BOSTON - Point Grey and Cognex Corp. will jointly unveil a live 3D part alignment demonstration using Cognex’s 3D-Locate software and a Point Grey Bumblebee XB3 stereo vision camera at The Vision Show 2010 in Boston.

The demonstration will show how images provided by the Bumblebee XB3 camera are processed by the 3D-Locate software to deliver accurate, real-time, 3-D positional information that can be used for vision-guided assembly, logistics, pick-and-place and inspection applications.

The Bumblebee XB3 is a three-sensor FireWire stereo vision camera that is pre-calibrated to correct for lens distortion and image sensor misalignments. In the demonstration, images of machined parts are captured using a pair of the camera’s 1.3 megapixel Sony EXview HAD CCD’s. The images are streamed at 15 FPS over the 1394b digital interface to the host PC, where Cognex software processes the images to generate real-time 3D position data. The 3D-Locate software uses multiple features found by Cognex’s patented PatMax geometric pattern matching tool to determine each part’s precise three-dimensional orientation, including parts that are stacked or tilted.

"We are excited to partner with Cognex and be able to visually demonstrate how this unique camera and software combination can provide highly accurate 3D pose information in real time," says Vlad Tucakov, director of sales and marketing at Point Grey. “Cognex’s 3-D calibration and alignment tools are some of the most robust available, so that users can get exceptional results even under inconsistent, real-world lighting conditions.”

"One of the key advantages of the Bumblebee XB3 is that the camera case is specially designed to protect against mechanical shock and vibration. This helps the camera stay calibrated in a variety of different environments, which minimizes the risk of downtime from having to re-calibrate,” says John Petry, marketing manager for Cognex’s Vision Software business unit. “We’ve recently added support for this camera because we see its value in a wide range of industrial applications.”

The Bumblebee XB3 and 3D-Locate demonstration will be shown from May 25th to 27th, 2010 at The Vision Show in the Point Grey booth #219, along with a variety of other live Point Grey product demonstrations. Point Grey has been a member of the Cognex Acquisition Alliance since 2008.