Vision Web sites fail to deliver
Jon Titus, Contributing Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 3/1/2007
When I set out to write an article, I am able to contact knowledgeable people at OEMs who give me the latest information about technologies, trends, and ways to solve problems. Engineers who must design vision systems, however, rarely have this kind of access: They often must rely on company Web sites as they gather information. Unfortunately, many vendors take a simple flat-file approach and put only a gussied-up version of their catalog on line. That approach answers the “what with” question, but it leaves unanswered, “how to?” I visited one vision company’s site where I found a section that purports to help engineers find the right camera for an application. I entered specs for pixel resolution, interface type, and so on, which yielded 174 camera choices. A click on a camera’s model number told me only whether the camera worked with the vision company’s products. A click on the camera supplier’s name led to a long “for more information” form, not to the camera company’s Web site.
This 20Q electronic game can serve as a model when companies want their Web sites to deliver application answers, not just product specs. Courtesy of Radica Games.
A lens vendor’s Web site promises to provide information about lenses used in machine-vision applications. But click far enough down the menus and you’ll find only a list of lens types, such as telecentric, zoom, variable mag, and micro-video, followed by specific lens data. Why would I need a telecentric lens instead of a micro-video lens? The site does not answer this fundamental question.
In each case, I had hoped for an interactive tool that would help me select products that would solve a specific inspection problem: Enter the dimensions of a product to inspect, its characteristics, required dimensional resolution, and so on, and a Web site would provide a list of possible cameras and links to manufacturers’ sites. Or, enter a distance to a product, the required field of vision, resolution, and so on, and a Web site would offer lens choices.
Neither site mentioned above came close to acting like an advisor. Instead of helping engineers solve a problem, they simply list product specs.
As an example of a simple, yet useful, tool, check out the JavaScript security-camera lens calculator on the 2M Solutions Web site at www.2mcctv.com/lenscalculator.html. Users can enter any two of three characteristics—distance to target, lens size, or field of view—and the calculator computes the other.
The kids’ game 20Q from Radica Games also serves as a good model for vendors and Web-site designers who aim to help engineers solve real problems. A player thinks of an object, and by asking the player 20 questions, the fist-sized electronic game homes in on the object’s name. Players answer “yes,” “no,” or “sometimes” as the game poses a question such as, “Would you find it in an office?”
Three possible answers for each of 20 questions (sometimes a few more) could lead to over a trillion guessed objects, surely enough for vendors to home in on the specific answers engineers need to solve vision-application problems. You can beat the 20Q game with things such as “silicon and “gun powder,” but most of the time this tiny brain wins. It’s sad when a $13 game beats out most Web sites as a way to answer questions.
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