Automatica

The fourth international trade fair for automation and mechatronics.

Aqsense

Aqsense (www.aqsense.com), a provider of 3D software libraries and solutions, will present its SAL3D point cloud processing tool box. Robot applications based on SAL3D will be shown by Aqsense' partner ImagingLab, a specialist in robot vision and quality inspection turn-key systems.

SAL3D features hardware-independent tools for 3D imaging and fast point cloud processing. The highly accurate and fast matching of distant point clouds using the Match3D tool with coarse registration allows 3D inspection and 3D comparison of parts not pre-aligned to each other. Data export is provided by CAD import tools and export to PLY 3D formats.

ImagingLab will present factory floor applications based on its robot programming libraries in National Instrument's LabView platform. This simplifies integration of combined robotic and vision applications, as all the development is carried out in one programming environment.

Matrix Vision

Matrix Vision (www.matrix-vision.de) will showcase its GenICam and GigE Vision camera series mvBlueCougar-X. Also on display will be the mvBlueLynx-X, a smart camera with a wide range of interfaces. MvBlueLynx-X contains powerful processors, the latest image sensors and a multitude of integrated hardware accelerators. Models with integrated illumination provide high image quality and the cameras are supplied with a .NET compatible MONO interface.

Finally, MvImpact+, the next generation of mvImpact, will be shown. The image processing library is implemented in C#, a platform-independent language of the .NET family. The library therefore supports different hard- and software architectures like x86, x64 and ARM with Windows or Linux.

MVTec Software

MVTec Software (www.mvtec.com) will showcase a preview of Halcon 10, which will further advance powerful 3D vision. MVTec will showcase a live demo running Halcon's surface-based 3D matching on a robot application.

Halcon's multi-view stereo can use any number of cameras for 3D reconstruction. It will provide efficient automatic acceleration through optimal use of the computing power of GPUs based on the OpenCL standard. Furthermore, the software is compatible with multicore computers, which would speed up the entire library. Halcon 10 will be launched on 10 October 2010.

Also on display will be Halcon Embedded, providing the entire functionality of the Halcon library on a low-current hardware platform. As Halcon has a flexible and open architecture, the software can be ported easily and Halcon Embedded runs on totally different hardware platforms, such as the Beagle Board or on a mobile phone (Nokia N900).

Halcon Embedded enables a program to be developed on a PC and smoothly transferred to a device (a smart camera or a proprietary processor). This is especially useful in robotics, in which proprietary platforms are employed.

Embedded systems are much more energy efficient, with, in continuous operation, an embedded platform requiring around 2-10W, including camera power. These embedded devices can therefore utilise passive cooling and be employed in clean room areas. This is compared to a PC, which needs between 60 and 300W, depending on the generation, not including the energy for cameras and frame grabbers.

Stemmer Imaging

Stemmer Imaging (www.stemmer-imaging.de) will showcase version 10.2 of its Common Vision Blox (CVB) programming library. The new version fully supports all 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows 7 and includes the AIA certified CVB GenICam driver that is compatible with the latest GenICam v2.0 standard.

The latest release of the CVB DVD includes new tools, e.g. CVB Movie 2, the successor to CVB Movie tool for sequence recording. CVB Movie 2 allows additional text meta data such as time stamps to be recorded into the AVI container. As an option, the user interface CVB Movie Interactive 2 is also included. It offers comprehensive recording and processing functions without requiring the user to develop their own interface.

CVB 10.2 also incorporates the CVB Metric 3D tool, a powerful calibration algorithm for 3D point clouds, and CVB Merge 3D, which allows the views from multiple cameras and views of the same laser line from different angles to be merged into one height image to minimise the occurrence of these occlusions.

In addition, the company will demonstrate other machine vision systems, such as a robot playing Scrabble by composing words out of individual characters based on visitor's inputs, as well as a solutions demo system based on smart products from Cognex, Dalsa and Sony.

Vitronic

Vitronic (www.vitronic.de) will present projects using the machine vision systems Vinspec and Vinspec Solar, as part of the 'Green Automation' initiative of the VDMA and Automatica.

Vinspec was used in the production of automotive actuators from Bosch, which contribute to more efficient diesel and gasoline engines. The piezo-injectors lower fuel consumption, increase engine power and lower emissions.

Vinspec Solar is used in the complete spectrum of photovoltaics production: for wafers, cells, modules or thin-film modules. The vision system checks for various criteria and makes inspection results available for statistical evaluation, optimising the process and lowering costs.