Machine Vision Software: What's "Under the Hood"

The successful application of machine vision technology involves an intricately and carefully balanced mix of a variety of elements. While the hardware components that perform the tasks of image formation, acquisition, component control, and interfacing are decidedly critical to the solution, machine vision software is the engine "under the hood" that supports and drives the imaging, processing, and ultimately the results. This discussion will detail the various ways software impacts industrial machine vision systems and how it is applied to achieve a complete solution within different component architectures. We also will take a brief look at general design and specification criteria and current trends in software that might contribute to greater reliability in some machine vision tasks for industrial automation. The diverse marketplace for machine vision technology features components and systems with widely varying architectures.