Image Acquisition and Machine Vision

CoaXPress - New Cable Standard

2011-12-02T09:15:00.001-08:00

CoaXPress offers high speed downlink rates of up to 6.25Gbps over a single coaxial cable and up to 25 Gbps using four cables with long cable lengths, in excess of 100m without any hubs, repeaters etc.

Imperx is now offering the ICX-B1410, an advanced progressive scan, fully programmable CCD camera designed for imaging applications that require high quality images, powerful features and flexibility. The camera has a small size, is light weight, and built around Sony´s ICX-285 6.45 micron Interline Transfer CCD image sensor with a 2/3” optical format.

The ICX-B1410 provides an image resolution of 1392 x 1040 and delivers up to 30 frames per second at full resolution. The camera’s 14 bit internal data image processing engine is based on an industrial grade high-speed, high-density FPGA, enabling a broad standard feature set and easy implementation of demanding custom imaging solutions. The thermally optimized, mechanical and electrical design plus the extended operating temperature range (-40°C to +85°C), and high MTBF of 660,000 hrs @ 40C, make this camera a perfect fit for the most demanding industrial, medical, scientific and military applications.

For more information please visit http://www.imperx.com/ or click here.

IO Industries Launches Flare 2KSDI Camera

2011-11-14T11:32:00.001-08:00

IO Industries Flare 2KSDI

The new IO Industries Flare 2KSDI camera is now available with 2K, 1080p and 720p options for high definition video capture. The small compact design of the housing allows the camera to be mounted in limited space designs on vehicles or aircraft for example.

The Flare 2KSDI is suitable for applications in broadcast and cinema, recording on vehicles and aircraft, medical and security.

Camera Specifications

Sensor Size (H x V): 2048 x 1088 pixels

Maximum Frame Rate: 60 fps at 1080p, 283 fps in CXP mode

Sensor Details: 2/3”, 60 dB CMOS, 5.5 x 5.5 μm pixels

Shutter: Pipelined Global Shutter with Correlated Double Sampling

Image Type: 4:2:2(Y’Cb’Cr’), 4:4:4(RGB), or RAW (Bayer)

Pixel Format: 10-bit or 12-bit

Data Output Type (Interface): 3G/HDSDI Single or Dual Link

White Balance: Automatic (AWB), Tracking AWB, or manually adjustable

Color Adjustment: Color Matrix, Saturation

Black/White Adjustment: Master Pedestal, Black Gamma, Knee Poin

Camera Control: Wired Remote or RS-485 (USB adapter available)

Synchronization: External Tri-Level SYNC IN

Exposure Control: Automatic (AEC), or manually adjustable

Output Modes
Single Link HD-SDI:

720p 10bit 4:2:2: 50, 59.94, 60
1080p 10bit 4:2:2: 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30

Single Link 3G-SDI:

1080p 10bit 4:2:2: 50, 59.94, 60
2K 12bit 4:4:4: 24

CXP Mode (OPTIONAL):

Runs CoaXPress ﬁrmware

ScoreBox® Graphics Generation System

2011-10-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

Matrox® Video Products Group announced that broadcast equipment manufacturer Howard Zuckerman & Assoc. Inc. has chosen the Matrox Xmio21 card, part of the Matrox DSX family of developer products, as the heart of its ScoreBox® graphics generation system.

ScoreBox is an easily portable, self-contained, and highly user-configurable on-screen score system designed for any broadcaster producing live TV sports such as basketball, baseball, football, soccer, hockey, volleyball, and wrestling. It interfaces to the arena scoreboard and delivers scores and clocks to the TV truck or video control room. With a simple yet powerful user interface, ScoreBox can be configured to display any look and feel that fits the broadcaster's style. Current users include: Time Warner Sports with over 10 units, Iowa Educational TV, Nebraska Educational TV, KBYU Utah, and more than 70 others.

"Matrox delivers great price/performance, high reliability, and a feature set that is hard for other vendors to match," said Jerry Zuckerman, vice president engineering. "We appreciate the flexibility of the Matrox development environment, which simplifies our software development tasks and lets us be very responsive to the needs of ScoreBox users."

To read more please visit Matrox Video.

High Resolution 29 Megapixel Machine Vision Camera

2011-09-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

The IGV-B6620 is an advanced high-speed progressive scan, fully programmable CCD camera designed for imaging applications that require high frame rates, high quality images, and powerful features and flexibility. The camera has a small size, light weight, and is built around Kodak's KAI-29050 Interline transfer CCD image sensor with a 43.3 mm image diagonal. ICL-B4820 is available with CameraLink output.

The IGV-B6620 provides an image resolution of 6600 x 4400 and delivers up to 2.5 frames per second at full resolution. The camera image processing engine is based on a high-speed, high-density FPGA, featuring programmable resolution, speed, 8 independent AOIs, binning, triggering, exposure control, line and frame time, I/O mapping, external/internal sync, AGC, AEC, Auto Iris, transfer function correction, user LUT, Defective and Hot Pixel Correction (DPC, HPC), and Flat Field Correction (FFC).

Do you have a new laptop with a 34mm slot?

2011-09-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

In response to changing laptop hardware, Imperx have built the VCE-CLEX02 Camera Link ExpressCard/34 – Video Capture Card.

The FrameLink Express is a professional, state of the art ExpressCard video capture card, allowing users to view and store in real time mega-pixel video images from Camera Link sources on

their notebook computers. The FrameLink Express is capable of capturing single or multiple frames, and standard AVI clips from any Base Camera Link compliant video source. Each captured frame can be stamped with a user message along with the date and time of capture. The FrameLink Express oﬀers easy to use camera conﬁguration software, which allows for fast integration of the card into demanding machine vision environments.

Applications include:

Industrial - Silicon wafer and PCB inspection, Machine vision, Document scanning

Medical - Ultrasound, X-Ray, CT and MRI

Military - Aerial mapping/survey, Battleﬁeld imaging, UAV, Robotic vision

Security - Police in-car surveillance, Biometric identiﬁcation

End of Summer - Beginning of New Products!

2011-09-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

Back to school and back to work. The summer holidays are now over and attention is once again firmly back on getting things done.

With this in mind Imperx has launched two new cameras: ICL-B1310-SCO and ICL-B1411-SCO both available in monochrome or color.

