Machine Vision
Lens and freeform systems for industrial image processing
Machine Vision steht für die Technologie der industriellen Bildverarbeitung, in welcher Maschinen durch den Einsatz von Kameras und Computern auf künstliche Weise befähigt werden, „zu sehen“. Sie hat sich zu einem wichtigen Impulsgeber der Automatisierung von Produktionsprozessen entwickelt und gilt als eine Schlüsseltechnologie der Industrie 4.0. Die von der Kamera erfassten Bilder werden an ein Bildauswertesystem übermittelt, welches diese Informationen so aufbereitet, dass Rückschlüsse zur Optimierung des Maschineneinsatzes von übergeordneten Prozessleit- und Steuerungssystemen berechnet werden können. Die Folge: Maschinen werden befähigt, situationsspezifisch zu reagieren und für einen reibungslosen, schnellen, und präzisen Prozessablauf zu sorgen.
Machine Vision applications
Especially in the control area of production processes, machines that can make decisions through this artificially generated intelligence are increasingly being used. Machine Vision makes it possible, for example, to check the surface quality, shape or position of measuring objects in the production process. Machine Vision has a wide range of industry-specific applications, from the automotive industry to solar cell production and the pharmaceutical industry. Machine Vision is, due to its effective and high degree of automation, a pioneer in industrial manufacturing and quality assurance.
Basics and advantages of industrial image processing
Intelligent image processing enables many processes to be designed more efficiently and effectively, production processes to be improved in terms of quality and production costs to be reduced. As a forward-looking key technology, new fields of application are constantly opening up, e.g. in the food industry or rail monitoring. Machine Vision is based on state-of-the-art optics, first and foremost high-quality camera systems. Perfectly imaging lenses form the core of such an industrial camera. Exact imaging, long service life and the purest image quality make it possible to meet the growing demands in many different areas. The quality of the Machine Vision is raised to the highest levels by means of finishing layers such as flawless anti-reflection coatings.
Perfect images and flawless image qualities can also be achieved using freeform systems. The folding of the optical beam path with consistently good imaging quality enables the miniaturized design and thus creates space for additional components. Space-saving and efficient, free-form systems offer a new and high-quality alternative to more conventional optical systems.