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Vision Panel Eliminates Need for Factory Floor PC
Seven-inch touch screen runs on Windows CE
Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor -- Design News, September 24, 2008
At National Manufacturing Week yesterday in Rosemont, IL, Cognex Corp. rolled out an operator display panel for industrial vision systems that eliminates the need for a PC on the factory floor.
Known as VisionView, the new display panel could enable operators to easily change vision system parameters on inspection lines in factories. The seven-inch screen, which runs on Microsoft Windows CE, represents a departure of sorts for visual inspection systems because it doesn't require users to enter information with a mouse or keyboard.
"Corporate IT departments don't want to add complexity to what's already on the factory floor," says Narayan Subramanian, factory automation product marketing manager for Cognex. "They want simplicity, and this touch screen is simple."
The touch screen incorporates five Ethernet ports and three USB ports, enabling users to connect up to nine cameras to the back of the device. Using it, operators can look at images from all nine of the cameras and perform basic vision system management functions, such as altering thresholds or changing a region of interest on a part.
Subramanian says the new operator interface is less than half the cost of a PC. It also reduces the need for training and ongoing operator involvement.
"This system does not need periodic maintenance," he says. "You just plug it in once and you're done."
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