SEPTEMBER 29--Quest Innovations BV (The Netherlands; www.quest-innovations.com) has signed an OEM licensing agreement with Pleora Technologies (Ottawa, Canada; www.pleora.com) for the iPORT PT1000-VB In-Camera IP Engine. The agreement allows Quest to develop a complete range of scalable processing units and smart cameras with Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) interfaces.
"Through this agreement, we are incorporating GigE interfaces into our scalable machine-vision processing hardware," said Richard Meester, president and CEO of Quest Innovations. "We will release our first GigE camera with processing capabilities in November at the Machine Vision Show in Stuttgart, Germany. We'll also launch a new high-precision (10 μm) laser-scanning system based on our Raptor camera that reduces object scanning times compared to current systems on the market."
"Pleora's iPORT PT1000-VB OEM board is allowing Quest to integrate high-performance GigE connectivity quickly and easily into its growing family of smart cameras and processing units," said George Chamberlain, president of Pleora Technologies. "The low power consumption of our board, coupled with its high data-throughput rate, makes it suitable for GigE-enabling a broad range of Quest products."
Quest Innovations focuses on smart cameras and distributed processing. The GigE interface allows data to be transferred at high speed over long distances. The on-board processing systems developed by Quest can reduce the image data transferred from the camera, increasing total data throughput. At the same time, the systems decrease the total time to perform the vision algorithm, thereby increasing image throughput.
A complete plug-in-based software suite is also available and can be used by Quest customers to implement their end-user application. This reduces development time dramatically and, by re-using all software already developed and tested, lowers integration risk.
Quest's main technology is based on scalable machine-vision processors used inside the camera or interface system. This processing system handles the same algorithms that can be implemented in software on a PC, only at much higher rates.
To see the products live in action, visit Quest and Pleora at the Stuttgart Vision 2005 trade show, November 8-10, in Stuttgart, Germany. Quest will be located in Hall 1, Booth 117, and Pleora in Hall 4, Booth 210.