Scorpion Newsletter September 2004

Firewire Imaging - Low cost digital cameras connected to a PC using DirectX is a powerful trend in Industrial Inspection. Sony and Imaging Source are cutting prices of their firewire cameras - reflected in our new pricelist. Camera vendors like Allied Vision and Point Grey now supports DirectX.

We and our partners are at the moment deploying many very cost-effective firewire imaging multi-camera systems in the automotive industry - "Twice the performance - Half the price"  and experience a growing demand and interest for our open software.

Scorpion Vision Software 3.0 - available 20. September 2004

We are proud to announce a new major release of Scorpion. Based on feedback from users, partners and factory installations we have carefully selected, implemented and verified more than three hundred minor and major improvements:

• Improved toolbox management - supports multiple select and faster management of large profiles.
• Python Kernel - Many new interface classes to Scorpion makes it easy to implement important end-user feedback
• Improved image processing  - Revised TemplateFinder2 supports template scaling, Improved Calibrator handles wide-angle lenses, updated Blob3, more user feedback and robust error handling
• Context-sensitive help - Comprehensive User Guide in Html Help format 
• OEM support - custom image processing using Python extensions
• Flexible OEM-licencing
• Improved Color Support - All tools process color images
• New product Scorpion Basic XGA
• Improved and extended camera support

Scorpion Lite starts at 1250 euro with one camera license and color support.

Check the feature list and the end-user pricelist. More information on version 3.0 is found here.

Contact: Thor Vollset - +47 23 15 87 00

Two Day Scorpion Advanced Training in Oslo, Norway - October 26-27, 2004

We are happy to invite our users and customers to an Advanced Scorpion Vision Software Training Course.

The two days Advanced Training Course contains lectures and exercises focusing on new and advanced features in the software. You need to know how to build Scorpion profiles to take advantage of the training. These skills are learned in the Two days Scorpion Vision Software Introduction Course and by building Scorpion Vision Systems.

The course is developed and teached by the Scorpion System Architect Thor Vollset with assistance from Chief Scorpion Vision Engineer Per Øyvind Brosstad

Contact: Thor Vollset - +47 23 15 87 00

New OEM - Repant AS selects Scorpion Vision Software

Repant AS is a supplier of complete reverse vending systems for both one-way and refillable beverage containers. The systems include reverse vending machines (RVM), deposit cash flow systems, service management systems and container logistics management systems. The products are designed to make recycling easy for the end users and cost effective for our customers.

Firewire Imaging - a standard PC and Scorpion Vision Software connected to multiple digital cameras from Unibrain identifies and counts the bottles in Repant Crate. Repant Crate is a reliable solution for beverage crates - handling hundreds of different bottles - plastic, glass, brown, green transparent, small and big - these bottles are returned in crates with different colors, shapes and sizes.

"All challenges in configuring the systems has been solved by ourselves with support from Tordivel. The easy to use Scorpion toolbox and the Python scripting capability give us all the flexibility needed to make a good customer solution," concludes Lars Guntveit - Technical Manager at Repant.

To the right Repant Universal with the Repant Crate module at the bottom.

More information on Repant Crate.

Contact: Thor Vollset - +47 23 15 87 00

Exhibitions

Scorpion are exhibited at the following exhibition in October and November.

• October 6 - 7, Photonex,  Digital Inspections, Coventry, United Kingdom
• October 6 - 8, Teknikka 2004, Metric Oy, Jyväskylä, Finland
• October 19-23, Tekniska Mässan, Tordivel Sverige, Stockholm, Sweden
• October 19-23, Vision 2004, Polytec Stand 401, Hall 4, Stuttgart, Germany
• November 1-5, Het Instrument, Geveke Industrial BV, Nederlands

Contact: Helge Jordfald - +47 23 15 87 00

Improved and Extended Camera Support using Unibrain 3.0 DirectX drivers

We have been working hard to give our users the best camera support. Scorpion fully supports Unibrain's DirectX drivers from version 1.21, 2.0, 2.5 to the latest version 3.0. This means that Scorpion supports all IIDC compliant firewire camera through Unibrains generic drivers. Firewire cameras from the following vendors are supported with specific drivers: 

Unibrain, ADS, Allied Vision, Basler Vision, Hamamatsu, JVC, MicroPix, OrangeMicro, PixeLink, PointGrey, Sony, Teli, Imaging Source, Baumer Optronics and Victor

Advanced features like hardware trigging, non continous video streams, dynamic shutter, direct register access, raw color format support and mode-7 are supported.

In addition to firewire, Scorpion also support Windows Cameras connected using USB or USB2 complying with the DirectX specification.

New: Complete support Sony's new range firewire camera XCD-X710(CR), XCD-SX910(CR), DFW-X710 & DFW-SX910.

Unibrain support Windows 2000 and Windows XP. More information : www.unibrain.com

Contact: Thor Vollset - +47 23 15 87 00

New - Unibrain Fire-i™ Monochrome Board Digital Camera - Ideal for low-cost multi-camera OEM Solutions

The new Monochrome Board Digital Camera provides excellent value in OEM solutions - with Scorpion more than 10 cameras can be connected to one PC.

The camera has the following features: Progressive scanning allows full frame uninterlaced acquisition and shuttering, 1/4” CCD, progressive, 659(H)x494(V) square pixels, identical horizontal and vertical resolutions, pixel size 5.6 µm(H) x 5.6 µm(V), continuous variable electronic shutter, 640x480 VGA out at 30, 15, 7.5, 3.75 fps in Y-8, control of Gain, Shutter, Black Level, Gamma and Sharpness.

We can help you to pack the camera - to the left an Industrial Housing IP-65 grade housing is shown.

More information about the board camera is found at Unibrain.

Sample price including 12 mm lens is 210 euro.

All Scorpion version from Scorpion Lite supports the Fire-I Monochrome board camera.

Contact: Thor Vollset - +47 23 15 87 00

Low-cost TCP/IP IO support using Free Adam Python Interface Module

The Advantech ADAM-6060 offers 6 relay (form A) outputs and 6 digital input channels making it the ideal companion to Scorpion Vision Systems.

The Adam6060 python interface module makes it extremely easy to add io to your vision solution. The unit can be used control illumination, trigger cameras, poll photo-cells and more. The ADAM-6060 unit is normally connected directly to the network port of the PC. On a network many units can be connected and controlled from one Scorpion system.

More information here.


Scorpion Support - 24 hours a day - 365 days a year

For questions about using Scorpion, check out the FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions.

Do you have an inspection task? Submit a description of what you want to do and preferably a set of sample images to us. We will then do an assessment - give you some advice and maybe provide a skeleton solution using Scorpion. If you already have Scorpion installed, you can run this profile on your own computer.

To download Scorpion, example profiles, documentation, drivers etc. register at: Scorpion Download

We are committed to give you the best online support available.

Editor: Thor Vollset - thor@tordivel.com - + 47 23 15 87 00

Register or unregister to this newsletter at www.scorpionvision.com. 
Scorpion Vision Software® is a registered trademark of Tordivel AS.

TORDIVEL AS Storgata 20 N-0184 OSLO NORWAY
Telefon +47 23 15 87 00 Telefax +47 23 15 87 01
E-mail : office@tordivel.com Web : http://www.scorpionvision.com