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Browse our previous issues below, or browse and search for specific features or analysis & opinion.

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June/July 2020

Every grain counts

4 June 2020

How will the world feed 10 billion people by 2050 with no new land for agriculture? Greg Blackman speaks to machine builder Bühler about how optical sensing can maximise yield in grain processing

Two robots have been installed at Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark. Credit: Kuka

Helping hand for hospital testing labs

4 June 2020

Keely Portway looks at how robots are automating procedures in hospital testing laboratories, and how imaging underpins this

A setup for photometric stereo imaging in which multiple lights are used to illuminate an object from different directions. Credit: Advanced illumination

Guided by the light

4 June 2020

Matthew Dale explores the power of computational imaging, all made possible by clever illumination

Credit: Flir Systems

Analysis and opinion

Flir Q1 thermal camera orders for fever screening jump

7 May 2020

As demand for thermal imaging rises during the coronavirus pandemic, Greg Blackman asks how effective thermal cameras are at screening people for signs of fever

Analysis and opinion

AMRC's Kieran Edge talks Ventilator Challenge and supply chains

5 May 2020

Greg Blackman speaks to Kieran Edge at the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, about new vision projects and the presentation he is to give for UKIVA's vision technology hub, to be broadcast on 14 May

Analysis and opinion

Stemmer's David Hearn remembered

5 May 2020

Stemmer Imaging's David Hearn has died after a long illness. Mark Williamson, corporate marketing director at the company, looks back at Hearn’s career

Analysis and opinion

Automation proposition undiminished, say vision industry bodies

27 April 2020

The appetite for vision and automation remains strong, but there is still a lot of uncertainty at the present time, were the views of the heads of the AIA, EMVA, VDMA Machine Vision, and UKIVA in a webinar

Chinese hospitals have ordered 2,000 UVD robots from Blue Ocean Robotics since the start of the pandemic. Credit: Blue Ocean Robotics

Analysis and opinion

Automation demand grows in essential sectors, say robot firm CEOs

9 April 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of robotics and automation in many areas of manufacturing and society, according to CEOs of robotic firms in a webinar run by A3

April/May 2020

The panel discussion at the Embedded World trade fair

Power at the edge

15 April 2020

Matthew Dale looks at what it will take to increase the adoption of embedded vision

InGaAs and event-based sensors still rely on silicon CMOS readout ICs

Sense of purpose

15 April 2020

Greg Blackman explores the work being done on InGaAs sensors, along with other types of novel sensor that could find their way into the machine vision market

Communication needed in optical system design

9 April 2020

Oliver Fähnle, of Fisba, says optimising optical systems relies on communities in the supply chain talking to one another

Analysis and opinion

Industry 4.0 and AI to shape vision market

27 March 2020

Newly elected EMVA president Chris Yates considers what the future might hold for machine vision

Analysis and opinion

Datasets, annotation and experiments

18 March 2020

Michał Czardybon, CEO of Adaptive Vision, on how to handle data and image annotation when working with deep learning

Analysis and opinion

Is vision ready for the cloud?

11 March 2020

Raghava Kashyapa, CEO of Indian vision firm Qualitas Technologies, writes about the benefits and challenges of implementing machine vision in the cloud – and what this holds for manufacturing in India

Analysis and opinion

Lessons from 3D robot vision foundry installation

28 February 2020

Paul Wilson, managing director of Scorpion Vision, describes what it takes to install a 3D robot vision system in a Chinese foundry

February/March 2020

The Harvesters (1565), by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Wheat breeding gains from 3D data

24 February 2020

Greg Blackman speaks to Dr Richard Dudley about the National Physical Laboratory’s 3D imaging rig, which will be scanning wheat in crop breeding trials this summer

Cubert's Ultris 20 hyperspectral snapshot camera provides a more reliable alternative for aerial surveillance than conventional line scan cameras

Spectral snapping

24 February 2020

Matthew Dale explores the emerging alternatives to push broom hyperspectral imaging

Fulfilling promise of pick and place

24 February 2020

Keely Portway on the importance of vision for robots working in warehouses

Visualisation of the movements of road users in the city of Umeå. Besides counting the tracking over multiple counting lines, Viscando also analysed the tendency for traffic conflict. Credit: Viscando

Vision algorithms take control of traffic

12 February 2020

Greg Blackman explores the vision and AI technology transforming our roads, as the transport sector gathers for the Intertraffic Amsterdam trade fair

Pegnitz river in Nuremberg

Cutting-edge processing

12 February 2020

Vision technology will be one of the highlights at Embedded World in Nuremberg. Here, we preview what to expect

