From inspecting the packaging of consumer goods to surveilling traffic to identifying cells with fluorescence, vision techniques are increasingly being used in every industry imaginable. Whether you are using vision to improve the quality of your finished goods, guide your robot, or add traceability to improve your process, here are five considerations to keep in mind when you choose your vision system.
Software is the key
Ease of use is all about abstracting technology components in a system so that you can meet familiar application challenges as a domain expert. This means you can concentrate on your vision inspection while NI worries about how to make your applications work for different camera standards and take advantage of the latest hardware advancements.
NI LabVIEW graphical programming software also provides a powerful and easy-to-learn environment (compared to text-based programming), and gives you access to hundreds of functions to enhance images, measure parts, identify objects, check for presence, and locate features through the NI Vision Development Module.
Through software, you can model system variations to see if your inspection will stand up to motion blur, changes in lightin, and camera position. These common issues in vision systems can be seen in the image above.
Choosing the right camera
Each application is best suited to a certain type of image sensor, with options spanning area-scan, monochrome, and color sensors as well as specialty sensors such as thermal (infrared), 3D, and line-scan. It is important to be aware of inspection conditions when choosing among these different sensor types. For example, inspecting quick-moving rolls of textile requires a line-scan sensor while measuring hot metal in a dusty, dark environment requires a thermal camera.
NI has made it a priority to support the most widely used imaging standards and strives to integrate support for new technologies. With the NI Vision Acquisition Software driver package, you can use a common framework to acquire images from smart cameras; traditional plug-in frame grabbers using analog, parallel digital, and Camera Link standards; and consumer buses such as GigE Vision, USB, and IEEE 1394. These drivers are the first to natively support image acquisition from GigE Vision and IEEE 1394 cameras in real time.
Intelligent vision through industrial connectivity.....
NI LabVIEW is a diverse graphical system design tool, and people who use it are doing some awesome things. LabVIEW is used in almost every industry, and when it comes to the medical industry, nothing compares. Researchers using LabVIEW are making huge progress in their industries, and the latest and greatest from the medical industry is a cost-effective liver dialysis prototype for clinical trials.
"The combination of LabVIEW and CompactRIO hardware significantly contributed to the deployment success of the prototype of our innovative liver dialysis therapy. Using NI technologies helped us deliver the first system within just seven months.”— Holger Chab, Hepa Wash GmbH
Researchers at Hepa Wash wanted to create a prototype that met performance and specification requirements set forth by the company, and achieved medical device safety under guidelines set forth by the International Electrotechnical Commission. Researchers used the LabVIEW FPGA and LabVIEW Real-Time modules with NI CompactRIO hardware to control the liver dialysis therapy prototype, as well as NI Requirements Gateway software to automatically create traceability documentation between requirements, tests, and design. By using all of these tools Hepa Wash achieved authorization for clinical studies within seven months.
Most of the time when you go to the hospital it’s a game of “hurry up and wait.” You rush to get the medical attention you need, and then wait for what seems like forever until you finally see a doctor.Why is that?Well, sometimes it’s because doctors have to transport patients from one room to another to run computed tomography (CT) scans and X-rays to make sure the diagnosis is correct and that previous surgeries were successful.
Researchers at Korea Institute of Industrial Technology have figured out a way to help doctors save time and complete diagnostics and surgeries more efficiently.Their solution is a mobile X-ray imaging system that enables surgeons to operate more precisely and check a patient’s status instantly.
The research team used NI LabVIEW software and NI hardware to develop the mobile X-ray imaging system because of the expandability of the NI CompactRIO platform. Because this complicated system requires many different sensors, hardware, and controllers, the CompactRIO platform’s versatility helped to build the system by easily adding the appropriate modules.
With LabVIEW, the researchers created the mobile X-ray system in three months and provided the reliability, expandability, and ease of operation they were aiming for.LabVIEW also helped the researchers create a user-friendly interface and the core technology of the system, saving them development time.
In the past, technicians who test drilling tools and electronics for Halliburton had to manually simulate deep well conditions to make sure that equipment would be able to survive the extreme pressure under the earth’s surface.This manual system exposed technicians to high pressure, placing them at risk because there was no separation between them and the sources of high pressure. To reduce the risk of these testing procedures, Halliburton asked Optimation to create a system for technicians to run tests remotely, safely, and efficiently.
Optimation used CompactRIO and LabVIEW software to develop a turnkey layout and fabrication of a new valve, panel, and control system.
Today, bridge structures are tested with unique constraints. Vehicle loads and extreme conditions give researchers a better understanding of the impact these structures can withstand. However, bridges are not being designed for both of these conditions at the same time.
Researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno are using graphical system design to test bridge sections and the extreme conditions they may endure. To better understand the behavior of these immense structures during an earthquake and the combined load of a vehicle, researchers wanted to accurately test how the vehicles suspension system interacts with the movement of a bridge. They achieved this by building bridge sections and simulating earthquakes with large hydraulic shakers.
NI data acquisition hardware and the NI LabVIEW Real-Time Module helped the researchers easily program a system that could monitor critical components of their simulation such as strain, force and displacement. The ability to collect and process accurate data all with one platform made the test system a huge success. The entire system design gives researchers the capabilities to better understand the behaviors and movements of the structures we drive across every day.
Two important elements in a sustainable urban infrastructure are public transportation and green structures. Not only are they important, but they also help create sustainable living conditions for a
community. That’s why engineers at National University of Singapore created the first working prototype of a zero-energy bus stop (node) that was also user friendly for commuters.
