Image Acquisition

The first step of any machine vision application is the acquisition of an image or a series of images that contain the visual data we need to complete the inspection task at hand.

The image acquisition process begins with the integrated optical system, which includes any lenses, filters, mirrors, and other optical components that focus and filter the incoming light onto the camera’s sensor. The sensor will then convert that incoming light into electrical signals, which are then sent to the analog front-end circuitry within the industrial camera, where they undergo amplification and conditioning to optimize their overall quality.

Following this step, the signals are converted from analog to digital format using an integrated analog-to-digital converter. This conversion process assigns digital values to the analog signals based on their amplitude. Subsequently, the digital signals undergo digital signal processing, where various enhancements and adjustments such as noise reduction, white balancing, and gamma correction are made to optimize image quality.

Once the image has been processed, it is transferred to a host computer using the camera’s specific data interface (such as USB3, Gigabit Ethernet, or Camera Link).

Upon reaching the host system, the image data is received by the image processing software, which may perform specialized tasks such as defect detection, object recognition, or measurement. In certain industrial applications, the results of this image analysis may be utilized to provide feedback to control systems, enabling real-time adjustments based on the acquired images.