Barcelona/Stuttgart, ​​6 November, 2018. On the occasion of VISION 2018, EMVA invited media representatives to a press conference on 6 November 2018.

The president of EMVA, Jochem Herrmann, and the guest speakers, the chairmen of the two new EMVA standardization initiatives, informed the media about the current status of standardization and gave an outlook on further activities of EMVA in 2019.

Press Briefing:

New EMVA Standard Initiative: Embedded Vision Interface Standard

Cameras and PCs as the main components of machine vision systems tremendously miniaturized over the last years. The combination of a processing board with a powerful small camera, make it possible to design a very compact vision system which can be integrated into a larger system. Such systems are called embedded vision systems and are of high interest to the machine vision industry. However, adaptation is needed in order to enable industrial solutions to use embedded systems. Hosted by the EMVA, in August 2018 a new standard initiative formed to address these needs.

Embedded systems for industrial solutions

With an impressive support from the machine vision industry, the standardization group develops a standard to achieve an easy integration and exchange of different embedded cameras within embedded vision applications. Already more than 40 companies are showing interest in this initiative and the working group of the standard includes delegates from Adimec, Allied Vision, Alysium, Avaldata, Basler, Baumer, Euresys, Flir, Framos, Matrix Vision, and Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation.

Using reusable modules in kernel-mode, developers of embedded vision systems could reduce integration efforts, development time and – as a result – costs. The needed components such as light, lens, camera and computer could be integrated and connected to embedded boards more easily.

Another goal is to give embedded system designer access to the machine vision standard GenICam (Generic Interface for Cameras), a generic programming interface for all kinds of devices. With this standard they would also benefit from the advantages of an identical application programming interface (API) and the easy-to-use GenICam modules, regardless of the interface technology. In addition, standard group intends to define GenTL as the main kernel-to-user interface.

Another important aspect the Embedded Vision Standard is intended to solve is the enhancement of the sensor interface standards SLVS-EC / MIPI CSI-2 D-Phy with recommendations for hardware components, like cables and connectors.

The next steps of the standard initiative are a white paper with concepts and goals to be adopted early next year. A first release candidate is targeted in 2020.

New EMVA Standard Initiative: Open Lens Communication Standard

Amazingly, there is one component in an image system that has not yet changed since the early days of the machine vision industry: the lens mount. C-mount is the most common type of screw lens mount and much older than the machine vision industry. In the constantly changing world of machine vision, the lens mount seems to be something rock solid. But this also hindered progress. Already in 1987 Canon introduced the Electro-Optical System (EOS) for digital information and power transmission between SLR cameras and lenses, and used it to produce lenses with built-in auto focus motors. Such a standardized system is still not available for the machine vision industry.

Take all the possibilities that have already been implemented in commercial system cameras plus modern methods of computational imaging, and combine these with the processing capacities of modern embedded vision systems. Only then one gets an idea of how powerful and different the next generation of image acquisition systems could be and what the machine vision industry still misses with an open standardized lens-to-camera communication. This includes auto focus systems (also with liquid lenses), setting the focal length for zoom lenses, control and reading the aperture setting, and inquiry of lens properties by the cameras, such as aperture dependent lens shading, geometrical distortion, and lateral chromatic aberration. With this information the camera can automatically correct these distortions. Automatically capturing a focus series, and computing depth maps and images with extended depth of field and correction or modification of the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the lens or camera system are also possible.

This is why the EMVA has decided to start a new standardization group on an open lens camera communication standard, which may have different mechanical connections but a common protocol closely linked to the GenICam Standard. A first meeting of the standardization group took place on 9 July at Heidelberg University with an initial setup of the group. Marcel Naggatz from Baumer Optronic and Erik Widding from Birger Engineering were elected as Chair and Vice-Chair of the standard initiative. Already, major camera and optics manufactures have joined the working group. The second meeting will take place from 3-4 December in Radeberg, Germany. All interested companies and research institutes are invited to join this standardization initiative.