Powering a zero-energy bus node that is self-sustainable requires electricity. The engineers needed to situate solar panels on the top of the bus node. To further the energy supply, they mounted the solar panels on a rotational base that causes the panels to adjust with the weather information received by a controller. Using the energy supply from the abundant sunlight created enough to power one entire bus node.
The next crucial element was creating a solar panel powered system. The engineers created a three-part system made up of sensors, actuators, and a controller. They used NI CompactRIO hardware and LabVIEW software to give the controller capabilities for obtaining up-to-date arrival times, current traffic conditions, and other navigation information for passengers right on-site.
The use of integrated NI hardware and software helped engineers create the first working prototype of a zero-energy bus node. This entire bus node is 100 percent self-sustainable in electricity consumption and Singapore now has a ready platform for energy control activities that will help create a more sustainable infrastructure in the future.
Today we introduced the C Series NI 9861 CAN interface and NI 9866 LIN interface, the newest modules in the NI XNET family of products, and the first low-speed CAN and LIN modules that integrate with the entire NI CompactDAQ platform. The CAN and LIN modules can help engineers increased productivity and flexibility through project reuse for a variety of platforms.
You can use the new CAN and LIN modules with the same NI LabVIEW or ANSI C/C++ software code on a variety of platforms including NI CompactDAQ, CompactRIO, PXI and PCI. Both modules also support synchronization and triggering with other CompactRIO and NI CompactDAQ modules.
We just introduced new additions to NI reconfigurable I/O (RIO) technology – a reconfigurable Camera Link frame grabber, a motion module for the NI CompactRIO platform, and six new custom brushless DC motors.
Ideal for advanced inspection and imaging applications, the NI PCIe-1473R frame grabber is a PC-based embedded vision board that combines FPGA technology with a Camera Link interface. The new frame grabber’s onboard FPGA can be programmed with the NI LabVIEW FPGA Module for custom image processing and analysis in real time. It also features a high-bandwidth 850 MB/s Camera Link bus to support a range of Camera Link configurations and includes Power over Camera Link (PoCL) wireless capabilities, removing the need for additional cables or external power supply.
For advanced motion control challenges, the NI 9502 motion drive module for CompactRIO can power brushless, stepper or brushed servo motors directly with NI C Series modules to provide a compact, highly customizable motion drive solution. With 4 A continuous/8 A peak current, multiple commutation modes and direct connectivity with our six new three-phase brushless DC motors and integration with LabVIEW FPGA, the NI 9502 helps engineers implement proprietary custom drive control algorithms, eliminating the need for custom firmware from a drive manufacturer.
The writing's on the (water) wall: this week's LabVIEW demo unites art and science, and it is a match made in heaven. Imagine shimmering sprays of water against a backdrop of colorful light. With just the click of a mouse, the streams speed up, slow down, spell out names, trace intricate patterns, and draw beautiful things like hearts, smiling faces, and the initials NI. The engineers at Optimation Technology designed this über cool writing waterfall for trade shows and conferences, and it's currently making a splashy appearance at NIWeek 2011.
The waterfall uses NI CompactRIO (cRIO-9073), and its user interface was written with NI LabVIEW software. The power of LabVIEW allows its user to transform input data into liquid art by simply drawing his cursor on the computer interface. CompactRIO has much more capacity than the current application requires, so the team has a ton of room for future innovations. If you're currently at NIWeek, be sure to check out this cool demo in the Embedded Control Product Showcase on the NIWeek expo floor!
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NI has expanded its reconfigurable I/O (RIO) platform with the addition of the highest performance and first multicore CompactRIO systems and smallest NI Single-Board RIO devices.
The new NI cRIO-908x systems feature an Intel® Core™ i7 dual-core 1.33 GHz processor and up to a Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA to deliver the highest processing power of any CompactRIO product. The controllers can be configured with a Windows Embedded Standard 7 OS configuration, which gives you access to a broad ecosystem of Windows-based software and integrated graphics, or a real-time OS for reliable, deterministic performance. The systems provide a variety of high-performance peripheral connectivity including two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a MXI Express port, four USB ports, RS232 and RS485 serial ports and a new CPU eXpansion Module (CXM) that makes it possible to add custom connectivity and expansion to CompactRIO using industry standard protocols.
For high-volume and OEM applications, the new NI sbRIO-9605/06 devices are sized from less than 102.87 mm x 96.52 mm and offer greater customization and I/O support than previous versions. The devices feature a 400 MHz processor and Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA to provide reliability and performance at a low price point. The devices also offer built-in peripherals such as RS232, CAN, USB and Ethernet. Additionally, the new devices feature a high-density and high-bandwidth connecter that gives you direct access to the FPGA and processor as well as the ability to add peripherals for further customization.
NI RIO technology combines LabVIEW with commercial off-the-shelf hardware to simplify development and shorten time to market when designing advanced control, monitoring and test systems. NI RIO hardware, which includes CompactRIO, NI Single-Board RIO, R Series boards and PXI-based NI FlexRIO, features an architecture with powerful floating-point processors, reconfigurable FPGAs and modular I/O. All NI RIO hardware components are programmed with LabVIEW to give you the ability to rapidly create custom timing, signal processing and control for I/O without requiring expertise in low-level hardware description languages or board-level design.
LabVIEW in Action
To see how people inside and outside of NI are using LabVIEW in some of the most technical, hilarious, and/or DIY applications, keep a lookout on this LabVIEW in Action blog.
