NI Smart Cameras for Machine Vision

This page gives a brief introduction to the NI 1722 and NI 1742 Smart Cameras, the first two in a family of smart cameras from National Instruments.

The NI Smart Camera - Related Specification

For more than 10 years, National Instruments has been a leader in machine vision with a wide range of hardware products, including the NI Compact Vision System for embedded image processing and PCI Express and PXI frame grabbers for acquiring images from thousands of different cameras. National Instruments is expanding its vision hardware product offering with the NI Smart Camera. The NI 1722 and NI 1742 Smart Cameras are the first in a family of Smart Cameras from NI that feature image processing directly on the camera sensor to create an all-in-one embedded device ideal for automated inspection applications.

A smart camera is a combination of an image sensor and a high-performance processor that returns inspection results instead of images. While a typical industrial camera acquires and transmits images through a standard camera bus, such as Camera Link or IEEE 1394, to a host PC or vision system that processes the images, a smart camera performs all of these operations directly on the camera.

NI Smart Cameras are ideally suited for industrial vision applications including packaging inspection, assembly verification, 1D and 2D code reading, and motion guidance. NI Smart Cameras reduce cost and time of inspection by processing images on the camera with a PowerPC processor capable of running NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI) software, which is included with the NI Smart Cameras, or the NI LabVIEW Real-Time module and the entire suite of NI vision algorithms.

With the combination of a high-performance PowerPC processor, a high-quality charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor, and LabVIEW, users can easily create distributed machine vision systems that transmit inspection results instead of raw images. NI Smart Cameras are designed to tightly integrate with the NI family of programmable automation controllers and human machine interfaces. Now a single LabVIEW Project can contain NI Smart Camera inspection VIs along with code for motion control, data acquisition, and operator interfaces. In smart cameras, shared variables simplify the task of transferring data among the different components of an industrial automation system.

Features of the NI 1722 and NI 1742 Smart Cameras include the following:

Additional features of the NI 1742 Smart Camera include the following:

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ambient light control
Do your smart cameras have take care of ambient light variances?? Cameras we have worked with in the past are too susceptible to changes in ambient conditions. Maybe using a photovoltaic cell on the camera it could adjust it's light on the object? Can I have royalties for this idea if you are not already using a similar solution:) John
- John Shaw, Halla Climate Control. jshaw@halla.on.ca - Oct 17, 2007

Electrical Optics
What is NI Doing in Smart Cameras Vision? How about sharing your work along these lines. And together we can team-up to create improved Human- vision. The technology already exsists,but the concept and design have not come together to create the end results.
- douglas_lenard@yahoo.com - Sep 28, 2007