Optical fibers are amazingly versatile optical components, used for everything from simple, compact go/no-go sensing to imaging to digital communication to precision gaging.

Smart, integrated, machine vision design warrants serious consideratino of LED lighting.

It is awesome to me when a simple lighting technique can provide outstanding results on difficult problems over a large range of sizes and materials without sophisticated optics.

Lighting is simply one part of a vision and sensing system, but it is a critical part.

Both materials’ optical characteristics and special optical techniques can greatly improve system performance.

Getting a good image can be critical to getting a faster, more reliable, and simpler system for both individual photosensors and vision systems.

The most challenging projects often leave me very uncomfortable at the beginning, but then the fog lifts in a week or so and simple, effective solutions emerge.

Machine vision has proven its value in factories over the last decade. As with digital devices, advances include improved computing power, reduced physical dimensions, expanded functionality and simplified operations.