May 31, 2010
Top-Line growth despite the recession could be registered during this past year in the so-called non-manufacturing applications of image processing and machine vision. A presentation of the first results – still preliminary – of the annual market study conducted by the EMVA, given by Director of Market Research Andreas Breyer at the business conference of the association in Istanbul this past April, has shown a respectable increase from about 12% to about 19% of total sales of European machine vision by these sectors in 2009. This number, a fifth of the industry´s sales result after all, is even more remarkable considering that the market data is gained predominantly in the area of “industrial” machine vision. Companies being active mainly in areas such as life science, security, surveillance, document management as well as ITS, logistics and military, are not even covered by the EMVA survey. This is based in the historical roots of the association. Both, the European association EMVA as well as the German VDMA sub-group “Industrielle Bildverarbeitung” (Industrial Vision/Machine Vision) have their roots in the “traditional” markets of factory floor quality control automation that started about 20 years ago. These “seeing machines” are today an integral part of modern production technology. Even more: the major part of automated processes for the manufacturing of all kind of products – from toothbrushes up to complete automobiles – would not even be feasible without the vision technologies. The golden days of annual strong double-digit growth, however, have come to an end. The American industry association AIA has forecasted a very moderate growth of 3% for 2010; their European counterparts still expect an increase in turnover at about 11% for this year. Beyond the traditional feeding grounds of machine vision, however, the world moves at a whole different pace. Allow me to hazard the prediction, that we will see imaging technologies in every aspect of our daily life ten years from now. Small airborne robots will be used to automatically visually detect structural damages on buildings from above, guided by robot vision in the first place. Vehicle flow on the main traffic arteries will be steered by individual on-board cameras based on data from the higher-level traffic surveillance camera infrastructure. Our vacation planning will be done at 3D monitors within the augmented reality environment of the trip´s destination having been fully digitized by 3D scanners. Miniaturized cameras regularly circle around inside our body and send out warning messages as soon as they detect something out of the order. Utopia? Maybe so. Maybe it will take ten years instead of twenty, but maybe this vision of the future is not yet even close to what will really evolve. Already today a vacuum cleaner can be obtained at Amazon for a mere 300 Euros that is guided through my place by vision. My cell phone is able to identify my vis-à-vis by face recognition, find him in my address data base and spare me the embarrassment of having to reply to a joyful salutation at the trade show booth with a sheepish “Sorry, what was your name again?”.
Gabriele Jansen
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Viewpoint | Tagged: Machine vision, Image processing, surveillance, EMVA, AIA, market study, life science, security, ITS, EMVA survey, VDMA, vision technologies, predicition, airborne robots, 3D monitors, vacuum cleaner, face recognition | 
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Posted by stephanienickl
May 6, 2010
It heals eyes and at the same time, it has the energy to cut through metal. It is able to write, to measure, to shape matter, and to transfer information: We are talking about the laser, a tool of contraries. As 50 years ago the U.S.-citizen Theodore Maiman finished the first working laser he probably had his own ideas of its use in the future. Otherwise he would not have spent his free time and threatened his former employer with his dismissal if he had not been allowed to continue his laser project. Not only Maiman, also the public in general was positive about the laser’s usage. The Time Magazine described the laser as “the hottest topic in the field of state physics since the transistor”. But Maiman’s rubin laser did not fulfill the expectations: the laser materials were too impure, the power too little. The researchers were discouraged; the laser was mocked as an invention in search of an application. There were successful experiments, like the one where a laser pierced a steel girder, but the conventional solutions stayed outclassed. One billion US dollar, the laser should achieve ten years later, forecasted the business press with enthusiasm in the year 1962. Turnover figures on which the economy had to wait for a long time. But today the everyday life is not to imagine without the laser technology: The laser beam reads the CD and DVD’s data, supermarket cash points work on the basis of its invention. The laser light is even used for entertainment in so called laser shows.
All the applications known today are possible due to the fact that laser beams are available in all desired wave lengths. For this, just the corresponding laser materials have to be chosen. Furthermore, laser beams can be generated as ultra short pulses. Especially in recent times, the pulses are getting shorter, the laser radiation covers the whole electromagnetic spectrum – from short wavelength X-radiation to long wavelength infrared. And meanwhile, they reach a peak power of some petawatt. But that’s not the end of the laser project which started 50 years ago. At the moment, researchers of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Californian Livermore try to realize nuclear fusion reactions with laser radiation.
At this year’s Control show, from May, 4 until May, 7, there were numerous laser applications, mainly in the special show “Contactless Measurement”. Combined with image processing, the laser is able to control the product’s quality contact-free, e.g. with laser scanning sensors.
Let yourself be inspired and sink your teeth into your idea’s realization, like Maiman. I am curious to see on which development we may report in 50 years from now.