Panelists from left: Christian Vollrath, Wenglor Sensoric; Rainer Schönhaar, Balluff; Peter Keppler, Stemmer Imaging; Andreas Waldl, B&R; and Dr Klaus-Henning Noffz, Basler

Analysis and opinion

Vision not intuitive enough, say experts at SPS

11 February 2020

Anne Wendel, director of VDMA Machine Vision, reports from SPS 2019 in Nuremberg, where vision system simplicity was discussed

Analysis and opinion

Open standards boost embedded vision and inferencing

27 January 2020

Prior to speaking at the Embedded World trade fair, The Khronos Group’s president, Neil Trevett, discusses the open API standards available for applications using machine learning and embedded vision

Analysis and opinion

Translating user experience into AI edge imaging

13 January 2020

Vassilis Tsagaris and Dimitris Kastaniotis at Irida Labs say an iterative approach is needed to build a real-world AI vision application on embedded hardware

Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks. Copyright: The National Gallery, London

Analysis and opinion

Spectral imaging sheds light on Leonardo masterpiece

20 December 2019

Giorgia Marucci from Pro-Lite Technology visits the National Gallery in London to find out how hyperspectral imaging was used to reveal the history behind Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks

Analysis and opinion

How MTF curves aid lens selection

10 December 2019

How do users choose the best lens for an imaging system? The answer is Modulation Transfer Functions, Edmund Optics’ Dr Boris Lange explained in our latest webcast

December 2019/January 2020

The sensor of SWIR Vision Systems' Acuros CQD 1920 camera

Saving on SWIR

19 December 2019

Matthew Dale finds that new sensor technologies based on quantum dots are set to bring down the cost of shortwave infrared imaging

Blink and you miss it

19 December 2019

Greg Blackman explores the cameras used to capture extremely rapid events

Picture perfect health

19 December 2019

Keely Portway finds out how vision technology is playing a role in medical diagnosis

Keep pace with Gigabit Ethernet

19 December 2019

Bob McCurrach, director of standards development at AIA, updates on the progress being made in GigE Vision

Analysis and opinion

Making AI production-ready

3 December 2019

Following speaking at Embedded Vision Europe, Pierre Gutierrez, lead machine learning researcher at Scortex, writes about the challenges of deploying deep learning on the factory floor

Analysis and opinion

Sparse modelling with small datasets

2 December 2019

Takashi Someda, CTO at Hacarus, on the advantages of sparse modelling AI tools

Depth map from the SceneScan. Credit: Nerian Vision

Analysis and opinion

Powering stereo vision with FPGAs

21 November 2019

Dr Konstantin Schauwecker, CEO of Nerian Vision, describes the firm’s stereo vision sensor for fast depth perception with FPGAs

MVDK evaluation board with MIPI CSI-2 sensor and CXP interface board. Credit: Euresys

Analysis and opinion

Lowering development effort with IP cores

7 November 2019

Greg Blackman finds that purchasing IP cores for FPGAs is one way to reduce time-to-market for camera production

October/November 2019

The dawn of data

22 November 2019

Matthew Dale explores Industry 4.0 and machine vision’s role in the connected factories of the future

Surface-based matching in Halcon, from MVTec Software

Measuring the third dimension

22 November 2019

Greg Blackman looks at the latest techniques to capture and analyse 3D image data

Snapshot of shoppers

22 November 2019

Keely Portway finds out how vision is being used to gather data about consumers

The preferred connector for version 2.0 is the micro-BNC. Credit: Active Silicon

CoaXPress v2.0 addresses need for speed

22 November 2019

Chris Beynon, Active Silicon’s CTO and technical chair for the CoaXPress standard, gives an update on what’s new in v2.0

Analysis and opinion

Sensing the wood among the trees

17 October 2019

Greg Blackman reports on new hyperspectral technology presented at the Photonex show in the UK, and how the imaging technique is being used for forestry and food sorting

Vision Yearbook 2019/2020

Analysis and opinion

Turning research into revenue

20 January 2020

Generating growth from research and development can be a challenge. Julian Heaton, at Innovate UK, looks at the support available from the UK government to encourage innovation

Analysis and opinion

Chinese vision market strong despite slow electronics sector

19 December 2019

Jin Pan, chairman of the China Machine Vision Union, updates on the machine vision market in China

Analysis and opinion

Keeping pace with progress

12 December 2019

A year before the Vision 2020 trade fair, Florian Niethammer, at Messe Stuttgart, assesses the changes taking place in the machine vision market

Analysis and opinion

Learning in the 21st century

9 December 2019

Dan McCarthy, contributing editor for the Association for Advancing Automation in the US, reports on training programmes available for the modern machine vision engineer

