British military envisions how imaging catches insurgents

Using very high-resolution digital cameras, multispectral imaging, and laser ranging, the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) says that new imaging technology will be used within 5 years to recognize insurgents or terrorists.

DSTL, which develops and tests the latest technologies for the Ministry of Defence, had members of its staff act out insurgent-like behavior, while developers and engineers took on the role of "good guys", pursuing and monitoring them.



The military twist was that these high-tech surveillance techniques are being combined with software that can pick out unusual patterns in behavior--such as two vehicles meeting in a concealed area. The surveillance, DSTL says, will eventually help to "win the battle" against insurgency. For more information, read the excellent BBC News article.

Imaging battles Gulf oil disaster

Satellite imaging and paricle image velocimetry are two of the imaging techniques being deployed against the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A May 22 article in the New York Times describes several of the techniques that researchers are using to try a get an accurate measurement of the oil spill.

One approach is described in more detail by one of the Times authors, Steve Wereley at Purdue University, in a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Oil Flow Rate Analysis – Deepwater Horizons Accident”. He predicts that the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill is more than 50 times worse than initial BP predictions.

Using an imaging technique called particle image velocimetry (PIV), Wereley analyzed video obtained from BP to compute the magnitude of oil flowing from the site. According to his presentation, Wereley estimates that between 56,000 and 84,000 barrels a day are currently pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. Doug Suttle, chief operating officer for BP, initially said he thinks the estimate of 1,000 barrels a day is accurate, although BP is now admitting they have underestimated the amount of oil leaking.

To obtain his figures, Wereley computed the average plume velocity of the oil using PIV techniques, multiplied this figure by the cross-sectional area to find the volume flow rate, and then converted this figure to barrels per day.

PIV is an optical method of fluid visualization. It is used to obtain instantaneous velocity measurements and related properties in fluids. By measuring features in the fluid, motion of these features is used to calculate velocity information of the flow being studied.

A live video of the oil leak, provided by BP over Ustream is available on www.ustream.com - search: live oil spill cam.



All this imaging doesn't even take into account the dozen or so remote underwater vehicles that are now in operation near the sea bed, around the leak, streaming video back to a control center in Houston.



The oil spill is a disaster that maybe imaging and machine vision can help understand and moderate.

Machine vision lives in Iran

While cruising the Bosphorus I met a vision system integrator from Tehran. Kasra Ravanbakhsh is the co-founder and managing director of Kasra Hooshmand Engineering (KDI). I was of course taken with him since he attributed his attendance at the EMVA Business Conference in Istanbul with seeing an advertisement for it in Vision Systems Design.

It turns out that along with my own blog about the conference and travel home under The Volcanic Cloud, Kasra has made a blog with many pictures about the EMVA conference.

KDI was formed in 2003 as private joint stock company in Tehran. The company's previous name was Kasra Digital Instruments and it still uses that abbreviation and logo.


Kasra says his company excels in developing machine vision systems, PC-based automation and monitoring, industrial automation, data acquisition, LabVIEW programming, microcontroller-based systems, and instrumentation. It is also very involved in cleanroom design and installation.
 
He also claims that KDI is the only professional developer of machine vision and real-time image processing-based inspection and control systems in Iran. KDI operates in industries such as pharmaceutical, glassware, packaging, military, aerospace, paper, food and beverage, and steel and aluminum production.

Kasra made many good contacts during the conference and perhaps opened the eyes of his new friends to some of the technical and intellectual life that stands just beyond their usual reach—not to mention some potential sales opportunities.

Europeans often note that their North American colleagues come from a “young” culture on the far side of the Atlantic. A bit of Persian history as described on the KDI website helps to put real antiquity into perspective!

Conard Holton
cholton@pennwell.com

An interactive atlas about global automation

If you manufacture automation equipment, including machine vision systems and robots, and you’re wondering where in the world to look for commercial growth opportunities, then you should review the Automation Atlas.

The Atlas shows the relative degree of automation in a country by showing the estimated number of robots per employees in processing industries. For more information and to use the Atlas, click here.



The Atlas was commissioned by the AUTOMATICA trade fair (held at Messe Munich, 7-11 June) and created by the statistical department of IFR - International Federation of Robotics, which is sponsoring the co-located ROBOTIK conference. The very interesting conference program is now available on the IFR website.

The IFR says only one-third of companies use automation technologies such as industrial robots or process-integrated quality control. For example, according to the Automation Atlas, countries in Eastern Europe employ relatively little automation technology--fewer than 50 industrial robots per 10,000 employees in the processing industry. The robot figure is only between 100 and 200 in Slovenia.

