As some of our fast East Coast readers might know, the 112th Boston marathon was held at the end of April.

If running 26.2 miles all at once does not appeal to you, or if, like me, you aren’t fast enough to qualify for this elite marathon-based on their current age group standards and my speed, I could run it once I hit my 60s-don’t worry, there is still another reason to go to Boston this year.

The Vision Show will be next month, June 10 to 12. Though it doesn’t require the physical training of a marathon, one piece of advice does pertain to both long distance running and trade show visits: break in your shoes beforehand.

Runners often have gruesome stories of blisters and lost toenails, and trade show visitors wearing the wrong shoes (you know who you are) learn the hard way what not to wear.

So come prepared, and stay a while. There will be plenty worth seeing at the show, including Vision & Sensors at booth 134. Stop by and say hello. While the plethora of information may seem overwhelming, it is convenient when you think of the assembled knowledge in one place.

In addition to the trade show, the vision conference will provide a lot of learning in one place, including the Vision All-Access Pass. The pass includes four days of training.

Session topics include “How to Develop Machine Vision Software Solutions” and “Guaranteeing Vision System Performance in an ISO Manufacturing Environment.”

Early bird discounts are available through May 19. And, if you plan to stay in Boston, keep in mind that hotel room blocks expire this month. Visit www.machinevisiononline.org for more information.

And plan ahead for Vision 2008, the 21st International Trade Fair for Machine Vision and Identification Technologies, to be held November 4 to 6 in Stuttgart, Germany. You won't be the only out-of-town visitor at the show: 1 in 3 visitors now comes from abroad and about 40 countries are represented at this event.

Visit www.messe-stuttgart.de/vision to learn more.

This month’s issue features cameras, sensors and software-and reading it shouldn’t hurt your feet.

With photoelectric sensors, vision sensors and vision systems, it can be difficult to determine which is right for your application. In “Choosing Appropriate Sensor Technology,” Greg Wiese and John Lewis of Cognex can help operators determine which is the most effective solution.

Software is another important consideration. Bruno Menard of Dalsa explains “Optical Character Recognition,” a component of an inspection system that can boost overall quality.

Andrew Bridges of Photron says high-speed video is increasingly used as a powerful tool to identify problem areas and to ensure top quality and efficiency throughout the production process. In “Selecting the Best Camera for the Job,” he offers some tips on high-speed imaging.

Jeff Schmitz of Banner Engineering describes “The Ethernet Enabled Vision Sensor,” and says Ethernet can reliably deliver all useful vision sensor information to a plant’s operation and process control systems.

In addition, this edition contains news, a code reading case study and vision products. As always, more information can be found at www.visionsensorsmag.com or in our e-newsletters.

Until then, see you in Boston. For The Vision Show, and the marathon in about 40 years.