Our annualVision Systems DesignBuyers Guide is dedicated to developers of machine-vision and image-processing systems. Incorporating the Buyers Guide into the March issue provides our readers with the most comprehensive listing of OEM suppliers of vision and image-processing equipment available. The printed version is complemented by a complete, searchable version online at www.vision-systems.com.
The Buyers Guide contains three primary sections: a Product Guide to products and the companies offering these products; a Vendor Directory, which provides a worldwide list of manufacturers and manufacturers reps; and System Integrator directories with sections listing companies, locations, and services. The Table of Contents (see p. 3) provides a general guide to these categories; the Product Index (see p. 191) gives a more detailed resource for the more than 50 product categories.
This year we have added more than 100 new companies to the Buyers Guide, bringing the total to more than 700 vendors, 300 system integrators, and 100 manufacturers reps. The directories that list system integrators and system-integration services should prove especially useful to OEM vendors and end users who want to commission a system integrator to develop a networked, computer-based automated machine-vision system.
INCLUDING INNOVATIVE APPLICATIONS
Rather than our usual fare of departments, columns, and features, this issue contains a series of articles describing innovative applications that incorporate machine-vision technology. Birgit Gottsauner of Siemens Automation and Drives Division shows how an automotive-engine manufacturer is using intelligent cameras and RFID to ensure proper placement of parts. Ralf Grieser of Baumer Optronic and Lutz Kreutzer of MVTec Software describe an OCR-based warehouse package-management system. And Stéphane Gagnon of Neptec Design Group writes about an IR-based scanning system that has helped inspect thermal shields during a space shuttle mission.
In addition, Steven Prehn of aptúra Machine Vision Solutions helps readers understand how to take advantage of color-based machine-vision systems. Bob Grietens of XenICs and Jouni Jussila of Spectral Imaging describe an IR-based system that sorts consumer-waste packages. Jeremy Govier of Edmund Optics writes about a special lens design developed to check pixels on LCDs. And Richard Meester of Quest Innovations shows how linescan cameras and laser triangulation have been combined to measure hot strips of steel during production.
From this emphasis on showing how innovative vision systems can be designed, it is clear that we rely on members of the machine-vision industry for ideas and material. If you have a vision-system case study that you are prepared to discuss in detail by writing an article or working with us to develop one, please let me know. If you have new products, send them to us at [email protected]. The Buyers Guide comes out once a year, but the coverage of vision systems goes on all year long.
W. Conard Holton
Editor in Chief
[email protected]
