17 vision Web sites worth a visit
Jon Titus, Editorial Director -- Test & Measurement World, 10/1/2002
Type "machine vision" into a Web search engine, and you'll find over 150,000 sites that contain these two words. Knowing you don't have time to click on all those links, we've selected an array of sites that provide good, fundamental information.
And don't forget, you can find suppliers in T&MW's Online Buyer's Guide (www.tmworld.com/bg), and you can search for past machine-vision articles in our archives (www.tmworld.com/archives).
An Introduction to Machine Visionbruce.cs.cf.ac.uk/bruce/Machine_vision_
tutorial/MV_Introduction.html
On this page you'll find "Machine Vision: A Brief Introduction," a handy tutorial that provides hyperlinks to other pages that explain concepts of vision and image processing. The Department of Computer Science at Cardiff University of Wales hosts this information and other useful machine-vision pages.
Automated Imaging Association (AIA); Machine Vision OnlineThe Association's site provides many resources for someone interested in machine vision. Look under User Resources for technical papers from vendors on topics such as cameras, lighting, and frame grabbers.
Carnegie Mellon University, Computer Vision Homepagewww.cs.cmu.edu/~cil/vision.html
The Computer Vision Homepage at Carnegie Mellon University provides information relating to research rather than commercial products and applications. One of the highlights of the site is its many links to test images. This site doesn't get updated too often.
Fundamentals of Lenseswww.mellesgriot.com/pdf/0017.4-17.9.pdf
Although called "Machine Vision Fundamentals," the information in this document covers the fundamentals of lenses used in machine-vision applications. When you start to shop for a lens, use this site as a source of general information.
Illumination for Machine Vision12.31.52.97/jenner/equipment/guide.asp
The Dolan-Jenner Industries' Web site includes an online paper, "Illumination for Machine Vision," that provides a good overview of the types of lighting appropriate for vision applications. The paper includes line drawings that illustrate lighting concepts.
Java Image-Analysis Softwarewww.neatvision.com/introduction.html
NeatVision provides a Java-based shareware image-analysis and software-development package you can use to create complex machine-vision applications. You can link your programs to a library of Java algorithms using a graphical user interface that lets you connect functional blocks on your PC's screen. The software works with Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and Sun Solaris. Price: $40 shareware fee.
Lens FAQwww.graflex.org/lenses/lens-faq.html
When you have questions about lenses, turn to the lens frequently asked questions (FAQ) section at this site. The FAQ is actually a series of questions and answers about lenses and their characteristics. You'll find this classic tutorial by David Jacobsen posted on other sites, too.
Lens-Selection Softwarewww.optimumvision.co.uk/support.htm
When it is time to select a lens for your camera, download the free Lens Selector software from Optimum Vision (Hants, UK). This software will help you select the right lens for your camera. The software relies on a large database of camera and lens information. (Look under Software Downloads.)
www.imagelabs.com/systems/itiover.shtml
A lens-selection software package is available from Image Labs International as a 1.8-Mbyte zip file you download and run. The Web site also provides information about calculating field of view, which can prove helpful if you want to use a nonstandard camera.
Lighting Fundamentalswww.mellesgriot.com/pdf/pg20-24.pdf
You'll find this five-page guide to lighting fundamentals gives you helpful, but basic, information about the pros and cons of various types of light sources used in machine-vision applications.
Lighting Techniqueswww.pinnaclevision.co.uk/illum02.htm
You've got to illuminate the products or assemblies you want to inspect, so check out this tutorial on lighting techniques. The material on this commercial site includes helpful diagrams that show how light can illuminate objects to enhance images acquired by a machine-vision system.
Machine-Vision Encyclopediaworld.keyence.com/topics/vision12/mv_cd_rom.html
Keyence offers application guides cataloged by industry and a glossary of terms on a free CD-ROM. The disk also includes information about the company's products.
Machine-Vision SeminarAutomated Vision Systems (Campbell, CA) provides an online seminar on the fundamentals of machine vision. Don't be put off by the required registration. The course contains useful information that can help you get started with a vision-system application.
Machine-Vision Tutorialwww.ph.tn.tudelft.nl/Courses/FIP/frames/fip.html
The Delft University of Technology's site offers an excellent machine-vision tutorial that ranges from basic topics such as tools and image sampling through more complex topics such as noise and algorithms.
Video Essentials Glossarywww.videoessentials.com/glossary.htm
Here's a helpful glossary of video-related terms. Instead of listing a simple definition, the glossary provides detailed explanations. An explanation of "black level," for example, takes more than a page. If you need video information, this is a good site to bookmark.
Vision Source Codewww.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/cil/www/txtv-source.html
This page at Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science site lists many commercial, research, and shareware programs for computer-vision and imaging applications. The links take you from individual Web sites to pages from companies such as Intel.
Vision-System Checklistwww.vision1.com/vsi/mvaques.html
Here's a checklist you can use to gather information about a machine-vision application in an orderly fashion. Questions range from the general to the specific, and the overall outline helps you determine what subjects you need to research.
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