Markets have grown increasingly competitive, which is why companies tend to face different challenges. For this reason, they need tools to facilitate and improve processes and their results. At E2M COUTH, we have artificial vision systems for many kinds of industries and sectors, which is why we will be talking about cameras for artificial vision in this post, along with their types and applications.
What is artificial vision?
To discuss cameras for artificial vision, their types, and their applications, we must first explain what artificial vision consists of. This is considered a scientific discipline that includes methods to acquire, process, analyse, and understand different images of the real world. This is why we might consider it a discipline that seeks to imitate the seeing capability of human beings, and can even surpass it.
What can cameras for artificial vision contribute to industrial processes?
Cameras for artificial vision are increasingly present in many industrial processes. In recent years, this sort of device has been used on production chains to control the processes with image-processing software. This is why, if you have a production plant, you should consider this kind of hardware and software to inspect products in your industry.
These tools conduct different tasks at a production plant, such as inspecting processes, quality control, and logistics. This makes it possible for you to have all the information you need to make decisions and avoid possible errors on the production line. Moreover, one of the main advantages they provide is reduced costs for no-quality for the company.
An example of cameras for artificial vision, their types, and applications, is that they can trace products at a plant. This means that you can control from the moment the product arrives until it leaves the production chain. In the same fashion, they can also conduct quality control inspections on the product or container, wherever it may be.
Do you know the main advantages of cameras for artificial vision in industries?
There are more and more companies using cameras for artificial vision in the many different processes at a production plant. This kind of device has a series of advantages that no company should be missing:
- Quality: One of the main advantages of systems with cameras for artificial vision, their types, and applications, is that you can offer a quality product at all times. Since you can control the processes, you can reduce errors and also guarantee that all your products pass the control.
- Productivity: Companies always seek to improve productivity. With systems that use cameras for artificial vision, they can put an end to products in poor condition, detect flaws on the production chain, and analyse any sort of situation that is causing delays on the work line. Visual inspection tasks for workers on the line are also a thing of the past.
- Human error: These systems attempt to imitate how people see, but without the subjectivity factor. What is more, there are always errors that are not perceptible to the human eye, but they are to these cameras.
- Homogeneity: The objective of all companies that produce something is for their items to be identical. This is essential. With cameras for artificial vision and the systems that use them, you can easily achieve this.
- Costs: At the end of the day, every company’s objective is to reduce costs as much as possible and increase profits. For this reason, with systems with cameras for artificial vision, you can greatly reduce costs, avoid losing material, and optimise different resources and processes that the company has.
Discover cameras for artificial vision: types and applications
To achieve good artificial vision, you need cameras for artificial vision. They capture light on the scene and produce one or several images. The light decomposes in wavelengths and the light we can see is known as the visible spectrum. These cameras for artificial vision detect these wavelengths, even the ones we cannot see with the human eye.
Cameras for artificial vision, types, and applications, can be classified based on their sensitivity to the light spectrum. The most customary cameras for artificial vision can capture wavelengths that can be seen by the human eye. We can see that there are two types:
- Monochrome: These can capture the intensity of the light on the visible spectrum, producing images in tones between black and white.
- Colour: These cameras capture the intensity of the light in three sections of the spectrum (blue, red, and green). They form an image in RGB colour.
These two kinds of cameras for artificial vision for product inspection are used to control a company’s production at all times. They can also contribute different key data to optimise production.
These are also certain cameras for artificial vision for certain specific uses. They are:
Thermal imagers
These cameras for artificial vision are a very useful tool in industry. They can detect infrared radiation emitted by objects and convert it into a visible image. This kind of camera can detect the temperature of objects in real time.
Cameras for artificial vision of this sort can detect defects in products based on their temperature, even when there are low lighting conditions. This way, if the product is hotter or colder than normal, it can be discarded as a defective item.
Hyperspectral cameras
Another kind of camera for artificial vision are hyperspectral cameras. This kind of camera can capture images of an object on multiple spectrum bands, which can detect differences in light reflectance of the products. This way, hyperspectral cameras can offer detailed, precise information on the composition and characteristics of objects.