The ICL-B1310 is an advanced high-speed progressive scan, fully programmable CCD camera designed for imaging applications that require high frame rates, high quality images, and powerful features and ﬂexibility. The camera has a small size, light weight, and is built around SONY’S ICX-445 Interline transfer CCD image sensor with a 1/3” optical format. ICL-B1310 is available with CameraLink output (PoCL support).

The B1310 provides an image resolution of 1280 x 966 and delivers 39 frames per second at full resolution. The camera image processing engine is based on a high-speed, high-density FPGA, featuring programmable resolution, speed, 8 independent AOIs, binning, triggering, exposure control, line and frame time, I/O mapping, external/internal sync, AGC, transfer function correction, user LUT, and Defective and Hot Pixel Correction (DPC, HPC).

The ICL-B1411 is an advanced high-speed progressive scan, fully programmable CCD camera designed for imaging applications that require high frame rates, high quality images, and powerful features and ﬂexibility. The camera has a small size, light weight, and is built around SONY’S ICX-267 Interline transfer CCD image sensor with a 1/2” optical format. ICL-B1411 is available with CameraLink output (PoCL support).

The B1411 provides an image resolution of 1392 x 1040 and delivers up to 30 frames per second at full resolution. The camera image processing engine is based on a high-speed, high-density FPGA, featuring programmable resolution, speed, 8 independent AOIs, binning, triggering, exposure control, line and frame time, I/O mapping, external/internal sync, AGC, AEC, Auto Iris, transfer function correction, user LUT, Flat Field Correction (FFC), and Defective and Hot Pixel Correction (DPC, HPC).

Digitial Summit International (DSI), August 23-25, 2011 at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas

2011-07-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.dsi-vegas.com/

Uniforce Sales and Engineering will be exhibiting at the Digitial Summit International (DSI), August 23-25, 2011 at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV, with the support of IO Industries and Imperx, Inc.

DSI is the leading industry conference for investigators with multimedia evidence. Attendees include Forensic Video Analysts, Forensic Audio Analysts, Forensic Image Analysts, Mobile Device Analysts, Cell Phone Analysts, and Computer Forensic Analysts. Being Las Vegas there will be plenty of fun and games at the conference

Uniforce Sales has teamed up with Imperx as a sponsor of the Conference Poker Tournament, which will be held on August 24, 2011.

Preparations for the conference have already begun and we are busy putting together the booth display to ensure we attract as many attendees as we can. If you’re in Las Vegas in August be sure to drop in, we’ll be in booth 26!

Lights, Camera, Action!

2011-06-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

Lighting plays an important role in vision systems. For the highly capable cameras to “see” the defects and for the software to identify them, lighting needs to be perfect for the conditions.

There are numerous variables that determine which lighting will be the most suitable for your application. Each situation is unique and needs to be looked at and assessed before making a decision.

Some of the lighting variables that need to be considered are color, intensity, diffusion, distance, size of the region of interest, inspection process, environment and there are many more.

Sometimes an off the shelf lighting option will work just fine but at other times custom lighting will be needed. Talking to an expert in the field will help narrow down options. Sudeep used Advanced Illumination lighting on a fingerprinting project and was able to work with them to get the lighting he needed according to his specification.

So the next time you’re in the mood for some special lighting give us a call or drop us an email and we’ll see what we can do for you.

- Parm

Mobile Power Unit - Power on the Go

2011-05-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

We have designed and built a Mobile Power Unit to provide DC power to recording systems when access is limited, interrupted, or not accessible. Using industry standard V-mount style batteries the MPU provides convenient access to power on the go.

Shuttle access to the battery means quick changes with additional batteries ensuring down time is limited. Charging can be done with the battery removed or by using the built-in charging jack.

Ideal for vision systems in air crafts, sea vessels, ground vehicles, laboratory, or medical industries.

Take a look at the datasheet here and call or email us for more information.

The New IO Industries Flare 1080p 240 Camera

2011-05-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

The new IO Industries Flare 1080p240 camera is a full HD 1080p 240 fps color camera with capabilities of delivering high quality images. This rugged camera is suitable for the high demands of broadcast and cinema as well as medical and on board aircraft or vehicles.

Features

• Compact one-piece rugged color camera

• (2) 3G-SDI connections (DUAL or REPEAT)

• Genlock for 3D synchronization

• Color 4:4:4 (RGB) and 4:2:2 (Y’Cr’Cb’)

• RAW color up to 240fps in 2K, 1080p, or 720p

• Low noise and high light sensitivity

Applications

• Broadcast and cinema

• Recording on vehicles and aircraft

• Medical

• Security

If you would like more information please call Uniforce Sales at 510 657 4000 and talk with one of our engineers or visit http://www.uniforcesales.com/

Simultaneous Recording and Processing

2011-04-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

“Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering and providing tremendous service to clients. Finally business is a cobweb of human relationships.”
- H. Ross Perot

I have a keen interest in engineering and I think the best place to design and test new technology is at the university because if you break or blow up something (by mistake) no one will penalize you unless you blew it up on purpose. I have been closely associated with San Jose State University guiding various students in their respective projects. One of the projects that fascinated me was developing a vision system for detecting defects in underground pipes.

After the PG & E gas pipe exploded in 2010, developing an inspection system to detect defects on pipes is critical. Simultaneous processing and recording would be highly beneficial to this inspection system for further analysis and for the purpose of records.

To read more on the DVR Express Core In/Out click here to go to the website or download the PDF.
- Sudeep R.J. Gonsalves

Defense and Security Show 25 - 29 April 2011

2011-04-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Chef Castricone at the BBQ

Ben will be at The Defense and Security Show in Orlando Florida the last week of April. He’ll be working with IO Industries and Imperx at the show.

All the latest developments in technology will be on display with experts on hand to demonstrate. IO Industries has launched several new models of the DVR Express Core including the DVR Express 3G-SDI with (2) 3G/HD/SD-SDI inputs with repeats, 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 525i, and 625i, record to IO Industries uncompressed RAW at up to 4:4:4, export in CoreView to: AVI, MPEG, RAW as well as their new FLARE high speed cameras.