First meeting of standard group end of August with major machine vision players / Thomas Lück from Allied Vision elected Chair

Barcelona/Hamburg, 09 October, 2018. The work on a common embedded vision standard has begun. With an impressive support from machine vision industry players and associations the first meeting of the respective standard group took place on 22-23 August in Hamburg. Currently involved companies in this new standard initiative include 3M, Adimec, Allied Vision, Basler, Baumer, FLIR, FRAMOS, ON Semi, Sensor2Image, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, and Stemmer Imaging. The Japan Industrial Imaging Association (JIIA) was present as well as the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA). The EMVA is set to be the host association of the new standard.

“The large and prominent list of supporters indicates the necessity to create such an embedded vision standard for the industry”, said the new elected Chair of the standard initiative, Thomas Lück from Allied Vision. “I am positive that progress in the development of the new standard will be fast and we certainly have news to tell during VISION 2018. This will also include the final name of the standard.” Along with Thomas Lück as Chair, Werner Feith from Sensor to Image and Miho Akahide from Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation were elected as Co-Chairs.

EMVA President Jochem Herrmann is delighted about the outcome of the inaugural meeting: “This first meeting proved to be very productive. Immediately the relevant areas of work were addressed such as the use of the sensor interface standard SLVS-EC IF; the kernel side of software; and the user side of software which includes how to link to key elements of the already existing GenICam standard which is also hosted by the EMVA. One maxim of our work is to achieve plug-and play for embedded cameras and to provide ease of exchange when using different embedded cameras.”

About EMVA:

Founded in May 2003 in Barcelona, the European Machine Vision Association currently has about 120+ members representing more than 20 nations. Its aim is to promote the development and use of machine vision technology and to support the interests of its members – machine vision companies, research institutions and national machine vision associations. The main fields of work of EMVA are: standardization, statistics, the annual EMVA Business Conference and other networking events, European research funding, public relations and marketing. To find out more visit the web site www.emva.org.

EMVA Standards Manager died at age 39

Barcelona, ​​19 September, 2018. The EMVA Board of Directors and the entire EMVA staff are shocked about the sudden and unexpected death of Arnaud Darmont who died on September 12^th after a tragic accident in the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico/USA. “With the death of Arnaud, the EMVA and in more general the entire imaging industry lost a bright and driven person who contributed significantly to both educating and advancing the industry” said EMVA President Jochem Herrmann. “Arnaud will be terribly missed. Our thoughts are with his parents and his brother”.

Vision entrepreneur driven by education idea

Arnaud Darmont dedicated his entire professional life to the computer vision industry. After his degree in electronic engineering from University of Liège (Belgium) in 2002 he began to work in the field of CMOS image sensors and high dynamic range imaging. Arnaud combined technical enthusiasm for optoelectronics with human values which led him to found his own enterprise APHESA in 2008. He authored several publications and was author of the book “High Dynamic Range Imaging – Sensors and Architectures”, which was published in a first edition 2013. He was just about finishing up the second edition to appear this year. A strong focus of his work always was the dissemination of his knowledge within the vision community and to newcomers in the computer vision domain through trainings and custom electronics design of imaging devices. He already prepared the celebration of the 10 years anniversary of APHESA at the end of this month.

A passion for machine vision standardization

Since the very beginning of his professional career, Arnaud was an active and much valued member of the EMVA 1288 standardization group. “By his profound knowledge of image sensors and by his rich experience he helped to shape the EMVA 1288 standard to the globally used standard it is today. Arnaud was also busy advertising the standard all around the globe giving courses and educating the machine vision community”, said Prof. Dr. Bernd Jähne, Chair of the EMVA 1288 Standard Group and EMVA Board Member.

