UKIVA Consultant, Don Braggins, has joined the Imaging Special Interest Group (ISIG) steering committee for the Photonics and Plastic Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network (PPEKTN) and the Sensors and Instrumentation Knowledge Transfer Network (SIKTN). The steering committee has been formed to provide a greater level of focus on imaging as a joint activity of the SIKTN and PPEKTN ahead of its merger into the Electronics, Sensors and Photonics KTN at the end of June 2010.
Braggins said: 'The ISIG has been set up to provide a platform where researchers, designers, developers and users of optical devices and image processing systems and services can interact with each other, keep abreast of R&D activities across several sectors and identify issues and opportunities relevant to their businesses. It will ensure optimised coverage of all optical technologies and imaging applications. The first task of the steering group is to start the process of identifying and engaging the imaging community through its more active people; to get input, ideas and validation and to identify who else we should be talking to.
'My involvement with the UKIVA (UK Industrial Vision Association) will certainly help towards all of these objectives,' he continued. 'The UKIVA has members from both the imaging industry and academia, and as a Special Interest Group ourselves of the Processing and Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA), UKIVA has access to an even wider group of members who are involved in practical applications of vision in automated industrial processes.'
The Imaging SIG will focus on both component technologies and application areas and will be of interest to both the developer and end-user parts of the supply chain. The application focus of the ISIG is broad and spans through several industrial sectors, including: environmental, energy, security and defence, transport, life sciences, creative/digital world, and inspection. All regions of the electromagnetic spectrum will be covered, as will both optical hardware and image processing to ensure that useful image information is detected, captured, extracted and displayed.
Events form a major part of the ISIG programme to ensure that the imaging community has the opportunity to gather and network. The group is planning to run a resurrected Intelligent Imaging Programme with a general imaging theme, featuring a mix of technologies and applications. The meetings will involve universities, SMEs and large companies, with presentations, table top demos and poster presentations.