Imperx will have Bobcat cameras high-quality, low noise, CCD cameras with a high-density FPGA for hundreds of programmable features. The latest generation of cameras from Imperx include 8, 10, 12 or 14-bit output , four inputs and three outputs, dual clock design for a faster frame rate and power over camera link (PoCL) for the most demanding applications.

Chef Uniforce will be laying out a feast for select attendees and exhibitors and tending to the BBQ, ensuring everyone’s bellies are fed as well as their mind!

Defense and Security Show
25 - 29 April 2011
Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention Center
Orlando, Florida, USA

Product Hightlight - Imperx Bobcat

2011-03-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Imperx Bobcat ICL-B2020 is an advanced high-speed progressive scan, fully programmable CCD camera designed for imaging applications that require high frame rates, high quality images, and powerful features and fexibility. The camera has a small size, light weight, and is built around Kodak's KAI-4022 Interline transfer CCD image sensor with a 1.3" optical format (21.5 mm image diagonal). ICL-B2020 is available with CameraLink output.

The B2020 provides an image resolution of 2056 x 2060 and delivers up to 20.4 frames per second at full resolution. The camera image processing engine is based on a high-speed, high-density FPGA, featuring programmable resolution, speed, 8 independent AOIs, binning, triggering, exposure control, line and frame time, I/O mapping, external/internal sync, AGC, AEC, Auto Iris, transfer function correction, user LUT, Defective and Hot Pixel Correction (DPC, HPC), and Flat Field Correction (FFC).

Camera features
2056/2048 x 2060/2048

Mono and color - 8/10/12/14-bit data

Normal and over-clock operation (16.3/20.4 fps)

Base CameraLink

Two dimensional Flat Field Correction

RS232 serial communication

Analog and digital gain and offset control

1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 8x horizontal and vertical binning

Eight (8) independent horizontal and vertical AOIs

Programmable horizontal and vertical resolution

Programmable line time, frame time and speed

Programmable external trigger:

Automatic gain, exposure and iris control

Internal/External exposure control

Internal/External H and V sync input/output

Left/right digital bit shift

Test image with image superimposition

Built in pulse generator

Programmable I/O mapping

Dynamic transfer function correction

Dynamic black level correction

Defective and hot pixel correction

Temperature monitor

Field upgradeable firmware, LUT, DPC, HPC, FCC

Frame Link Express Now Runs on Desktops as Well as Laptops

2011-03-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

The convenience of the Frame Link Express card that has been used for image acquisition in laptops for the past few years is now available for desktops.

With a PCIe or PCIx adapter in an available slot in the desktop, users can now insert the PCMCIA card directly into the desktop computer and utilize the higher processing and acquisition speeds of a full size machine.

Setting up the desktop is done in a just a few steps:

 Install the adapter

 Install the software for the Frame Link Express

 To access the camera create a virtual port using the VCE CamX application
This also provides a cost effective solution since the Frame Link Express is compatible with most image processing software and any interface and a laptop is not needed.

The configuration has been tested and verified by Sudeep at Uniforce Sales and Engineering. If you have any questions please feel free to call us at 510 657 4000 or email.

On-site set-up and training at customer's facility

2011-02-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

In a few weeks Ben and Sudeep are scheduled to go out to a customer site to set-up a DVR Express Core recording system. They will also be training the engineers on how to set-up and run the recording system, as well as how to troubleshoot any issues that could arise.

“We offer a complete solution to the customer,” said Ben, “In this case the system is a big investment for the customer and their requirements included on-site set-up and training.”

Quality control includes testing the system in-house to make sure all of the components are working as they should be before taking it to the customer. This way, if any hardware or software issues arise they can be addressed before going to the customer.

- Parm

Matrox Orion HD Available Now!

2011-02-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

Matrox have release a new frame grabber for the PC. We are seeing some interest in the new board. Call or email Uniforce Sales to find out if the Matrox Orion HD is suitable for your application.

Matrox Orion HD is a high performance graphics and video capture board that supports standard and high definition video inputs and outputs including 1080p/60.

Here is list of some of the benefits of the new Orion HD:

Maximize performance and compatibility by way of a PCIe® x16 half-length card design

Capture from a variety of legacy and state-of-the-art video sources with support for SD/HD analog/digital (DVI and SDI) video formats

Optimize multi-channel applications via dual independent video inputs and outputs on a single card

Maximize existing application development know how through support for standard graphics overlay

Implement video capture with ease and confidence using Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) application development kit

Deploy using a contemporary platform with support for 32/64-bit Microsoft® Windows® 7

- Parm

Specialty Cameras - Industrial Borescopes, Security "Night Probe" and Public/Military Transportation

2011-01-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

I thought it might be worth covering some of the new cameras we are now offering from Sentech that are not machine vision but still have significant uses in various fields.

Industrial Borescope Handheld
Camera Series

The first is the Industrial Handheld Borescope Camera Series. This unit is a complete hand held LED video based borescope. There are two versions – one has USB output and is designed for computer use and display the other is video output and has an integrated 2” LCD screen and RCA jack video output connection. The Industrial Handheld Borescope is excellent for acquiring images in tight or hard to reach places such as inside tubes or pipes.

Plastic Dome with Microphone
and LED Light

Next are the Transit Cameras. Usually when we think of transit we conjure images of public buses. In this application transit is any mobile vehicle, whether military or public, where durability and image performance are vital. The Transit Cameras are designed to perform well in a variety of lighting conditions and have the ability to produce clear images from a close-up target to a distant target.

Metal Wedge with Optional
Microphone and LED

Specifically for public transit, such as buses and trains, is the Sentech IR Illumination (Day/Night) Transit camera, which uses special IR illumination to resolve two major issues on trains and buses – “hot spots” on close-up targets and illumination, one unit can evenly illuminate the entire interior of a bus. Both units are easy to install and maintain.

Security "Night Probe" camera

Finally, we have the Security “Night Probe”. This camera was designed to provide video in very low light environments. It is capable of “seeing” in completely dark environments without IR or visible spectrum lighting.

If you would like more information on Sentech cameras or have questions on how we can provide a solution for your specific needs please call 510 657 4000 or leave a comment.

- Parm

IO Industries DVR Express Core IN/OUT

2011-01-25T09:54:00.000-08:00

Digital video recorders from IO Industries are becoming more versatile and convenient. We have been seeing a steady and increasing demand for the DVR Express Core portable DVR with removable storage.

It's small enough to hand-carry to a data collection site. Data can be quickly and conveniently downloaded to a computer using its 3Gb eSATA port. As well, Core's quad-pack solid state drive shuttle can be removed in just a few seconds and the 2.5” SATA drives can then be installed into a computer for analysis using a download module.

The DVR Express Cores are currently being deployed in military, broadcasting, security, ground and air applications. Portability and versatility are fast becoming one of the hottest features of this digital video recording system.

DVR Express Core IN/OUT

- (1) Camera Link Base input, and (1) Camera Link Base output

- Maximum input clock frequency of 85Mhz

- Ouput clock frequency from 25Mhz to 85Mhz

- Supports monochrome (8 to 16bits) and color (Bayer or RGB)

- Ideal as a low-cost CL-Base recorder and/or CL-Base simulator

DVR Express Core Camera Link IN/OUT

We are now on Facebook!

2011-01-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

We are trying to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get in touch or stay in touch with Uniforce Sales and Engineering and have created a Facebook page. There is an open discussion about Matrox Imaging Library ,MIL, and we'd love to hear any stories about your experiences with the software.

To find us on Facebook simply login into your account and search for Uniforce Sales and Engineering.

- Parm

Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) classroom trainings scheduled during Automate 2011

2011-01-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Last year was a difficult year for small businesses and large alike. This year the economic outlook is much better. Slowly but surely the economy is improving and it's a great time to position yourself and your business to take advantage of this time by preparing for the new year with training.

Matrox will be offering two training courses, Introduction to the MIL/MIL-Lite Environment and Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) Processing, from Monday March 21 through Friday March 25, 2011. Participants can take one or both courses in Chicago, IL.

There is a 20% discount off the tuition for students who register before February 21, 2011 so take advantage of the discount and training to set yourself up for success and the upcoming year.

For more information visit Matrox MIL Training or www.matrox.com/imaging/en/. You can register at the Matrox website or send a purchase order to Uniforce Sales and Engineering.

- Parm

USB 2.0 Cameras now available from Uniforce Sales and Engineering

2010-12-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

We are adding a new line of USB 2.0 cameras from Sentech as well as Analog and other specialized cameras. Sentech specializes in the development of advanced digital and OEM cameras for machine vision, industrial, medical, microscope, military and traffic applications.

Sentech’s worldwide team consists of over 60 dedicated individuals represented in four countries. Sentech America opened its operations in Dallas, Texas in 1999. Sentech America has since established itself as a premier provider of digital camera solutions worldwide.

Check out the cameras available at our website. We'll be adding more Sentech cameras in the coming weeks to keep an eye out for announcements.

- Parm

Applications – Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

2010-12-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

Optical character recognition is widely used to recognize characters from a variety of sources such as printed pages of text, license plates, serial numbers, and product codes. It is basically the conversion of text/characters into a digital format that can then be used to electronically transmit that information, make it searchable or resulting in processing such as sorting items or sending out tickets.

Post offices in the United States and the United Kingdom were just a couple of the early users that adopted machine vision systems to convert postal addresses on envelopes to digital text. Of course there is then a mechanical process triggering sorting of mail and rejecting addresses that cannot be completely read by the machines.

OCR can also used to read license plate numbers from images of cars caught by red light cameras or speed trap cameras. Some cities in the United States are using license plate readers for traffic control and parking monitoring to track vehicles and monitor how long they have been parked in a parking spot.

Text to speech is another popular application for OCR although the results do not sound like a natural reader it is still useful in situations where conversion is required.

Recognizing handwriting is a much more complex and difficult task to accomplish using technology – I can’t read my own handwriting sometimes! But researchers out there are trying to figure out a way to do that too. Just might take a while.

- Parm Dhillon

Sample of Sudeep's handwriting that I decode frequently.
Handwriting is still a challenge for OCR applications.

The IO Industries Flare

2010-11-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

IO Industries has launched its first camera! The new Flare is a high speed camera with two different camera link models to choose from and upto 340 frames per second depending on the resolution selected. Talk about splitting seconds. How about into 340?

Flare 2M360-CL

- 2048 x 1088 x 10 bits @ 340fps
- Camera Link: Base, Medium, Full, Full+
- Increased frame rates at lower resolution
- Color or Monochrome

- 8 or 10 bit

Flare 4M180-CL

- 2048 x 2048 x 10 bits @ 180fps
- Camera Link: Base, Medium, Full, Full+
- Increased frame rates at lower resolution
- Color or Monochrome
- 8 or 10 bit

My First Vision System - Frame Grabbers

2010-11-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

"Ah, a little Satori for me today after consuming some Roborant."

Why is a frame grabber required?

Maximum performance (to avoid loosing frames)
High bandwidth cameras
For integral preprocessing
For on board processing – to reduce CPU load and also conduct processing at a higher speed
Food or fruit inspection
Line synchronization for web inspection
For certain applications such as web inspection of paper, wood, steel, textiles, etc.

Those of you novice to the field of machine vision or image acquisition systems, frame grabber is definitely a new term. The reason behind this is because in commercial photography the terms cameras, lens, memory card and USB cable are commonly used. Consumer cameras like Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc. do not require a specialized hardware to transfer images from cameras to the computer. Photos or images from a consumer cameras can be transferred easily using a USB cable or inserting the memory card directly into the SD port of the laptop, desktop or printer.

When I first heard the term “frame grabber”, like most of us, I Googled it to understand what it exactly meant. Even though a lot of documents are written on frame grabbers due to the marketing competition, except Wikipedia information, no other information is available. I guess a lot of these documents are submerged in the latter pages of the Google results pages.

This document provides a brief yet good understanding of frame grabbers. After reading this you will understand what a frame grabber is, the different types of frame grabbers, and the advantages of using a frame grabber.

Frame grabbers may be defined as an interface between an industrial camera (analog or digital) and a computer or laptop.

A frame grabber can also be considered as an electronic device that captures individual still frames from an analog video signal or a digital video stream.

The important functionalities of a frame grabber include:

Real time image compression to MPEG2, H.264, JPEG or other related formats
Temporarily stores multiple images on the “on board memory” of the frame grabber

Advanced frame grabbers can do on board processing, thereby reducing the CPU usage.