Starting the successful cooperation of his company APHESA with DELTATEC SA in 2017 Arnaud gained freedom to devote more of his professional time to education and standardization activities. As such, in December 2017 the EMVA was gifted to get him on board as Standards Manager. In this position he oversaw the development of EMVA standards, but also fostered cooperation with other imaging associations worldwide on the development and the dissemination of vision standards. “We all remember how Arnaud took this role with enthusiasm and high commitment. Though he served in this position for a bit less than a year, he facilitated the start of two new EMVA standards, and built bridges to other associations. As such, he established links with standards groups of IEEE and was an active member of SPIE and IS&T. The foundation he led during this time will be part of his legacy to the entire machine vision industry”, said EMVA President Jochem Herrmann.

Arnaud contributed to the life of his city community by being an active member of local associations. When his job gave him some freedom, Arnaud indulged his passion for photography and piloted private planes as hobby.

About EMVA:

Founded in May 2003 in Barcelona, the European Machine Vision Association currently has about 120+ members representing more than 20 nations. Its aim is to promote the development and use of machine vision technology and to support the interests of its members – machine vision companies, research institutions and national machine vision associations. The main fields of work of EMVA are: standardization, statistics, the annual EMVA Business Conference and other networking events, European research funding, public relations and marketing. To find out more visit the web site www.emva.org.

Dubrovnik, ​​09 June, 2018. The EMVA Young Professional Award 2018 goes to Ms. Doris Antensteiner, for her work “Light Field and Photometric Stereo”. Antensteiner, age 32, obtained a master degree in Computer Science in 2011 and a master degree in Computer Science Management in 2014, both from Vienna University of Technology. Between 2012 and 2015 she worked as “Image Processing Engineer“ in „R&D Video and Sensors“ at Kapsch TrafficCom. Currently, she works at the Austrian Institute of Technology Center for Vision, Automation and Control and is a PhD Candidate at Graz University of Technology.

Light Field and Photometric Stereo

Recovering the shape and reflectance properties of a scene are fundamental problems in computer vision. Conventional imaging systems only provide limited information, since they can’t capture directional radiance information and only provide the sum of light at each image position. Hence, they capture two-dimensional pictures of this world. A more complete description can be achieved by using light field cameras and photometric stereo approaches. The combination of a depth map from light field with surface normals from photometric stereo enables a highly precise depth reconstruction and material analysis.

The awarded work resolves the problematic nature of acquiring a highly precise 3D surface reconstruction of objects with a focus on industrial applications. This is achieved by analyzing light rays passing through the camera lens, which capture a scene illuminated from a defined direction. An optimal fusion of light field and photometric stereo is found using variational methods. Solutions both for area-scan and multi-line scan cameras are achieved. The latter allows the algorithms in the awarded work to be apt for a wide range of industrial applications.

Applications of the results achieved in the work lie in the field of product inspection, defect detection, brand protection, product security and optical inspection of materials. A highly precise 3D reconstruction allows a detailed error detection in production lines. Methods of anti-counterfeiting can be improved by a better description and analysis of the material structure.

Young professional award part of EMVA Business Conference

The EMVA Young Professional Award is an annual award to honor the outstanding and innovative work of a student or a young professional in the field of machine vision or image processing. It is the goal of the European Machine Vision Association EMVA to further support innovation in the machine vision industry, to contribute to the important aspect of dedicated machine vision education and to provide a bridge between research and industry. With the annual Young Professional Award the EMVA intends to specifically encourage students to focus on challenges in the field of machine vision and to apply latest research results and findings in computer vision to the practical needs of the industry. The awardee was announced on June 09 during the 16^th EMVA Business Conference in Dubrovnik/Croatia, where she also had the opportunity to present her work as part of the regular conference program.

The 17^th EMVA Business Conference will take place from 16–18 May, 2019 in Copenhagen/Denmark.

About EMVA:

Founded in May 2003 in Barcelona, the European Machine Vision Association currently has about 120+ members representing more than 20 nations. Its aim is to promote the development and use of machine vision technology and to support the interests of its members – machine vision companies, research institutions and national machine vision associations. The main fields of work of EMVA are: standardization, statistics, the annual EMVA Business Conference and other networking events, European research funding, public relations and marketing. To find out more visit the web site www.emva.org.

