different regions with different requirements, such as Asia, where we’ve seen a growing need for electronics inspection. Growth here is significant."
"In all areas," he added, "we try to drive the technology to its maximum limits."
View more information onChromasens.
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