Stephanie Nickl
Editor INSPECT
Leave a Comment » | Control | Tagged: Image processing, Theodore Maiman, laser, rubin laser, DVD's data, 50 years laser, laser technology, supermarket cash points, laser show, Control, laser applications, contactless measurement, laser scanning sensors | Permalink
Posted by stephanienickl
December 3, 2008
One of the trend topics during the recent Vision trade show in Stuttgart has been standardization. Boring, yawn, unsexy – one might think. But wait a second ! Standardization of the main parts of a machine vision system, is just the opposite: a highly attractive topic. And this is so for all parties involved. Customers and users of machine vision profit by standards due to the increased transparency of the decision relevant criteria, the improved possibility to integrate different modules with each other, the avoidance of interface problems and the resulting cost eficiency as well as significantly higher security of their investments. The supplier of the machine vision product gains from the subsequent increase of the product´s usage, owing to the fact that technical and economical barriers on the user side are reduced. It is also to their benefit, of course, that at least for the standardized aspects of their product range they do not have to re-invent the wheel over and over again and thus can direct their development resources to areas where significant competetive advantages can be won.
Before either one of both sides can leverage these advantages, however, much time, effort and a good measure of enthusiasm has to be invested. A successful industry standard naturally requires that the technical details are worked out by the industry itself and that the result is accepted and put into action by at least the major part of this industry. For Machine Vision, this work is executed today in standardization working groups surpassing the barriers of companies, countries and languages, supported by the three major Machine Vision associations: EMVA; AIA and JIIA. The current status of the standards has been presented during the Vision trade show with lectures as part of the Industrial Vision Days but also at the special exhibition „Vision Standards“. Organized by the EMVA and the trade show all three associations presented here the standards they host: GigE Vision, CameraLink, GenICam, EMVA 1288 and Lens Mount. This exhibition has been highly informative, well presented – one could even say sexy.
Leave a Comment » | Image processing, Machine vision, Opinionated, Standardization, Vision, Vision Business, Vision Markets | Tagged: Add new tag, AIA, CameraLink, EMVA, EMVA 1288, exhibition, GenICam, GigE Vision, Image processing, industry standard, INSPECT, JIIA, Lens Mount, Machine vision, Standardization, trade show, Vision | Permalink
Posted by gabrielejansen
August 20, 2008
Just imagine the possibilities: doing business globally without having to travel at all. No more wasting of hours getting to your destination, no more “you are selected for special screening” harassment on US airports, no more bad air, bad food and cramped legs with 14 hours hops to Asia, no more traffic jams, no more missed connections, …. Instead only warm and comfy sitting in front of your notebook, a cup of coffee next to you and the worlds biggest market place just one keystroke away.
Today you can already virtually test-drive your new Beemer or buy a pair of sport shoes (virtual and real) in Second Life. Maybe tomorrow you will be able to visit a trade show there. The products will be shown in 3D animation, including all the technical specs and the pricing that applies to your company. The salesperson has enough time for all your questions and enough expertise to answer them as well. There is no need to walk endless halls to get to the couple of vendors you want to see, there is also no need for stale coffee and standardized trade show cookies to get you through the day. In minimal time you are perfectly informed about the new products of your vendors, about some interesting new players on the market and you chatted amicably with your favourite suppliers as well as with a couple of business partners also visiting the show. – That is your avatar chatted with their avatar, which is even better since you did not shave this morning.
Nice scenario, very effective, very cost saving for your company, might be even healthy for yourself, compared.
For the vendor: even better. Just imagine being able to be present at virtually all interesting trade shows worldwide, without the hassle of shipping material and people all over the world, building costly booths and getting your equipment running without electricity in – say – Mumbai. Your products are represented always in the new version, information updated immediately, your sales force reaches spectacular peaks of efficiency and after you had issued the companywide rules of conduct for your employees in the Internet, your CI is transported flawlessly.
It is remarkable anyway how much, in general, the avatar today resembles the actual person as opposed to being some sort of fantasy superhuman. Admittedly, there might be a tad fuller hair or a wee bit less tummy, but all in all there is a tendency to design the electronic image as a match for the physical appearance of its owner. This shows that the virtual reality is on a clear path to being used as a means of transportation more than as a fantasy game place. Still short of “Beam me up, Scotty”, there is no faster way to travel than the Internet. Maybe Second Life in its form today is not yet the pinnacle of an electronic market place ready for capital goods, but the need is clearly there. This is also very visible with the increasing popularity of Internet business networks (did you know that there is an INSPECT community at http://network.inspect-online.com/ ?).
So are we already on the verge of a new way to do business or is the physical personal contact irreplaceable in the foreseeable future ?
Gabriele Jansen
Leave a Comment » | Opinionated, Vision Business, Vision Marketing, Vision Markets | Tagged: avatar, business network, global business, Image processing, INSPECT, Machine vision, market place, optical metrology, optics, social network, trade show, virtual reality, Vision | Permalink
Posted by gabrielejansen
