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Advertising Sales & Produc Editor: Dr Denis Bulgin
Spring 2017 tion: Chris Valdes Va Newsletter of the UK Industrial Vision Association
In this special four-page feature, we take a look at how vision has become an essential enabling technology in a wide range of different markets over the past 25 years. Some of these are traditional markets and some are comparatively new, and there are many more that we don’t have space to cover. Nevertheless, these show how vision touches almost everyone either through day-to-day activities or products we purchase. We are indebted to Allied Vision, Clearview Imaging, Dimaco, IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH, Multipix Imaging, Olmec-UK, Omron, Scorpion Vision, Sick-UK and Stemmer Imaging for their extensive contributions to this special feature.
MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS
Cameras are used in many areas in the medical diagnostics field, for example on optical microscopes used in diagnostic laboratories, blood analysers, endoscopes used for internal examinations and general imaging in the operating theatre. 3D imaging is used in many orthopaedic investigations. In recent years, the development of small, high resolution cameras including board level cameras using low cost consumer interfaces has helped medical OEMs create even higher- performance medical imaging systems.
Away from the medical centre
These compact cameras offer excellent performance with lower noise and high resolution. Connection to analysis processors is oſten through consumer interfaces such as USB2 and USB3. This has also allowed the development of equipment that is portable and affordable enough to be used away from a hospital or medical centre. This includes equipment for dermatology or diagnostic and cosmetic skin analysis, live blood analysis and ophthalmology. In addition, there has also been a move towards the use of embedded systems which makes the equipment even lower cost and more portable. In the developing world, for example, people are now able to have examinations, screening, diagnosis (and even treatment) in the field where none were possible before. In fact the equipment can be used in any remote area where it was too difficult or expensive for the patient to get to the hospital.
On the high street
There are also many examples of these types of camera being used in routine healthcare environments that might be found on any high street, such as the dentist or optician. Cameras on flexible probes allow dentists to keep records of patients’ teeth over time to see if any changes have taken place between appointments. For spectacle wearers, routine eye inspections utilise these type of cameras. In addition they are used to in table-top systems to measure the position of an individual’s eyes in a new spectacle frame for accurate positioning of the lens – especially important for varifocal lenses.
SOLAR ENERGY
The solar energy market is one of the newest markets to benefit from vision. Solar power is a clean and attractive alternative source of electricity, so there has been an increasing demand for photovoltaic modules to be cheaper and become more efficient at solar energy conversion.
Solar cells are
crystalline silicon devices and a va- riety of imaging techniques can be used during man- ufacture. Cell breakages result- ing from micro- cracks, degrada- tion and shunted areas on cells are proven to cause major problems and affect module performance. Many such defects can- not be observed with conventional imaging systems. However a meas- urement method known as the Electroluminescence (EL) imaging is pro- viding a solution.
Solar cell micro cracks and defects - Courtesy Allied Vision
Electroluminescence imaging
EL imaging consists of applying a direct current to the solar module and measuring the photoemission using an NIR camera. The system is able to accurately detect numerous failures and ageing effects in very short times. Based on the severity of the defects, the cell will either be accepted or rejected. In addition, the amount of light a cell generates for a given applied current can also serve as a measure of the solar cell’s conversion efficiency.
Edge isolation
Eye inspection - Courtesy IDS
Edge isolation is used to provide electrical separation between the active front side of a solar cell and the rear side. In the edge isolation process, a laser cuts a small groove along the cell edges, the depth of the groove depending on the cell doping. The groove needs to be positioned as close as possible to the outer contour of the cell in order to maximise the active surface and thus the efficiency. By using a line scan camera and customised LED illumination to measure the outer contours of the cell and feed them back to the control system of the laser, the edge cutting can be carried out automatically to within preset tolerances.
www.ukiva.org
25 Years of Vision
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