INTEGRATED COLOR VISION

COMMERCIAL MACHINE VISION WAS TRODUCED IN THE 1970S. TO THIS POINT, IT HAS NOT BEEM USED WIDELY FOR AUTOMATION IN MANUFACTURING DUE TO PERFORMANCE, COMPLEXITY, AND COST ISSUES. MOST COMMERCIAL VISION SYSTEMS ARE BASED ON VIDEO TECHNOLOGY WITH SEPARATE CAMERAS, FRAME GRABBERS, DIGITIZERS, AND PROCESSORS. RELIANCE ON VIDEO TECHNOLOGY LIMITS PERFORMANCE AND REQUIRES EXPENSIVE, COMPLEX ARCHITECTURES. THE MAXIMUM VIDEO FRAME RATE IS 30 PER SECOND AND THE AVERAGE COMPLETE SYSTEM COSTS OVER $20,000. IN 1991, DICKERSON VISION TECHNOLOGIS, INC, INTRODUCED THE FIRST COMMERCIAL INTEGRATED VISION SYSTEM. THE NEW GRAY SCALE VISION TECHNOLOGY IS SIMPLE, COMPACT, AND INEXPENSIVE (PRICED UNDER $2,000). THIS TECHNOLOGY PACKAGES THE FUNCTIONALITY OF COMMERCIAL GRAY SCALE VISION SYSTEMS INTO ONE DEVICE, THE SIZE OF A BOOK, AND WEIGHING LESS THAN TWO POUNDS. THE IMPROVEMENTS OFFERED BY THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY ARE CHANGING THE MARKET FOR VISION AS MANY MORE APPLICATIONS HAVE BECOME ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. THE PROJECT ADDRESSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COLOR INTEGRATED VISION SYSTEM. BASED ON CURRENTLY AVAILABLE CCDS, THE RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR DIRECTLY DIGITIZING AND PROCESSING COLOR OPTICAL INFORMATION. DEVICES BASED ON THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL PROVIDE THE ABILITY TO PERFORM LOW COST, HIGH-SPEED QUALITY CONTROL, AND VERIFICATION FOR AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING.