Solutions for Industrial Vision

Intelligent 3D sensors, image processing software based on artificial intelligence, cameras: Image S, distributor in the industrial vision sector, will showcase its most prominent solutions on the occasion of the SPS Italia trade show

by Sara Morri

On the occasion of SPS Italia, the trade show scheduled in Parma on May 28th-30th, Image S will present the latest innovations in its range of products and solutions for industrial vision. The company distributes on the Italian market components used to realize image processing systems in industrial, medical and scientific domains.

Intelligent 3D sensors
Among the solutions on show, there are the latest models of the intelligent 3D sensor by LMI Technologies, Gocator. With their dedicated FPGA processing, high resolution optics and a 2.4 MP high speed camera, Gocator® 2500 sensors are ideal to scan and inspect rapidly moving parts, with a compact all-in-one industrial device which can reach speeds of up to 10 kHz. Users may exploit the internal processing for 3D measurements, alignment with six degrees of freedom, part segmentation and integrated 3D measurement instruments to extract features and make the relative choices, creating a complete inspection solution for a 100% quality control.
The stereo Gocator® 3504 sensor, designed to acquire static 3D images, is very complete and provides an excellent resolution. It reaches high performance levels, with 6.7-7.1 micron XY resolution and 0.2 micron z repeatability, at a speed of 6Hz (with accelerator). These sensors are ideal for in-line applications where objects are momentarily stationary, such as, robotized inspection and pick & place operations.
A new hardware architecture to match Gocator sensors, GoMax®, allows high production speeds thanks to a new generation of calculation systems based on the Jetson NVIDIA TX2 module.

A complete set of advanced deep learning functions
At SPS Italia, Image S also presents MVTec’s Halcon software, which offers a complete set of advanced deep learning functions which may immediately be applied to industrial contexts.
Companies may train convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with Halcon, exploiting learning algorithms and sample images of their specific application. Networks thus obtained may be optimized for specific demands.
This technology allows the simple and precise classification of image data, reducing programming results. With the Halcon 18.11 release it is possible to carry out segmentation as precise as single pixels. Segmentation, just as classification, may be carried out both on GPUs and CPUs.

Visual perception systems which exploit artificial intelligence
Image S also presents solutions by SqueezeBrains, a Brescia-based company which designs and develops image processing software based on artificial intelligence. Surface is a visual perception system based on a C/C++ library which exploits artificial intelligence for the digital processing of images. The system analyzes the images with a generic algorithm, which is not dedicated to any specific task, and is capable of learning and recognizing surface defects. The learning phase is carried out using a supervised procedure (SVL) which uses a series of sample images. With respect to other systems, only a few dozen images are needed, rather than hundreds or thousands.

Cameras for high speed data transmission
Teledyne Dalsa’s Genie Nano GigE Vision 5 Gigabit cameras will also be on show at SPS Italia. These solutions are designed for applications which require high data transmission speeds, and may be used in vision systems which exploit the standard GigE interface using the normal Ethernet cables already present on the production lines. The Nbase-T technology allows to realize Ethernet connections to provide greater flexibility with a speed of up to 5 Gbps using normal Cat5 ecables, increases data transmission capacity on distances up to 100 metres, therefore without having to change the network infrastructure of existing plants. Genie Nano GigE Vision 5 Gigabit cameras are compact in size and different resolutions, from 3.2 to 12 MP, and frame rates from 63 to 190 fps.