SEPTEMBER 9, 2008--Approximately 300 exhibitors and 6,300 trade visitors are expected to turn out at VISION 2008, held at Messe Stuttgart (Stuttgart, Germany), from November 4-5.
Advances in machine vision technology into the third dimension will be on display at VISION 2008. Stemmer Imaging Group (Puchheim, Germany; www.stemmer-imaging-group.com) will present Version 10 of the programming library Common Vision Blox (CVB), which now supports the full 32-bit version of Microsoft VISTA. Stemmer has revealed that 3-D algorithms from Spanish software vendor AQSENSE have been integrated into the CVB library. The company also recently took over central European sales and distribution for AT-Automation Technology (Concord, NC, USA; www.automationtechnologyinc.com), and will be displaying its 3-D camera product line. Based on its C3 technology, AT produces laser sensors for the 3-D image-processing market. The company's newest model, the C3-2350, features 2352 x 1728-pixel resolution, delivering up to 58 million 3-D dots/s at a maximum profile frequency of 25 kHz.
The trend toward 3-D image processing is also followed by Baumer Optronic (Radeberg, Germany; www.baumeroptronic.com); the company will present the new 3-D camera TZG01 at VISION 2008. At VISION 2008, Baumer will demonstrate how the 3-D camera captures edges and heights of packages that are transported on a conveyor belt. The details can be used to control sorting robots. The main fields of application are in luggage and package sorting, completeness and presence check, coordinate determination, volume measurement, and robot guidance.
Smart cameras will also make an appearance at VISION 2008. Vision Components (Ettlingen, Germany; www.vision-components.com) will debut its new intelligent stereo camera, which is designed as an OEM circuit board version. Two image capturing heads, both equipped with Sony CCD sensors, can be mounted in almost any position and at any angle via a flexible cable. Both sensor heads can be utilized at the same time to capture images, which can then be evaluated in full. The module is based on the VCProfessional (40xx) Smart Camera Design. The stereo camera is expected to be used in 3-D applications such as measuring, checking presence and absence of drink boxes, for example, in automatic return systems.
Another development for dynamic 3-D analyses is the high-speed pco.dimax camera, which is the latest offering from PCO (Kelheim, Germany; www.pco.de). Extremely fast procedures, such as the ones used for crash tests in the automobile industry, can be observed and captured at the same time by several cameras from different perspectives. The serial model of the CMOS high-speed camera will debut at VISION 2008. The image sensor, with 31.4-mm sensor diagonals, has 11-µm pixels.
High speed is also the focus of the recorder solution SVMonitor from SVS-VISTEK (Seefeld, Germany; www.svs-vistek.com), which will be presented for the first time. Processes, such as in a bottle filling system, which occur so quickly that they are no longer visible to the human eye, can be captured and repeated using a high-speed camera with or without a time stamp. At low speed, the variable SVMonitor playback setting enables the user to directly localize potential faults and rectify them.
Baser Vision Technologies (Ahrensberg, Germany; www.baslerweb.com) will present models from the sprint series of high-speed linescan cameras for the first time: A monochrome model with a resolution of 8192 pixels and also three color models with 2048, 4096 and 8192 pixels will be displayed. A novel pixel design combines attributes of CCD and CMOS sensors into a sensitive CMOS double linescan sensor. According to Basler, the speed and flow rate of an application can be increased significantly, such as in letter sorting, where the speed of the letters can be accelerated from 1 m/s to 7 m/s and higher.
Illumination technology has a significant influence on the performance of an image-processing system. "It forms the foundation of industrial image processing. If it doesn't work there," says Meinrad Simnacher, managing director of Leutron Vision (Glattbrugg, Switzerland; www.leutron.com), "the success of the whole solution is under threat." In addition to its PicSight cameras, the hardware manufacturer produces a range of LED illumination and LED backlighting and will celebrate its debut at VISION 2008. Leutron Vision will present the range of LED lighting from Japanese partner IMAC for the first time. The products range from white light to infrared and ultraviolet light. The company's latest LED development emits orange-yellow light at a wave range of 595 to 600 nm.
Many special events and a supporting program will take place at VISION 2008. The first application-oriented show "Automotive Application Park: Watch with ease!" will be held, which is a joint stand promoted by BMWi giving young companies the opportunity to present themselves. Vision Academy (Erfurt, Germany; www.vision-academy.org) will premiere workshops for machine-vision newcomers; a VISION prize will again be awarded for ground-breaking innovations; and experts will report on developments and life in practice at the Industrial Vision Days, which is organized by VDMA. The podium discussion "Big Brother is watching you: Machine vision and safety" will include the following participants: Volkhard Delfs, product manager CCTV/IP, Panasonic Systems Solutions; Dr. Stefan Gehlen, former CEO, L-1 Identity Solutions; Katharina Geutebrück, managing director, Geutebrück; Dr. Jörg Krüger, managing director, Innovationscluster Sichere Identität; Dr. Dietmar Ley, CEO, Basler Vision Technologies; Christoph Stroschein, managing director GESA (German European Security Association).
