Machine vision is a rapidly developing branch of artificial intelligence. Simply put, machine vision uses machines to replace human eyes for measurement and judgment. A machine vision system converts the captured target into an image signal, which is then transmitted to a dedicated image processing system to obtain the target's shape information. Based on pixel distribution, brightness, color, and other information, this information is converted into a digital signal. The image system performs various calculations on these signals to extract the target's features, and then controls the on-site equipment based on the judgment results.
Therefore, based on the above description of machine vision, image processing and analysis software plays a crucial role. Currently, commonly used machine vision software in the industrial field includes Halcon, VisionPro, LabVIEW, EVision, HexSight, SherLock, and others. Each of these software programs has its own characteristics. Today, we will introduce VisionPro software, developed by the industry giant Cognex.
Software Introduction
Cognex®'s VisionPro® system combines world-class machine vision technology with rapid and powerful application development capabilities. VisionPro QuickStart™ utilizes drag-and-drop tools to accelerate application prototyping. This capability is applicable throughout the entire application development lifecycle. Applications are developed using COM/ActiveX-based VisionPro machine vision tools and graphical programming environments such as Visual Basic® and Visual C++®. In conjunction with the MVS-8100™ series image acquisition cards, VisionPro enables manufacturers, system integrators, and engineers to quickly develop and configure powerful machine vision applications.
The latest version of VisionPro is currently 9.2CR1, but these versions require a hardware dongle to function properly. Fortunately, an earlier version, 8.2, offered an emergency key feature, which can be used for learning and communication.
Software installation and activation
Turn off your firewall and antivirus software, extract the software installation package, locate the installation file, double-click to run it, and follow the installation prompts to "Next" to install. The only change you need to do during the entire process is to modify the installation location according to your personal needs.
After the software is installed, a VisionPro® QuickBuild icon will be generated on the desktop, as shown below:
Double-click the icon above to open the software and go to the VisionPro® QuickBuild interface. Double-click CogJob1 to enter the job editor interface, as shown in the image below. The interface displays the message "The license bit for this control is not enabled. Contact us for assistance." This is because the license is not activated.
Next, open your computer's "Start Menu" and locate the Cognex Software Licensing Center folder within the Cognex folder.
Run the software and you will see the interface shown below. Select "Install Emergency License" and then "Activate License". After the license is activated, the software can be used normally. Here we would like to remind you again that the software provides five emergency licenses, each of which can be used for three days. If you are going to use this software in your project, please purchase the genuine software.
Acquire images and complete a simple application.
1. Follow the steps shown in the image below to first acquire the image.
2. Add the template matching tool CogPMAlign
3. Acquire training images, modify training parameters, and complete the training on the images.
4. Modify runtime parameters
5. The tool's results are as follows, including the number of products found, the product's performance score, and the product's location coordinates.
6. Next, complete the settings for "Configure Sent Items" and "Configure Communication Manager".
7. Save the project files and generate the final user interface.
In this way, a simple product count project using machine vision is completed.
end
A completed machine vision project should include not only the software component, but also the selection of camera and lens hardware, the development of lighting schemes, and the execution mechanism for screening OK/NG products.