And globally there are clearly opportunities for growth in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and medical equipment industries, where the number of industrial robots in use is estimated to be fewer than 50 per 10,000 employees. In contrast, there are an estimated 400 to 700 robots for the same number of employees in the automobile industry.

Conard Holton, cholton@pennwell.com
Vision Systems Design

Riding the Bosphorus Express—Istanbul to Munich

For the 150 people attending the European Machine Vision Association Business Conference in Istanbul last week, the meeting began as a fascinating visit to a beautiful city with a rich history, but not one usually on the machine-vision meeting circuit.

As the presentations, market reports, networking, and boat cruise passed, the specter of “The Cloud” from the Icelandic volcano began to dominate everyone’s thinking. European airspace was shutting down as we took a scenic cruise up the Bosphorus past historic Dolmabahçe Palace:



By the last day of the conference--Saturday, April 17--it was clear that all plans to fly home were in jeopardy. I was able to fly out on Sunday because the flight was direct to New York’s JFK and we could skirt the southern edge of Europe.

However, my colleague and Vision Systems Design sales rep, Johann Bylek, had a different adventure on his way home to Munich.

Here is his report:

An unexpected adventure trip from Istanbul to Munich

After the EMVA conference in Istanbul most of the European attendees were not able to fly home because of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud. Most European airports were closed and all flights cancelled. As a result, most people were stuck in Istanbul.

It was nearby impossible to connect with any airline since all telephone lines were overloaded. Rental cars and trains were sold out across Europe, and thousands of passengers were hanging around the airports.

A group of attendees--with special thanks to the “chief coordinator” Dr. Horst G. Heinol-Heikkinen (CEO, Asentics)—began discussing other possibilities to get home.

After many false leads, it was possible to find and hire a Bulgarian bus to drive to Istanbul and pick up a group of 34 people. These passengers would then be driven over 2000 km (about 1250 miles) to Munich. And the cost for the bus and two drivers? About €290 ($385) per passenger.



Starting at 7:00 pm Sunday evening in Istanbul, we reached the Bulgarian border at 10:00 pm. We had to use a side road to avoid the highway customs station where about 200 buses were waiting for immigration.

Pushing on to the Serbian border we had to wait in line for three hours because of six other buses ahead of us--everybody has got a Serbian stamp in their passport. One of our group, Manfred Schaffrath, from Profactor, was picked out for detailed luggage inspection, maybe searching for cigarettes or drugs. We wondered if perhaps he was suspected because he is Austrian!



Driving the whole night and half another day the bus passed Belgrade at 3:00 pm on Monday, and then going further on through Hungary and Austria to Munich.



After a 37 hour bus ride through five different countries with different languages and currencies, the group arrived in Munich on Tuesday morning at 8:00 am. Everybody was tired but happy to be back in Germany.

Images courtesy of Manfred Schaffrath, Profactor

Omens at trade shows

Predicting the market outlook for machine vision products can seem akin to interpreting the patterns of tea leaves or Tarot cards or even practicing myomancy – studying the movements of mice to foretell the future. However, those attending and exhibiting at this spring’s spate of machine vision and image processing trade shows may practice a modern version of myomancy to give themselves a sense of market momentum.

This week, for example, the SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing show held in Orlando, FL, will provide attendees an impression of the state of the markets for imaging components and applications, especially those used in infrared applications. A strong technical conference accompanies the show.

The month after, in Boston, The Vision Show, May 25-27, will give both exhibitors and attendees alike an idea of the health of machine vision industry in North America, particularly the health of component makers.

Automatica, held in Munich, Germany, June 8-11, will reveal similar prospects for components and systems in Europe, especially as the show includes a strong robotic exhibition and the collocated technical symposium, ISR/Robotik. The show also takes place at the same time and exhibition center as Intersolar 2010, which will attract a vast audience for those involved in solar energy products and services, and is a fast growing area for machine-vision components and systems.

Myomancy, anyone?

A fool for milk

When I first read about automated cow milking machines that use machine vision, I thought it was amusing. Last year, LMI Technologies was working with GEA Farm Technologies to adapt its 3-D time-of-flight imager to the task of producing happier cows and higher yields.



Now I find that robot maker Fanuc Robotics has taken the concept of automated milking to an advanced stage with a herd-milking system that can be seen in this video. Machine vision just keeps getting more interesting.