National Instruments has announced the NI 1722 and NI 1742 smart cameras. The embedded devices combine an industrial controller with an image sensor. They are integrated with NI vision software to provide onboard image processing directly. Possible applications include packaging inspection, assembly verification and 1D and 2D code reading.
The new cameras are shipped with National Instruments Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI), an interactive software environment that helps engineers to configure, benchmark and deploy machine vision applications with little programming knowledge.
Built for use in harsh industrial environments, the NI 1722 features a 400MHz PowerPC processor and the NI 1742 features a 533MHz processor. The monochrome VGA (640 x 480) image sensor used in both cameras is a high-quality Sony charge-coupled device. The cameras also provide built-in industrial I/O, including two opto-isolated digital inputs and two opto-isolated digital outputs, one RS232 serial port and two Gigabit Ethernet ports with support for industrial protocols, including Modbus TCP.
In addition, the NI 1742 includes quadrature encoder support and a built-in controller featuring NI direct drive lighting technology. With quadrature encoder support, engineers can easily synchronise inspections with linear and rotary drive systems. The NI direct drive controller features a built-in LED lighting drive that provides up to 500mA constant current and up to 1A strobed current. Strobe lighting offers increased lighting intensity by up to four times without harming the light head.
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