A smart camera in the machine vision market is defined by its system architecture, experts say. Specifically, a smart camera packages an imaging sensor, sensor interface, computer, and I/O interface into a single package.

Lens and camera sensor technology tends to co-evolve. As cameras drive to smaller and smaller pixel sizes with growing formats, lenses need to be designed to match those higher capabilities. 

Pixelink, a Navitar Company, has released their new polarization machine vision camera built around the Sony IMX250MZR Pregius global shutter CMOS sensor.

With a firmware update, Allied Vision extends the feature set of the Mako G cameras equipped with Sony Pregius CMOS sensor. The Mako G-040, Mako G-158, Mako G-234, Mako G-319as well as Mako G-507 now support IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) support and action commands for triggering the camera via the Ethernet connection (ToE).

New computer vision applications are obtaining maximum image quality by combining high resolution, low-flare lenses with large format, high resolution global shutter sensors.

With the introduction of CMOS-based image sensors, camera manufacturers have introduced products with ever increasing frame rates.

The cell phone industry has been the single largest driver of new CMOS image sensor technology for the past ten years—smaller pixels, higher sensitivity, and lower noise—all in a bid to decrease sensor cost and capture ever higher quality still and video imagery for human consumption.

Over the past several years, there has been a major realignment and consolidation among the companies that design, manufacture, and distribute image sensors.