Within an industry, this kind of camera can detect impurities or contaminants in the packaged products, based on their spectral composition. Having this kind of artificial vision device at your production plant is very useful, especially if you need great precision in detecting and classifying your products.
Here, we might also mention chemical imaging, which is a technique to obtain detailed chemical information on products. With these cameras, you can capture the electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by the objects. In the food industry, this sort of image can be essential to detect impurities or contaminants in food.
Camera matrix
Matrix cameras for artificial vision can capture digital images by using a picture sensor matrix instead of a picture tube. Each one of the camera’s matrix sensors matches a pixel in the captured picture. With this, the information from each pixel is used to create a digital image. This kind of camera can capture high-resolution pictures.
Of the many features that matrix cameras have, there is quality control, part inspection, object tracking, pattern recognition, and more. It should be noted that they can be set to capture pictures in different modes, like colour, monochrome, high-speed mode, high light-sensitivity mode, and more.
Line-scan cameras
Unlike matrix cameras for artificial vision, line-scan cameras capture the image in one single pixel line, meaning along one direction. This kind of artificial vision device is normally used to inspect products that are in movement. This makes them perfect for quality inspection on a production line, as well as to detect labels on products packaged while in movement. They are also very useful to inspect flat surfaces, such as to detect scratches or defects on flat materials.
Line-scan cameras are considered more efficient in terms of cost than matrix cameras. This is because they need fewer image sensors and reading electronics. What is more, since information is only captured in a single direction, they can be faster and more sensitive than matrix cameras.
In the same way, line-scan cameras can be equipped with different kinds of lenses to adapt to the desired application on a production line. For example, if you choose a high-resolution lens, you can use it to detect details on small moving objects. On the other hand, those that have a large field of vision can capture information from an area with just one shot.
What applications do cameras for artificial vision have in the industrial sector?
Along with software to process the information that artificial vision cameras collect, they have a wide range of applications within the industrial sector. They are:
- Quality inspection: As mentioned earlier, one of the main missions of systems with cameras for artificial vision is quality control. This way, you can detect defects and ensure that the items meet specifications.
- Object tracking: With these cameras and their systems, you can also completely track moving products, controlling their position in real time.
- Process control: There are different processes on a production line. With systems with cameras for artificial vision, you can keep them all under control so that the products are manufactured according to established standards.
- Presence/absence detection: Another mission is to detect the presence or absence of some object in the product. This can include whether there is less or more of the product amount, or whether an item has all the components before continuing down the production line.
- Identification and classification: They can also be used to classify and identify products, depending on many parameters, such as shape, colour, and more. This way, for example, you can classify fruits and vegetables based on their ripeness.
- Reading QR and bar codes: When products are labelled, there can be issues. These cameras can read QR and bar codes on products. With software, they guarantee that they are properly labelled and can continue on the production line.
- Robot control: At a factory, many actions are performed by robots. For these robots to work correctly, systems with artificial vision cameras can control them. This way, movements are precise and fall under the established limits.
Find the best artificial vision systems at E2M COUTH
As you have seen, there are different kinds of artificial vision cameras and a wide variety of applications. This kind of vision device is perfect for exhaustive control throughout a factory’s entire production. This way, you can avoid problems, like products leaving in improper condition, or with improper labelling, with the wrong amount of product or foreign objects, which could cause many problems for a company.
More and more companies are trusting these systems to guarantee that all their production leaves the plant under the best conditions, so they reach their customers’ hands in perfect state. At E2M COUTH, we offer artificial vision solutions that are applicable to a wide variety of sectors. Our systems are prepared for inspection, orientation, rejection, and marking for products.
These actions can be performed in sectors like food, drink, chemicals, Pharma & Cosmetics, and industry. This is certainly the best method to achieve a high degree of quality at a company.
Additionally, if you have any questions or would like more information about our systems, please contact us and we will be delighted to help you.
