I just concluded a 3 day trip to the largest Machine Vision trade show — Vision 2011, Stuttgart. This was my first time there and I can say I was impressed. It was the place to be for everyone and anyone related to the Machine Vision Industry.
Firstly I must say that the show was incomparable to any show that I’ve been to (and I’ve been to a lot of shows in and around the world during my professional career in the USA). The exhibition center was right off the airport so its very convenient for people who are coming just for the show. the public transportation system with the trains are fantastic! Traveling to and from the venue was really smooth regardless of where you were staying in the city. Lastly – the exhibitors were so hospitable! All booths had hostesses offering drink and food when you visit them. One of them was even offering fresh pancakes and waffles when you visited them in the morning. So a big hats off to the show organizers.
There were quite a few product announced and on display this year in Stuttgart. Let me start with my industry partners:
Teledyne Dalsa announced the much awaited Genie TS series built upon their latest CMOS sensor technology. This has the broadest range in speed and resolution using their GigE vision interface. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some of these cameras to test them out for some of our higher resolution applications we have.
In the line scan family range Teledyne Dalsa has released a dual line scan camera with 8k/7 micron resolution and 70 kHz maximum line rate using the Camera Link. Wow! This offers some serious speed and resolution. Now we just need some fast processors and software to keep up with the scan speed. We’re excited in trying this camera out for some of the high speed printing applications and web inspection projects.
Spectrum Illumination released a new Monster on this show with it’s tripod light series. With a single high power LED, this light comes up with a modular design which allows you to easily combine them into various shapes by clicking them together (which also joins the circuits) and powering them with a single power controller. In addition there were some other high power LEDs which are going to be released shortly, so stay tuned for updates on this end.
They also had a unique booth setup – take a look!
From other manufacturers the overall theme in this show was 3d! There were some cool product releases with the introduction of an integrated 3d smart camera (from Vision-Components).
A toothbrush like 3d profiler developed at AIT was showcased at the show, and took away the Vision 2011 award for best innovation in Machine Vision. This scanner is equipped with a blue LED source and a pair of tiny cameras more typically used in mobile handsets, and generates a three-dimensional image of a full set of teeth in just a few minutes when it is moved around.
The highlight of my trip though was the fine German Beer and Food – Prost! A recommendation when you’re in Stuttgart — try Ochs n Wilis a casual Swabian restaurant off the Schlotz Platz subway exit. You will not be disappointed.. yum!