Analysis and opinion

Inspiring young minds

14 November 2019

Danny Reed, head of education and skills, PPMA Best, on the charity’s work to increase the number of female engineers

Analysis and opinion

Best practice for SMEs to build business

1 November 2019

Dominique Bonnisseau and Corinne Tsamba from Tematys advise on the questions technology firms should ask in order to grow their business

AMRC's Integrated Manufacturing Group's work spans robotics and automation, integrated large volume metrology, digital assisted assembly and manufacturing informatics

The sky’s the limit

28 October 2019

Greg Blackman visits the University of Sheffield’s Factory 2050 where Rolls-Royce, McLaren and Siemens, among others, are investing in research on digital manufacturing

The fight for engineers

28 October 2019

Greg Blackman asks machine vision firms what strategies they employ when hiring staff

GenDC modular model decoupling data encoding or decoding from its transmission

Decoupling what to transport from how to transport it

28 October 2019

Stéphane Maurice, GenICam vice chair and director of software development at Matrox Imaging, describes the benefits of GenDC, the latest member of the GenICam standard family

Analysis and opinion

Bosch to cut engineering cost with AI

26 September 2019

Wolfgang Pomrehn, collaborative robotics product manager at Bosch Rexroth, says deep learning could reduce the engineering effort of introducing new products to a manufacturing line by three quarters

August/September 2019

Analysis and opinion

Lessons in training neural nets

26 July 2019

Limited data is a common problem when training CNNs in industrial imaging applications. Petra Thanner and Daniel Soukup, from the Austrian Institute of Technology, discuss ways of working with CNNs when data is scarce

Perfect pixels

26 July 2019

Matthew Dale explores the high-resolution imaging solutions emerging for inspecting OLEDs and other electronic displays

Electric dreams

26 July 2019

As car makers install production lines for electric vehicles, Greg Blackman looks at how vision is currently used in their factories

Imaging bites back

26 July 2019

Keely Portway investigates how vision technology is being used in the dental sector, from initial diagnosis, to quality control of prostheses

Analysis and opinion

UK manufacturing not investing in automation, says BARA chairman

20 June 2019

The UK is up to 20 per cent less productive than its major competitor countries because it is not investing in automation, Mike Wilson at the British Automation and Robot Association said at UKIVA's machine vision conference in Milton Keynes. Greg Blackman reports

June/July 2019

Keeping track of pharma regulations

26 June 2019

Matthew Dale explores how machine vision integrators are responding to new demands in the pharmaceutical industry

The sky’s the limit

26 June 2019

Keely Portway looks at new terahertz and infrared technologies being developed to inspect aircraft

Lighting goes organic

26 June 2019

CCS now offers a range of OLED industrial lighting panels, which are opening up new possibilities in machine vision, writes Paul Downey, marketing manager at CCS Europe

Updates on OPC Machine Vision

26 June 2019

Suprateek Banerjee, VDMA Robotics and Automation, gives an update on OPC Machine Vision, which provides uniform integration of machine vision systems into higher IT production systems

Zeiss's Smartzoom 5 digital microscope can remove glare from images by using angular illumination

Analysis and opinion

Reaching gigapixel resolution from a five-megapixel camera

23 May 2019

Reporting from the EMVA’s business conference in Copenhagen, Greg Blackman discovers how angular illumination and computational imaging can dramatically improve the resolution of a system

Analysis and opinion

Exploiting embedded vision at EMVA meeting

22 May 2019

Greg Blackman reports on the discussion around embedded vision at the European Machine Vision Association’s business conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in mid-May

Test image at 940nm

Analysis and opinion

Building low-cost infrared sensors with sub-micron films

21 May 2019

Imec is working to industrialise thin-film photodetector stacks on CMOS in order to fabricate low-cost infrared image sensors, as the Belgian institute’s Dr Paweł Malinowski explains

Analysis and opinion

Sticker camera addresses IoT imaging

15 April 2019

Greg Blackman reports on CSEM's Witness IOT camera, an ultra-low power imager that can be deployed as a sticker. Dr Andrea Dunbar presented the technology at Image Sensors Europe in London in March

Analysis and opinion

How to detect drowsiness with a neural net?