Frame grabbers can also be classified based on the camera interface:

Analog frame grabber which includes NTSC/PAL/RS170
Camera link frame grabber which includes base, medium and full
GigE Vision frame grabber
IEEE-1394 frame grabber

Advantages of using a frame grabber

On Board Compression: Uncompressed raw images from the camera can be compressed on the frame grabber before being transferred to the host PC either for saving or processing.
On Board Processing: Advanced frame grabbers have the capability of processing images on board. This reduces the usage of the CPU memory. In many applications a single computer does both image processing and motion control therefore onboard processing is an added advantage.
GigE Vision Frame Grabber: Most of the computers have only an Ethernet port. Many applications require the sue of more than one camera. In these cases GigE Vision frame grabbers play a critical role, in addition, using GigE Vision frame grabbers reduces bottle neck bandwidth at the Ethernet port. Bottle neck bandwidth results in frames being lost.
Synchronization: if two or more cameras need to be synchronized for a particular application, then a frame grabber would be necessary.
Triggering: Frame grabbers through its auxiliary IO can be used to trigger the camera. This is referred to as “Hardware Triggering.” Even though software triggering is possible. Hardware triggering is precise.

If you have any questions about frame grabbers or whether or not your application can benefit from using one, please leave a comment or call 510 657 4000.

Lead a good life with your wife

Optical Systems Group Meeting

2010-10-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ben is attending the Optical Systems Group (OSG) meeting this week in Yuma, Arizona. He’s been going for several years now to the exclusive invitation only meetings.

He will be demonstrating the IO Industries’ DVR Express Core capabilities using Imperx cameras and there will be discussions on how the new technology can assist the military in their endeavors.

About Optical Systems Group (OSG)

OSG is the RCC's Center of Expertise for optical imaging systems employed on Major Range and Test Facility Bases (MRTFBs), Tactical Training Ranges, and at National Laboratories. The OSG serves as a technical resource for the government's Test and Evaluation community.

Key functions associated with this group include the acquisition, processing, post processing, analysis, archiving, and distribution of imagery from both engineering sequential and Time Space Position Information (TSPI) optical systems for missions on land, in the air, underwater, and in space.

The focus on imaging within the OSG extends from the ultraviolet to the long wave infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The group provides a forum for its members to expand their knowledge base, initiate cooperative research projects, and improve individual mission performance via semi-annual technical interchange meetings, task assignments, and ad hoc committees.

These meetings facilitate the evaluation of new imaging technology, the development of optics related standards, the identification of areas for tri-service standardization, the promotion of common range architectures and the engineering of technical solutions for optical problems.

DVR Express Core - New Additions

2010-10-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

New DVR Express Cores from IO Industries are joining the current popular line of digital video recorders. IO Industries has released a Standalone version and a Camera Link VIVO.

The DVR Express Core Camera Link models can now be ordered as a Standalone configuration that can be operated independent of a laptop or desktop. A control shuttle and small screen is attached to the DVR Express Core to access and view recordings on the hard drives.

The Camera Link VIVO – Video In Video Out – provides yet another option for recording from various sources.
Both are available now. I will post more information as I receive it.

DVR Express Core Camera Link model

on the left with the Standalone version on the right

Fleet Week Sails Away

2010-10-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Navy ships in San Francisco departed yesterday as Fleet Week came to an end. An estimated one million visitors flocked to the San Francisco waterfront to tour the ships and watch the air shows. It was the biggest Fleet Week in 20 years.

I toured three of the nine ships: the USS Curts (FFG 38) a Guided Missile Frigate, the USS Pinckney (DDG 91) a Guided Missile Destroyer and the USS Pioneer (MCM 14) a Mine Countermeasures ship.

It was interesting to see up close some of the weapons that use machine vision imaging technology for targeting and mini submarines that search for mines. The mini submarines on the USS Pioneer use mounted cameras to help the navigator locate the mines remotely. Some of the guns on the USS Pinckney had cameras that could be switched between color, monochrome, infrared thermal imaging depending upon the conditions.

It was a pleasure to meet the sailors, marines and coasties who welcomed us into their floating homes and gave us a tour.

The Blue Angels ended Fleet Week with a roar that was heard and felt standing there on the waterfront and across San Francisco no doubt! Looking forward to next year’s Fleet Week already.

Guided Missile System - Remote control center. Images from the

cameras mounted in the weaponry are viewed on these screens.

Legacy Products

2010-10-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons why legacy products are still in circulation – they are in older systems that are still functioning or it’s too expensive to replace them without changing or redesigning the system.

An example of a legacy product is the Dalsa CT-P1-1024W-ECEW camera. This Line scan camera, Piranha CT-P1, dates back to 2001. Even by today’s standards the camera has excellent features but it should not be used in new applications. The camera specifications boast resolutions of 1024 / 2048 / 4096.

As time goes by it becomes more and more difficult to find replacement parts or cameras for these legacy products but a little digging around and a few phone calls later sometimes these little treasures can be found.

Call or email me if you need help finding legacy products for machine vision systems. You never know what might be hiding behind all the boxes!

Web site Phase 1 Complete

2010-09-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Phase 1 of the new Web site has been release and the home page is now live! It has been overhauled to give it a cleaner look with new images to more accurately reflect what Uniforce Sales is all about - Machine Vision Solutions.

Now it's even easier for customers, new and existing, to get to information on applications quickly from the home page. The new section in solid grey includes a link to the blog and products.

But this is only the first phase. Sudeep and I are now working on Phase 2 producing high quality videos. The first one is going to be about how to set up a basic machine vision system using the DVR Express Core, Imperx Bobcat camera and a laptop.

Keep checking out the Web site to see what new changes have been implemented and let us know what you think!

- Parm

My First Vision System

2010-09-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

“Learning gives creativity
Creativity leads to thinking
Thinking provides knowledge
Knowledge makes you great”
Dr. APJ Abdulkalam

"Alternate Fueled vehicle" was the title of my final year project in university. After familiarizing myself on alternate fuels, I decided to use Ethyl alcohol as the alternate fuel for my two stroke motorcycle. Unlike four stroke, two stroke engines require lubricant to be mixed with fuel, and therefore based on my Prof's recommendation, I purchased castrol oil from the gas station, mixed the fuel and the oil in 2:1 ratio and began riding the bike, within a mile my motorcycle began emitting thick black smoke and became engulfed in fire (yes, I jumped from the motorcycle and ran for my life). To receive compensation from my University and to prove my professor was wrong, I visited my professor the next day and told him the incident.

