1. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Press Colloquium Part II Building Technology for the Customer’s Advantage

2. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Information Sources for Innovation Customer Knows about the requirements of the application Distributor Good knowledge about their customers and the (local) market Research For new technologies long term research is important Market development The markets change due to many influence factors, like labor and production cost, product demands, or “fashion” and trends Technology development New technologies, mainly from other industries, highly influences the vision market Examples are: USB2, Ethernet, IEEE1394, MMX, SSE, Dual Core, 64 bit technology

3. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Basis for Innovation Developers Highly skilled engineers Good “mixture” engineers Application: Understand and deal with the requirements on the factory floor Engineering: Incorporate smooth interaction of all components, from illumination to image acquisition Algorithm: Make best use of mathematics combined with computer science Low level: Speed up the algorithms with, e.g., MMX and SSE Smoothly cooperating team Big development team Research Close cooperation with universities and research institutes Participation in conferences Close review of latest scientific publications

4. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Good is Not Good Enough Development is much more than introducing new operators The existing code has continuously to be improved Examples for this are Speed An operator can always be faster Computers are getting faster but the requirements of the applications increase more rapidly Many applications require low power consumption and therefore slow computers Robustness Typical technologies where the robustness has continuously to be improved are shape-based matching, measurement, classification, 1D and 2D code reading Accuracy Besides an optimal measurement algorithm the calibration is crucial There are multiple components with distortions that have to be compensated

5. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Transfer: Technology for the Customer The focus of research highly differs from needs of the machine vision market Feasibility Restricted test data Many parameters Our focus is on Ease of use Robustness Accuracy Speed Flexibility Applicable to a wide range of applications Explained using terms of the users

6. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Example: Data Code Reader (ECC200)

7. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Example: Data Code Reader (ECC200) Development Filter for noise suppression Filter image restoration Robust segmentation Methods for automatic illumination correction Methods for data analysis Methods for automatic parameter estimation Efficient search algorithms Realization Automatic learning of parameters from samples images Robust universal parameters Intuitive user interface Intuitive and flexible programming interface

8. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Customer Support Visiting the customers Machine vision software you (still) cannot buy from the catalogue Consulting is very important Support Much more than helping with technical problems Example: Free evaluation of customer applications Seminars Information about latest technologies Presentation of applications and solution Exchange of information between customers Training courses Integrated training concept From introductory courses up to customer specific courses MVTec Vision Kit

9. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH What is MVTec Vision Kit? Hands on Machine Vision The practice of machine vision in a handy case Easy-to-use programs Practice-oriented applications

10. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH The Customer Must be Well Informed Machine vision is characterized by a continuous development of new methods and thus new possibilities Old technologies become usable due to new algorithms of new hardware Many customers are frustrated because they tried machine vision with inferior products – and thus failed Useful technologies, known to insiders, are often not known to the large machine vision community Some customers have no experience with machine vision at all and need good support on multiple levels

11. © 2006 MVTec Software GmbH Benefits for the Customer Easy development Reduce development costs Quick time to market Support of latest technologies Save money on components, e.g., USB2 camera Approach new markets with new algorithms Competitive with faster hardware, e.g., 64 bit Integrated support Quickly understand the problems and the solution Reduced product study time Ease of use Attractive products due to few or no machine vision parameters High accuracy Extend beyond the present limitations of technologies