Machine vision lighting is a broad topic but a short article can be useful because some core concepts are not widely known. We’ll start with three core statements.

Computational imaging technology has found its way into industrial automated inspection, where the creative use of illumination components has emerged as an enabling technology providing valuable imaging capabilities.

As the field of machine vision grows, it becomes increasingly important to understand what makes a machine vision system work well.

One constant in the ever-evolving machine vision space is the need for high-quality, consistent lighting. New challenges in the design and specification of machine vision systems require an innovative approach to lighting selection.

Color is a critical part of any product. It’s the first thing your customer sees. Whether you are manufacturing components for assembly or finished assembled goods, the color has to be right every time or you risk scrapping, reworking, or discounting the product. This impacts your bottom line.

Part 1 of this three-part series examined how to identify characteristics of the object and the background you can use to create contrast with the illumination source for your machine vision application. This second part looks at how you go about choosing a light source to take advantage of the characteristics that create contrast. 

You have probably heard, and perhaps experienced, that lighting is a big challenge in applying machine vision and a vital key to its successful application. 

Much of the latest news surrounding machine vision is about machine learning and the innovations regarding algorithms. But those algorithms need data to perform correctly. The data in this case is the images. It is imperative to capture the best image possible so that the algorithms can perform at their highest level.

Industrial machine vision cameras and sensors are finding their way into applications both on and off the manufacturing floor.