5 April 2019

Greg Blackman reports on the complexities of training AllGo Systems' driver monitoring neural networks, which the firm's VP of engineering, Nirmal Kumar Sancheti, spoke about at the Embedded World trade fair

Analysis and opinion

Infrared, China, and 3D stacking: CMOS trends

28 March 2019

Greg Blackman reports from the Image Sensors Europe conference in London, which took place from 13 to 14 March

April/May 2019

Breakneck speed for board-level processing

29 March 2019

Greg Blackman reports from Embedded World, in Nuremberg, where he finds rapid progress in technology for imaging at the edge

Detector developments heating up

29 March 2019

Greg Blackman speaks to Sofradir about its €150 million investment to advance infrared sensor technology

Freefall inspection and other quests for quality

29 March 2019

Ahead of the Control trade fair in May, Greg Blackman speaks to Fraunhofer IPM about three new systems it will present for quality inspection

Extending reach of robotics

29 March 2019

Andrew Williams explores the vision solutions for robot bin picking

Analysis and opinion

Sony presents next-gen sensor plans at Photonics West

22 February 2019

Ron Low, Framos head of sales Americas and APAC, reports from Framos Tech Days at Photonics West in San Francisco where Sony Japan representatives presented image sensor roadmap updates

Analysis and opinion

Stacked sensor with parallel processing built for fast, edge imaging

19 February 2019

Greg Blackman reports on CEA Leti's new image sensor, shown at Photonics West, which contains onboard processing and is able to image at 5,500 frames per second

February/March 2019

Analysis and opinion

Growth in computer vision gathers pace

20 February 2019

Jeff Bier, founder of the Embedded Vision Alliance, discusses the four key trends driving the proliferation of visual perception in machines

Food for thought

19 February 2019

The agri-food industry is on the verge of a revolution thanks to advances in precision farming. Machine vision plays a crucial role in these advances, as Keely Portway finds out

Life in the smart lane

19 February 2019

Matthew Dale discovers how emerging imaging technologies could make our roads safer and help manage congestion

Reflections on glass making

19 February 2019

Greg Blackman explores some novel ways of imaging glass, including a 3D technique to measure the flatness of glass panels

Analysis and opinion

The argument for free trade

19 February 2019

Anne Wendel, director of VDMA Machine Vision, writes about the importance of free trade for the machine vision sector, and what the VDMA is doing to promote this

Pages

Events

IFSEC

London, UK

08 September 2020 to 10 September 2020

AutoSens Brussels

Brussels, Belgium

15 September 2020 to 17 September 2020

Embedded Vision Summit

Online

10 September 2020 to 24 September 2020

PPMA Show

Birmingham, UK

29 September 2020 to 01 October 2020

SPIE Photonex and Vacuum Expo

Coventry, UK

07 October 2020 to 08 October 2020

Motek

Stuttgart, Germany

05 October 2020 to 08 October 2020

Camera colour pipeline training

Munich, Germany

07 October 2020 to 08 October 2020

Chii 2020

Graz, Austria

28 October 2020 to 29 October 2020

Stuttgart, Germany

10 November 2020 to 12 November 2020

AutoSens Detroit

Detroit, USA

17 November 2020 to 19 November 2020

Latest issue

Food, Agriculture, 3D Vision

Every grain counts

How will the world feed 10 billion people by 2050 with no new land for agriculture? Greg Blackman speaks to machine builder Bühler about how optical sensing can maximise yield in grain processing

Two robots have been installed at Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark. Credit: Kuka

Robotics, 3D Vision, Medical

Helping hand for hospital testing labs

Keely Portway looks at how robots are automating procedures in hospital testing laboratories, and how imaging underpins this

A setup for photometric stereo imaging in which multiple lights are used to illuminate an object from different directions. Credit: Advanced illumination

Illumination, Computer vision

Guided by the light

Matthew Dale explores the power of computational imaging, all made possible by clever illumination

Credit: Flir Systems

Coronavirus, Thermal imaging

Flir Q1 thermal camera orders for fever screening jump

As demand for thermal imaging rises during the coronavirus pandemic, Greg Blackman asks how effective thermal cameras are at screening people for signs of fever

Coronavirus, Aerospace, Polarisation, Medical

AMRC's Kieran Edge talks Ventilator Challenge and supply chains

Greg Blackman speaks to Kieran Edge at the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, about new vision projects and the presentation he is to give for UKIVA's vision technology hub, to be broadcast on 14 May

Stemmer's David Hearn remembered

Stemmer Imaging's David Hearn has died after a long illness. Mark Williamson, corporate marketing director at the company, looks back at Hearn’s career

Automation proposition undiminished, say vision industry bodies

The appetite for vision and automation remains strong, but there is still a lot of uncertainty at the present time, were the views of the heads of the AIA, EMVA, VDMA Machine Vision, and UKIVA in a webinar

Chinese hospitals have ordered 2,000 UVD robots from Blue Ocean Robotics since the start of the pandemic. Credit: Blue Ocean Robotics

Robotics, Coronavirus

Automation demand grows in essential sectors, say robot firm CEOs

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of robotics and automation in many areas of manufacturing and society, according to CEOs of robotic firms in a webinar run by A3

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