Machine vision: NI introduces its first smart camera for industrial applications

National Instruments (NI) introduced the NI 1722 and NI 1742 Smart Cameras to provide engineers and scientists with high-performance systems at a low cost. Smart cameras combine an industrial controller with an image sensor and integrate with vision software to offer on-camera image processing.

By Control Engineering Staff December 27, 2007

National Instruments (NI) introduced the NI 1722 and NI 1742 Smart Cameras to provide engineers and scientists with high-performance systems at a low cost. Smart cameras combine an industrial controller with an image sensor and integrate with vision software to offer on-camera image processing.The new cameras are shipped with National Instruments Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI), an interactive software environment for configuring, benchmarking and deploying machine vision applications without programming. With this intuitive, menu-driven software, engineers can build complex machine vision applications incorporating not only vision algorithms but also state-based execution with looping and branching using the built-in state diagram editor. For more advanced applications, the cameras also integrate with the company’s LabView software and full library of image processing and machine vision algorithms.Built for use in harsh industrial environments, the NI 1722 features a 400 MHz PowerPC processor and the NI 1742 features a 533 MHz processor. The monochrome VGA (640 x 480) image sensor used in both cameras is a high-quality Sony [products.sel.sony.com/semi/offices.html] charge-coupled device (CCD). The cameras also provide built-in industrial I/O, including two opto-isolated digital inputs and two opto-isolated digital outputs, one RS232 serial port and two gigabit Ethernet ports with support for industrial protocols, including Modbus TCP. Control Engineering provides additional help with machine vision . —Edited by C.G. Masi , senior editor


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