FEATURE MACHINE VISION SYSTEMS Igniting the fireworks of innovation
Industrial machine vision (IMV) is one of the most innovative key technologies in the automation industry. With this in mind, the AUTOMATICA exhibition taking place in Munich, Germany, from 3rd-6th June, will present the newest components and complete solutions in this sector with specific reference to industrial applications
W
ith regards to IMV, increased performance of hardware and
software, faster cameras, higher computing power and new interfaces in automation are opening up new application fields. A large share of automation tasks would not be feasible in actual practice without machine vision. Regardless of whether in traditional quality assurance, automatic part feed or as ‘visual aids’ for robots, vision systems prove their worth in very different applications. Patrick Schwarzkopf, head of VDMA
Industrial Machine Vision, commented “We expect a sales increase of approximately five percent to a total of €1.6bn in the German machine vision industry for 2013. Growth is being driven by increasing demand from North America and Asia, the striving of manufacturing companies to achieve higher quality and efficiency, as well as the fact that machine vision is continually opening up new application areas.” Correspondingly, a special trend cannot be detected in advance of the trade fair, but instead there is a very wide spectrum of novelties and innovations.
Above: growth in machine vision is being driven by increasing demand from North America and Asia, the striving of manufacturing companies to achieve higher quality and efficiency as well as the fact that machine vision is continually opening up new application areas
applications both in the area of quality assurance as well as in part feeding to be the next big things, such considerations are still a long way off for others. One of the advocates of 3D technology
TRENDY TOPICS Some of the topics in the spotlight at AUTOMATICA are being eagerly anticipated in the camera field. These include dual 2D machine vision versus 3D machine vision, CMOS versus CCD Sensors, as well as smart cameras versus PC supported systems. While some people consider 3D sensors and 3D
16 MARCH 2014 | AUTOMATION
Above: the last AUTOMATICA show in 2012 featured 720 exhibitors from 40 countries
is Ira Effenberger, who works as group leader at the Fraunhofer Institute IPA with her staff on solutions for demanding applications. She commented, “The trend here both in automated part feeding as well as in quality assurance is increasingly from process integrated 2D solutions to 3D machine vision systems. We have developed interesting 3D solutions based on lightsection sensor technology for both tasks. We are also going to present the results at AUTOMATICA.” It is uncontested that, thanks to 3D vision systems, completely new applications are being opened up, which will provide further growth for machine vision. An interesting aspect for users is that cameras and sensors are not only becoming more efficient and compact, which simplifies their integration, but also more inexpensive. This aspect plays into the hands of integrators in implementing economic solutions and creates additional potential for the technology.
SMART CAMERA VERSUS PC SUPPORTED MACHINE VISION Another trend in industrial machine vision is represented by smart cameras, which take, and can evaluate, pictures thanks to an integrated processor unit
for data processing. This compact and inexpensive alternative to traditional PC-based machine vision systems is becoming increasingly popular. The advantages are obvious, as Michael Engel, managing director at Vision Components and inventor of the first intelligent camera suitable for industrial use, highlighted, “Smart camera solutions are simple, easy to operate, fast and robust. In addition, this technology can eliminate the PC as the largest squanderer of space and resources and is first choice for sustainable and energy efficient production thanks to its significantly lower consumption of electricity.” The exhibitors at AUTOMATICA will
show how far advanced the miniaturisation of the high-tech components is in the meantime and which new application fields can be opened up with even smaller and more efficient cameras. The enormous efficiency of modern vision systems with resolutions of up to 16 megapixels and more also require corresponding interfaces to be able to transmit the huge data quantities quickly. USB 3.0 could succeed in a breakthrough to a mainstream, high performance interface here. USB 3.0 achieves approximately 3.5 fold gigabit Ethernet speed with 5GBit/s gross and 400MByte/s net. As a result, the ultra-fast interface will become an enabler for new and especially demanding applications. At AUTOMATICA 2014, solution
providers, component manufacturers, research institutes and, last but not least, VDMA Industrial Machine Vision are exhibiting at the joint Machine Vision Pavilion. Whoever wants to get comprehensive information will find the epicenter of the machine vision industry in Halls A4 and B3. The panel discussion, ‘Sorting was yesterday - machine vision is changing from quality assurance to production optimiser’, at the AUTOMATICA Forum in Hall B5 on 4th June rounds-up what’s on offer.
AUTOMATICA
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