Punctuated equilibrium is a theory describing evolutionary change that happens rapidly and in response to geological events occurring between long periods of stasis, or equilibrium. It was developed by paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould in the 1970s in contrast to the then-dominant view of biological evolution as a smooth and continuous process. It’s a term that could be applied to recent events within the world of machine vision.
Global economic conditions have spurred many companies to seek new markets, to extract new cost efficiencies in manufacturing and marketing, and to develop and implement new technologies. In turn, industry associations have strengthened efforts to create standards that encourage interoperability, ease of use, and early adoption.
At present, new standards for lens mounts and high-speed imaging camera-to-computer interfaces such as CoaXPress and HSLINK are evolving. Advances in LED lighting, CAD modeling, image sensor design, 3-D imaging, and robotics are all dynamically affecting the designs and applications of machine-vision systems.
Digital evolution
Many of these changes are described, as always, in the pages of this magazine. As part of our own response to rapid changes in publishing—both print and digital—we are expanding our already extensive online presence. This month we launch the redesigned Vision Systems Design web site (www.vision-systems.com) in collaboration with three related publications from PennWell that cover the application of light: Laser Focus World, Industrial Laser Solutions, and BioOptics World.
An umbrella site, OptoIQ, enables us to combine resources to create a richer user experience with more related content and unique features. The distinctive Vision Systems Design web site will continue to provide our audience with relevant machine-vision business and technology news, blogs, videos, system design articles, tutorials, webcasts, and white papers.
New topic centers on the Vision Systems Design site deliver dedicated content on applications such as factory automation, biomedical research, food packaging, solar cell manufacturing, traffic monitoring, and vision-guided robotics. Our product topic centers delve into cameras and image sensors, machine-vision software, frame grabbers, lighting, and lenses. High-speed and infrared imaging each warrant their own topic centers.
Although information delivery media continue to evolve, the essential quality of unique editorial content from Vision Systems Design remains unchanged.
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