The OmniView system from Cognex uses four cameras to obtain a seamless 360° view of all the features on cylindrical surfaces. It can read barcodes, verify text, inspect graphics and measure features at production line speeds of up to 1,200 parts per minute.
Alternative methods, which make use of just one camera, would require the object to spin in front of the imaging system. However, this introduces complex mechanisms that slow down the production line.
The OmniView captures images from four area scan cameras positioned around the cylindrical object. These images are then mapped together to create an undistorted, 2D image of the complete surface, which can be inspected using image analysis software.