My professor replied by saying, "I told you to purchase castor oil (vegetable oil), not castrol oil, because castor oil separates ethanol from water ", being a turkey I asked my professor "So after drinking alcohol is it possible for me to drink castor oil to have a higher kick???” (because water will go out and ethanol will stay in the body). I was asked to leave his office. Many a times even though a lot of material is available on the net, we can still remain confused.

Almost everyday I receive a phone call from new prospective clients about building a simple, inexpensive vision system to accomplish a certain goal. Without being at the client site it is often difficult for me to make sense of what exactly the client wants. All he knows is that he needs a camera to capture and display images. This document aims to provide a brief idea to novice vision acquisition and processing users.

As Napoleon Bonaparte said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” So to ease the complexity involved in understanding a vision system, I decided to explain a simple vision system symbolically.

From the graphical representation we understand that the following components are required to build a vision system:

Camera
Frame Grabber
PC with a monitor, keyboard, and a mouse (or laptop)
Interface cables
Power supply for camera
Software for image acquisition and processing

Let's take a deeper look at each of theses components.

Camera

A camera can be considered to be the eye of the vision system. Image sensor which is present on the front end of the camera converts an optical image into an electrical signal. This signal then passes through several electronic components before being sent out.

Since this image needs to be sent to the control PC there should be a common interface mechanism between the camera and the PC. The different interfaces available today are:

NTSC – Analog
USB (2.0) – Digital
IEEE (1394) a and g – Digital
Camera Link (Base, Medium, Full)
GigE Vision

Future interfaces:

USB (3.0)
Coax Express
H.S. Link

The next question that pops up would be, How do I know which interface to select? The answer is, depending upon the rate at which you need to transfer data, these interfaces can be selected. For example, USB 2.0 maximum data rate is 480 MB/S, Base camera link would be 2040 MB/S. Distance between the camera and the computer also plays an important role.

If you are unable to decide on the interface, you can always contact me and provide me with the speed at which you want to carry out the inspection (eg. 10 bottles per second) and I can calculate the data transfer rate.

Please note: if the camera sends out images at a rate faster than the rate at which the computer can accept images will either be lost or the system will hang.

Interface Cables
Once we have decided the type of camera we would like to use for our application. Corresponding cables will be required. For example:

NTSC – BNC cable
Camera Link – MDR or HDR camera link cable
GigE Vision – RJ45 cable
IEEE-1394a or b – IEEE-1394 cable
USB 2.0 – USB cable

Next let us take a look at what exactly is a frame grabber and what role it plays in a vision system.
As I mentioned previously, the camera sends out a signal (data) which is fed into the computer. The computer cannot receive these signals directly, hence a frame grabber (a board that receives data from the camera) is used inside the computer.

Except USB for all other interfaces I would recommend a frame grabber. Why? Even though many modern day computers have IEEE-1394G connectors on them as well as two Ethernet ports, if your need to avoid frame drops or need to avoid bottle neck bandwidth then one must use a frame grabber.
Frame grabbers are generally inserted into the PCI, PCIx or PCIe slots depending upon the frame grabber design and what slots the computer has available. Oh, not to forget laptop based frame grabbers are also available.

If your application does not need a critical speed then frame grabbers can be avoided. If you want to know whether your application needs a frame grabber drop me a comment or call me at the office.

- Sudeep

New Web Site Coming Soon!

2010-09-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of redesiging the overall look of the Web site. It's been about 3 years now since I built the site from scratch and we feel like freshening it up a little. The major architecture of the Web site will remain pretty much the same. The functionality is still relevant. I try to ensure that visitors to the site can get to the pages within two clicks. Maximum is three clicks and this is usually for downloading documents.

The product pages need the most work in the redesign. We have so many different products and I am going to reorganize how they are presented and laid out on the screen so it is easier to see at a glance what the minimum specifications are. May be even a sortable table would be useful...food for thought.

If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to leave a note.

- Parm

MIL 9 Run-Time Licenses/MIL-Lite 9 Supplemental Licenses

2010-08-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

There are various Run-Time Licenses available for MIL 9 and MIL-Lite 9. If you have any questions or need more information please leave a comment or call 510 657 4000.

MIL image analysis package. Includes Image Processing, Blob Analysis, Measurement and Calibration modules.
MIL machine vision package. Includes Image Processing, Blob Analysis, Pattern Matching (NGC-based), Measurement and Calibration modules.
MIL identification package. Includes OCR and Code Reader modules.
MIL String Reader package.
MIL/MIL-Lite image compression package. Includes JPEG and JPEG2000 codecs.
MIL/MIL-Lite GPU Processing package. Requires appropriate additional package(s) if used with MIL (i.e., not required for MIL-Lite).
MIL Geometric Model Finder package.
MIL Edge Finder package.
MIL/MIL-Lite interface package. (GigE VisionTM and IEEE 1394 IIDC). Required if using a third party NIC or IEEE 1394 adaptor.
Distributed MIL/MIL-Lite package for master or slave node.
MIL Registration package.
MIL 3D calibration and reconstruction package.
MIL Metrology package.
MIL Color Analysis package.

New Era in Digital Video Recording

2010-08-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

One day soon the Gillette company will announce the development of a razor that, thanks to a computer microchip, can actually travel ahead in time and shave beard hairs that don't even exist yet

Digital Video Recording has been an integral part of Aerospace, Military, Medical, Biomedical, Life science and Scientific Research Industry. The limitation such as reduced disk space, reduced recording speed, fragile movable parts in "Rotating Hard Disk Drives (HDD)" has caused copious problems in Digital Video Recording.

The novel idea of implementing "Solid State Drives (SSD)" in Digital Video Recording was coined by IO Industries.

"DVR Express Core" is a portable, rugged, miniature digital video recording systems that enhances the capability of video recording through the use of "Solid State Drives (SSD)".

