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Vision Sensing Trends
Improved processing capability, color and higher resolution create growth
By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor -- Design News, April 29, 2007
Improved processing capability, color and higher resolution create growth when it comes to vision sensing trends, according to University of Illinois Engineer Lisa Eichler.
Design News: What do you see as the main trends in vision sensing?
Lisa Eichler: The most typical thing we see is pressure for faster-smarter-smaller every year. We continue to incorporate better and better processors into the units to bring more of what we traditionally have seen as PC vision level tool capability down into the vision sensor platform. Additionally, there is certainly a demand for greater camera resolution and a broad range of camera variations to meet specific application requirements.
How important are more powerful processors?
It was just over two years ago that we were able to port PatMax, the geometric pattern recognition algorithm from PC vision, down to In-Sight because the DSPs had become powerful enough to run it. We are starting to see that trend accelerate over time. Now, we do all kinds of calibration techniques. We’re able to add a new flexible flaw detection algorithm on our DVT 5X5 vision sensors. That’s PC level vision inspection that we are talking about. To me that’s a real exciting trend because we are able to take a very high-performance algorithm and bring it down to a price point that makes it more attractive for vision sensor users.
Is color getting to be more important or easier to do at an acceptable price point?
We just introduced two (color vision sensors) and we are about to introduce another. So there will be more entry-level color choices than there have been in the past. For us, making the leap from an entry-level price point to color was pretty significant. What we are seeing on both the DVT and the In-Sight line with these two new introductions is that we have reduced the entry level price for color, while maintaining all of the vision tool capability of their monochrome counterparts.
What about Resolution? Does that tie into the transition from PC to non-PC based vision sensing?
Absolutely. When we went from having the 1024 × 768 In-Sight to introducing the 1600 × 1200 Insight, we saw that many customers immediately made use of the additional pixels. In fact, sales has started to shift more towards high resolution. We find that after having some success with entry-level vision sensors, many customers want to tackle more challenging inspections. Higher resolution allows them to do that.
How does ease-of-use enter the vision sensing picture?
I think continuing to improve ease of use is something that all of us making vision sensors will continue to focus on. That, and entry-level pricing are key to attracting new customers and opening up new applications. I think the number one deterrent to people picking up vision is the learning curve. The more we can reduce the learning curve, the more we reduce the cost of deployment and the more we grow the number of new customers and applications.
What about Connectivity?
Cognex can no longer be just a vision company. Rather, we have to be an automation company that makes vision products and connectivity is a big piece of that. For example, In-Sight now supports Modbus/TCP and EtherNet/IP and our next software release will support PROFINET communications.
When you’re a part of the control environment, connectivity ease-of-use and the time it takes to get a system connected and communicating to other devices is a really important consideration for any user and vendor.
Lisa Eichler is a University of Illinois engineer and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago. She came to Cognex with a dozen years of automation industry experience under her belt and spent two years developing the Cognex distribution channel in the Americas before becoming director of marketing for the vision sensor products.
