In the world of machine vision, as in any tech field, there is a distinct divide between hardware and software. The hardware includes components of machine imaging systems such as the physical camera, lensing, cable interfaces, the PC or processor, etc. and are defined by rigid specifications (i.e. resolution of a camera, processing power, bandwidth of interface). 

 Being realistic means to see things as they are without filtering them or trying to make believe that everything is OK when in fact it is not.