In addition to conventional and artistic photography, there is the large field of industrial photography, for which special machine vision cameras are designed. This segment has developed very strongly in recent years and has become the innovation engine for sensor technology.
By now, 9 billion sensors are manufactured annually, with growth rates of about 20% per year. With such volumes, competition is intense, as is innovation.
Key features
- A wide range of different sensors in terms of the number of pixels
- The demand for fast sensors is growing strongly.
- The fastest ones can now process 30000 images per second.
- Only CMOS sensors are used; power consumption and heat generation are much better. Mechanical shutters are no longer necessary.
- Unlike in artistic photography, emphasis is placed on uniform sharpness over the entire surface.
- Cost-intensive innovations can only be justified with the corresponding quantities, which only this market makes possible. But these are also made.
- Machine vision cameras serve only a specific purpose and task.
Fields of application
- Security technology, surveillance
- Automotive industry
- Production monitoring
- Scientific photography
- Cell phones
- Aerospace
- Robotics
- Gaming
Machine vision cameras are generally well-suited for tasks in the cultural sector if equipped appropriately; image quality, performance, and price are in harmony.
The innovation cycles are pleasingly short.