Jeremy White to give speech on ‘The Rise of Artificial Intelligence’ / Speaker on Megatrend Deep Learning also confirmed

Barcelona, ​​16 April, 2018. The EMVA proudly announces Mr. Jeremy White giving his keynote titled ‘The Rise of Artificial Intelligence’ at the 2018 edition of the EMVA Business Conference taking place June 7-9 in Dubrovinik/Croatia. Jeremy is executive editor of Wired, the influential technology and trends magazine that covers innovation and the businesses that are building the future. He is in charge of analyzing and identifying emerging trends and technological shifts that will impact consumers and businesses alike.

From the Internet of Things to AI, smart homes to smart cities, flying cars to passenger drones, Jeremy has first-hand experience of emerging trends as well as personal contact with the global business leaders driving them. He has been writing about technology and design for more than 14 years and is also currently the technology expert for Telegraph Luxury, the Robb Report, Boat International, and Harrods. Jeremy also appears regularly on the BBC and Sky News representing the magazine.

In addition to that, the EMVA is happy to announce Mr. Michal Czadybon, General Manager at Adaptive Vision, talking about ‘Deep Learning in Industrial Quality Inspection: Experiences from the field’ in the technical part of the conference program. The Megatrend Deep Learning will also be covered by another speech given by Professor of EECS Jitendra Malik from UC Berkeley who will dedicate this presentation to ‘Deep Learning for Deep Visual Understanding’.

The entire agenda as well as all registration and other details to the EMVA 2018 Business Conference can be viewed at www.business-conference-emva.org.

About EMVA:

Founded in May 2003 in Barcelona, the European Machine Vision Association currently has about 120+ members representing more than 20 nations. Its aim is to promote the development and use of machine vision technology and to support the interests of its members – machine vision companies, research institutions and national machine vision associations. The main fields of work of EMVA are: standardization, statistics, the annual EMVA Business Conference and other networking events, European research funding, public relations and marketing. To find out more visit the web site www.emva.org.

Arnaud Darmont coordinates standardization activities of the association

Barcelona, ​​18 January, 2018. The European Machine Vision Association (EMVA) has appointed Arnaud Darmont as new EMVA Standards Manager. Arnaud will be responsible to promote the European machine vision standardization activities worldwide and to coordinate the development process of machine vision standards. In addition, in a rapidly changing industrial environment another major task will be to identify new standardization needs.

“We are thrilled to have Arnaud joining the EMVA team to fill such an important role as Standards Manager. He brings profound and long machine vision experience in engineering, management and marketing; and has been working on CMOS image sensors, industrial cameras, image quality, and embedded processing. Furthermore, Arnaud is one of the developers of the EMVA1288 standard. We are looking forward to working with him to take the EMVA standardization activities to the next level”, says EMVA President Jochem Herrmann.

Since almost 15 years, the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA) is hosting the development of standards for the machine vision industry with the now well-known and widely used standards GenICam and EMVA1288. GenICam standardizes the high level interfacing of a vision device and a computer. EMVA1288 is a characterization and specification procedure for image sensors and cameras used in machine vision.

Since 2009, the EMVA is collaborating with other international machine vision associations worldwide to work towards a standardization of the technologies and processes in our industry. These joint global standardization activities have become a pillar of the success of machine vision technology in numerous industrial and non-industrial applications.

 About EMVA:

Founded in May 2003 in Barcelona, the European Machine Vision Association currently has about 100+ members representing more than 20 nations. Its aim is to promote the development and use of machine vision technology and to support the interests of its members – machine vision companies, research institutions and national machine vision associations. The main fields of work of EMVA are: standardization, statistics, the annual EMVA Business Conference and other networking events, European research funding, public relations and marketing. To find out more visit the web site www.emva.org.