Standards
@imveurope
www.imveurope.com
Vision industry now ready for lighting standard
Having been talked about for many years, a standard for machine vision lighting is once again on the agenda. Peter Bhagat of Gardasoſt Vision explains why the signs are good for it to now come to fruition
U
ltimately, any standard will only effectively come about if there is sufficient demand from the market
– suitable technology and the collaboration of technology providers are key enablers for standardisation to become a reality. Tis is starting to happen with lighting standards for machine vision systems from two perspectives: optical parameters, and command and control. Tis article will concentrate on the latter of these two categories. In a highly soſtware and network reliant
sector such as machine vision, it’s a significant omission that lighting is not just integrated into vision systems, but it’s also a key opportunity for this market. I see lighting command and control within a classic ‘development cycle’ as follows: market demand, available technology, customer uptake, and finally a call for standardisation. So, if a call for standardisation is made
before either of the other elements of the cycle is in place, then the momentum is never really created. Tis is what we have experienced to date with standardisation for lighting, where truly integrated networking technology for lighting has not been prevalent. Tis is now being addressed, and, coupled with user demand, this is why lighting standards now have the best chance to succeed. Te momentum referred to is critical, because
obstacles – some perceived, some real, and some that are even put in place to create a drag on standardisation from vendors who are not ready with the technology at this stage.
Market demand In terms of networked and intelligent lighting, where is the market demand? End users are one source of demand. Tey are particularly looking for increased throughout process times, but also incrementally improving their quality levels. Tis leads to them continuously demanding faster and more accurate inspection; conventionally this means placing the entire onus on camera technology, but integrating advanced lighting control enables suitable performance increase in the overall vision system. Examples include multiple inspections of single products, where intelligent lighting is better suited for control of multiple lights, or differing intensity for single lights; another example is applications where communication within factory automation networks is becoming increasingly important. High-function OEMs are also a key focus;
as with any move of this type, there will be 26 Imaging and Machine Vision Europe • Yearbook 2015/2016
they are demanding increased machine vision performance, because if their suppliers provide
suitable advances in technology then their machines have differentiation in the market. Tis is especially true in sectors such as semiconductor and electronics manufacturing where OEM inspection machines are contributing to important fractional percentage improvement efficiency and quality levels for their end users because of closer camera and light functionality alignment. System integrators are also
Integrating
advanced lighting control enables suitable performance increase in the overall vision system
in the category of pioneering intelligent lighting. Here the market is already seeing current uptake of comprehensive communications capability – this helps system integrators both with on-site commissioning but also remote diagnostics for aſter-sales support. Tere is also a growing trend in the market
for ‘complete solutions’, and system integrators need to effectively respond to this. In doing so, they need advanced technology, but in an easy- to-use format as they need to handle multiple technology disciplines.
Available technology To a degree, communication has been available for lighting control for some time. As an example, Gardasoſt lighting controllers have been fitted with Ethernet as standard for many
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48