Glossary · Machine vision
Camera
Also known as: Industrial camera, Machine vision camera
German: Kamera
In machine vision, a camera is the device that converts light from the scene, focused by a lens, into a digital image using an image sensor, and transmits it to a processing unit through an interface such as GigE Vision or USB3 Vision.
- Machine vision
In one sentence
In machine vision, a camera converts light focused by a lens into digital images with an image sensor and sends them to processing.
Example
The inspection station uses a monochrome camera with a 25 mm lens, triggered by an encoder signal from the conveyor.
How it applies
- Engineering: Camera selection combines sensor resolution and size, shutter type, Frame rate, interface, housing rating and lens mount. The lens and lighting are chosen with the camera, not after it.
- Commissioning: Cameras are mounted rigidly, triggered in sync with the process and configured with exposure, gain and region of interest.
- Documentation: The documentation team should list camera model, firmware, interface settings and mounting position, and store camera parameter files with the vision program. Industrial cameras are often configured through the GenICam standard, so parameter names can be quoted consistently.
Camera vs. vision system
A camera delivers images. A Vision system also includes lighting, lens, processing software and the interface to the machine control that turns images into decisions.