Setting up a full project

1. Investigate the Environment

• Lighting, Dust, and Movement: Assess the stability of the environment.

  • A more stable environment without dynamic lights, shadows can significantly reduce costs.

  • If you are in control of the environment, make sure no external movement occurs in the detection zone.

2. Assess What Needs to be Checked

Considerations:

• Object Alignment: Do objects change alignment/angle? Can objects be detected without AI modules?

• Object Speed: High-speed objects may require cameras with higher shutter speeds.

• Surface Characteristics: Proper lighting can drastically reduce detection difficulty.

• Lighting: If lighting can not be controlled and dynamic, the problem most certainly should be solved with AI.

3. Determine if AI is Required

• Vision Methods: If methods outside AI can't solve the problem robustly, AI might be necessary.

• Cost Consideration: Solving problems without AI can reduce costs significantly.

4. Experiment with What You Have

• Camera/Lighting Angles and Colors: Experiment/think to see if different angles and colors make the problem easier to solve.

5. Purchase and Test Camera/Lighting

Camera

• High Shutter Speed: Requires more powerful lighting. Allows faster detection.

• Global Shutter: Recommended to minimize distortion.

• Resolution: Resolution is also important:

  • Higher: Higher resolution cameras may detect smaller details better. However, takes longer to process.

  • Lower: May solve your problem better.

  To check if your resolution is enough, it's always more accurate to buy a dummy camera before hand. You can follow the to steps check if the resolution is good enough:

  • Use AugeLab Studio and inspect the image. Is the detail you are looking for clearly visible?

  • If visible, calculate the mm/pixel ratio using a simple ruler and assess the precision.

Lighting

• LED Lights: Recommended to avoid flickering from other light sources.

• Soft LED Lights: Sometimes, using soft LED lights may reduce reflections.

• Reflecting off a Surface: Leaving the object under indirect lighting, reflecting of a surface can prove softer lighting.

6. Buy Correct Hardware and Configuration

• PC/Lighting/Camera: Based on the questions above, choose the correct PC setup for your project.

• Correct Cables: Ensure you have the correct communication or power cables for dummy or GigE cameras.

• Network Connectivity: Ensure all devices are connected to the same network or router.

7. Test and Iterate Your Solution

• Continuously test and iterate to refine your setup for potential errors.