The Salient features of this Digital Video Recording System are:

 Uncompressed recording

 No fragile rotating parts

 Rugged, light weight and portable

 Compatible with Netbook, Notebook and PC

 No frame grabber required

 Implements e-Sata port (3GB), 6 times faster than IEEE1394b and USB 2.0 Ports

 Easy configuration with Irig-B and GPS units

 (6) Bi-Directional TTL Lines and (2) LVDS Input/output lines

 Supports Windows XP, Vista (32/64 bit) and Windows 7( 32/64 bit)

 "Raid" data protection

 Multiple Core synchronization on a single laptop/PC

 Power consumption with drives less than 35 Watts

 Well designed heat transfer mechanism

 Available in Camera Link, NTSC/PAL, Gige, 3G-SDI, S-video configurations.

 Supports 8/10/12/24 (RGB) Cameras.

 Easily removable drive sets for data analysis

 Free "CoreView" recording Software

 Set up time less than 10 minutes.

"We are Sure you will be impressed by its working"

The Uniforce Saga

2010-07-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1 A Dark and Stormy Night

People always ask me how I started Uniforce. Well we need to jump into the time machine way back to July of 1986 I just became unemployed and was feeling very low. I had no job and no prospects. So one dark and stormy night (I have always wanted to start a story like this) I was having a Jack Daniels, actually I believe consumption, at that point it was almost a full bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey when something magical happened. My Welsh Pembroke Corgi, Auggie the dog, spoke to me. He advised me that I should stop feeling sorry for myself, get out of my jammies and off the couch and start a company. This company should be in image processing business. I nearly fell off my chair, wow a talking dog!

After I got my composure back I then had a couple more Jack Daniels. Things became much clearer, maybe my dog had something. So the very next day I started making some phone calls. I found three benefactors that were willing for me to be their reps hence the beginning of Uniforce Sales and Engineering.

You could say I was the “Uni” in the Uniforce. Prior to becoming unemployed I had put money in the bank for a rainy day. I knew that the company would not be solvent for a period of three years. Well, to make a long story short, our first year in business we made $19.00. Twenty four years later we are a multimillion dollar company with multiple offices in multiple states.

We are recognized as one of the pioneers of image processing. Our products and services are shipped worldwide. Our cameras have been to the bottom of the ocean, taking images of the Titanic, and literally out of this world. They are on the space station, mars rovers and in deep space. We will go where no man has gone before such is the voyage of the starship Uniforce. I love that line.

Image processing projects can be as simple as counting how many sausages are in a TV dinner to as complicated as robotic surgery on tumors within the brain. We supply cameras, frame grabbers, lighting, lenses and image processing products and expertise to over 400 companies worldwide.

Uniforce sales and engineering gets involved in projects in many different areas from Archaeology to Zoology (i.e. A to Z).

It has always been Uniforce policy place the customer first. We try to walk in your shoes before walking in ours. That is why we are successful.

We are constantly striving to keep up with today's technology. This allows us to give the customer, state-of-the-art solutions at affordable costs. Due to the recession that now plagues our country many companies do not have the resources to carry out image processing projects. The cost of an image processing specialist is well over $150,000 per year, not to mention all the risk of potentially fatal project. We can help solve those issues cost effectively.

- Ben

I enjoy a two way conversation with readers so please feel free to leave a comment and get in touch.

Chapter 2 The Lean years (coming soon to a blog near you)

MIL Distribution

2010-07-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

“Sometimes I am confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is obvious obviously isn’t obvious.” Michael Stipe.

MIL offers an extensive set of options when it comes to licensing. From selecting the type of license used to choosing if the license is even visible to an end user, a good understanding of those options is key. To take advantage of MIL to its fullest, we strongly suggest that you take a few minutes the read the following:

MIL imaging software is a powerful image acquisition and processing software development package widely used in the semiconductor industry, medical imaging, research laboratories, production, industrial, aerospace and scientific industries to name a few.

MIL is available in two different versions – MIL-Lite and MIL Development toolkit.

MIL-Lite can be described as “baby MIL” i.e. shorter version of the MIL Development toolkit. MIL-Lite is basically used to acquire live images and carry out limited processing.

MIL Development toolkit is a comprehensive software development toolkit with image acquisition and processing features. Some of the processing features present are: blob analysis, geometric model finder, edge finder, pattern matching, coder reader and OCR (optical character recognition), image processing, measurement and calibration module, color analysis, string reader, graphical processing image, 3D calibration and reconstruction package, and metrology package. Run-time licenses are required in addition to the MIL Development toolkit in order to enable some of these features. We will discuss this further in detail in the next blog. For now we will focus on distribution.

[Note: At any instant of time, only one copy of MIL can be present on a system. MIL licensing is not automatic – the user using “MIL Config” needs to install (activate) the license.]

MIL Distribution

In many cases after an application has been developed using MIL Development toolkit we would like to deploy this application on other computers either in our own laboratories or our client’s laboratory/site without any modification or debugging. In these cases MIL distribution serves as an important tool.

Components needed for MIL Distribution

1) MIL/MIL-Lite DLLs

2) MIL/MIL-Lite device drivers (drivers for Matrox frame grabber)

3) License for appropriate modules/features known as a run-time license. [Note: Matrox has combined several modules together for economic benefits. Please contact Uniforce Sales and Engineering to learn more about combinations.]

Redistributing MIL

MIL DLLs and drivers can be distributed in two different ways:

1) Using original MIL/MIL-Lite DVD: if you are deploying MIL application within your lab or within an easily accessible range then the original MIL/MIL-Lite DVD can be used.

Procedure: Run MIL/MIL-Lite set-up program and choose run-time options.

2) Custom set-up is of two different types:

a. Interactive or normal distribution

b. Silent redistribution

Interactive or normal redistribution

As the word indicates, “Interactive” means interaction between the user and the software. In interactive redistribution your application set-up program calls MIL/MIL-Lite set-up program and prompts the user to proceed with the installation of the DLLs and drivers.

The procedure involved:

• Copy the contents of MIL/MIL-Lite to your installation directory

• Have the redistribution program call the setup.exe file located in the installation directory

• Run the setup.exe (client should select only .MIL-Run-time)

If you want to limit the content of MIL/MIL-Lite in your installation then Redist.exe program can be used.

