Vision Builder AI 3.0 Increases Flexibility, Reduces Complexity with State-Machine-Based Execution FlowNEWS RELEASE – Oct. 19, 2006 – National Instruments today announced NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI) Version 3.0, the latest upgrade to the interactive software for configuring, benchmarking and deploying complete machine vision applications without programming. This version introduces a new state-machine process model that gives engineers one of the most flexible environments available for configuring vision systems.
With this process model, engineers can customize the execution flow of their inspections to meet a wide variety of machine vision challenges, from component alignment to part inspection and verification. Through the use of state machines, Vision Builder AI now combines the flexibility of a programming language with the ease of use of a configuration environment.Most configurable vision software packages rely on sequential inspection steps that leave little room for customizing the execution flow. Now, with the state-machine process model within Vision Builder AI, engineers can graphically customize the flow of their applications with conditional branches or iterative loops, allowing a single inspection to dynamically adjust with each new image.
With Vision Builder AI 3.0, engineers can solve most machine vision application challenges without the use of a programming language or complicated customization tools. Also, because state machines are inherently self-documenting, they provide engineers with an intuitive way to organize vision applications and share information easily among colleagues. Vision Builder AI also includes new algorithms for golden template comparison, optical character verification (OCV) and data matrix grading that are designed to help engineers identify quality errors earlier in production.
To communicate results, Vision Builder AI now works with all NI-DAQmx-compatible hardware devices, enabling engineers to read and write digital and analog inspection information to any NI-DAQmx-compatible device, such as M Series data acquisition (DAQ) or NI CompactDAQ devices.With Vision Builder AI, engineers can acquire images from thousands of off-the-shelf cameras, including Camera Link, IEEE 1394, and GigE Vision, and process images with more than 100 powerful machine vision tools, including geometric matching, OCR and particle analysis. Inspections developed with Vision Builder AI can run on any PC, the NI Compact Vision System or the Sony Smart Camera.
Download a free evaluation at www.ni.com/vision/vbai .
About National Instruments
For 30 years, National Instruments has been a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation – a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government and academia approach measurement and automation. Leveraging PCs and commercial technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs for test, control and design applications through easy-to-integrate software, such as NI LabVIEW, and modular measurement and control hardware for PXI, PCI, PCI Express, PXI Express, USB and Ethernet. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has 4,000 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries. For the past seven years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.