Silent Redistribution

As the word indicates, “Silent” means the installation of the MIL/MIL-Lite takes place automatically without the knowledge of the user. It uses a response file to set-up the necessary parameters for the intended computer. Silent redistribution is intended to be used when the developer does not wish the Matrox imaging dialog box to appear during the installation.

If you have any questions on MIL redistribution please leave a comment.

- Sudeep

Next blog from me: Different Types of Licensing

Brief History of CCD cameras

2010-07-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

The credit of designing and developing a CCD sensor goes to W.S Boyle and G.E Smith from Bell Telephone laboratories. The idea of developing an analogous device using a semiconductor struck Jack Morton, Vice president of Bell Laboratories, after the development of the magnetic bubble memory. During the same time picture phone, using diode array silicon, was also being developed. The amalgamation of these two technologies gave rise to the CCD sensor.

The first three phase device consisted of 100 micron metal plate separated by 3 micron spacing. The first gate electrode was used to inject charges into the second plate and the ninth plate was used to detect charge. Plates 2-8 were clocked to demonstrate the transfer process.

The Bucket Brigade Device (BBD) from Philips Research Laboratory was also being developed at the same time, but for various reasons BBD was never considered seriously as an imaging device.

In conclusion to this blog let's take a quick look at the data transfer rate for various interfaces (click to enlarge):

As always, please feel free to comment or contact me.

- Sudeep

Seeing Lens to Lens

2010-06-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

I can show you the world shining, shivering and splendid through the lens of my camera...

Welcome back!!!!!

The similarity between my first date and the first day at Uniforce Sales was that both were strenuous. Lots to learn, everything I saw was absolutely new to me. I had used a Toshiba IEEE 1394 b camera as an undergraduate and therefore I knew its workings. On my first day at Uniforce Sales, Gary wanted me to get hands on experience with our lab equipments and asked me to play around with various cameras, frame grabbers, lenses and lighting. To be honest, I was astonished looking at various cameras, camera interfaces and frame grabbers. I must admit that I am a techno crack and I love developing new applications. I do get bored easily if I have nothing new to play with. Uniforce Sales through its clients has eliminated boredom in me by keeping me busy all the time...

Analogy between a human eye and a camera (click image to enlarge):

Classification of Cameras

Classification based on cameras:

Classification based on Sensors:

CCD Cameras
CMOS Cameras

Classification based on Camera-PC interface:

Analog Camera (NTSC, PAL, RS-170, CCIR)
USB Cameras 2.0
IEEE 1394 a and b (Where a= 400 Mb/s and b= 800 Mb/s)
Camera Link ( Base, Medium and Full)
GigE

Next post will be a brief history of CCD cameras.

- Sudeep

Open House June 24, 2010

2010-06-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great success with the open house. Ben and I went to the lunch meeting at the TEAM Christy offices where we met other tenants in our Fremont Business Park. When it was time to tour the office Ben called Sudeep to let him know we were coming over. Sudeep then recorded the group leaving the building and walking through the car park.

Sudeep had set up a Core DVR with CoreView software on a laptop as a security system demo. When the visitors arrived at the office he explained the three different stations he’d prepared. The first station inspected liquid levels in bottles and used a Matrox Iris smart camera, frame grabber and Matrox MIL software to pass or fail the bottles. The second station had an Imperx Bobcat camera mounted on a tripod looking down on various drugs for blob analysis determining which pills were intact and which were broken. The third station analyzed color images of pills to identify them.

Finally, the visitors were taken to the conference room where they were shown the “surveillance” video and Ben explained how this type of surveillance was useful in military applications and other settings. Ben also talked about the industries Uniforce Sales is involved in and showed the various components that make up a system – the lenses, cameras, frame grabbers, software and cables. verall a great success and we might do another tour for some of the other tenants who couldn’t make it at lunch time.

Here are some pictures from the open house:

Sudeep looking at broken pills.

Two camera systems for inspecting drugs.

Posters with sample images taken in imaging systems for analysis.

Imaging in Action!

2010-06-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

We’re getting ready for our big open day on Thursday June 24 when our neighbors here at the Fremont Business Park at Christy Street will be invited to tour our new office. Sudeep’s been busy working on a demonstration for our fellow tenants.
In the demo area we’ll be showing a complete system that detects liquid levels in bottles to check that they have been filled correctly with a pass or fail result. Then in the conference room the Core will be running and recording images on a laptop and displaying the images.

The meeting is being organized by TEAM Christy to promote communication and networking between tenants.

- Parm

In Pursuit of Knowledge

2010-06-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Uniforce Sales and Engineering blog. On behalf of the entire crew at Uniforce Sales and Engineering, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you. My name is Sudeep and I am an Application and Sales Engineer.

When I was pursuing my Masters degree a few years ago, in one of our sensor labs, our group was given an industrial camera and asked to acquire images. We felt that our instructor was a "fool" for assigning us such a simple task of capturing images, but having absolutely no idea what an industrial camera actually was, we began searching for the "Click" button, thinking it was like an ordinary consumer camera. After rotating the camera in all directions, in search of the "Click" button, we finally realized that we were the "fools" and that the assignment required significant amounts of knowledge and skills of machine vision. This was the first time I came across an industrial machine vision system.

Many of us working in the field of image acquisition, processing, and recording may have little or no knowledge on this extensive topic. A few of us who have a significant amount of experience may not have knowledge about the new products that are available in the market today. My blog entries will mainly aim at imparting knowledge to novice as well as seasoned engineers.

Even though the basic architecture of image acquisition, processing, and recording has remained the same as its beginnings, various companies have been striving to obtain higher performance, higher speed, better resolution, lower noise, smaller form factor, better on board processing abilities, and easy operability. As a result, selecting a camera, frame grabber, lighting, and software has become a complicated chore.

In the following blog entries I would like to explain the different components that constitute an image acquisition and processing system. I have found that it is easier to learn engineering concepts if we relate them to a real world scenario or human body analogies. View an example of a very entertaining analogy from Jim Breuer as he explains the effects of mixing alcohol by linking it to a party. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0AJPqKybs. Therefore, I would like to use human vision system to explain the concept of image acquisition and processing. Please feel free to give us your input by leaving comments or asking questions you would like to see answered or suggest a topic.

- Sudeep