A collaboration between SICK and Microsoft has seen the release of a miniature version of SICK’s Visionary-T 3D snapshot vision sensor.
The SICK Visionary-T Mini uses best-in-class time-of-flight snapshot technology to capture both the 3D depth and 2D intensity values of every pixel at (512 × 424 px) resolution in a single shot of light, at up to 30 3D frames per second.
“The SICK Visionary-T Mini fuses the best of SICK’s industrial camera expertise with the type of precision sensing technologies from Microsoft Corp. that you would more normally expect to find in mobile phones”, said Neil Sandhu, SICK UK product managing for imaging, measurement and ranging.
“The result is an extremely competitive price performance level with consistently excellent 3D and 2D data quality for even the most rugged industrial conditions, including where there is bright light or very dark conditions. The Visionary-T Mini also makes it easy to integrate the data stream into your applications, particularly where the target is moving, such as for anti-collision for mobile vehicles or for robot picking from a belt, for example”.
The SICK Visionary-T Mini has been created as a compact all-rounder for factory automation, materials handling and logistics environments, delivering its performance in static applications, on moving machinery or robots. The Visionary-T Mini’s high repetition rate ensures there are no blurring effects as a result of the movement of the camera or the object and is well-suited to dynamic applications where lower weight is an advantage, or installation space is at a premium.
The automatic High Dynamic Range of the Visionary-T Mini ensures widely-varying contrasts and lighting conditions across a scene are captured in each frame without the need for complex set-up, or expert knowledge of time-of-flight settings. The high-density 512 x 424 px resolution is complemented by a 70° x 60° field of view.
As a programmable device, the SICK Visionary-T Mini has a user-friendly visualisation and configuration tool that makes it easy to set up the device parameters and adapt the data to the specific application. A Multicam mode is available to process image data from more than one Visionary-T Mini. With rapid 3D data transmission, the Visionary-T Mini is suitable for integration into most industrial applications.
The Visionary-T Mini measures 80 x 70 x 77 mm (w x h x d) and weighs 520g so it can fit into small machine spaces, on robot arms, or onto small and lightweight automated guided carts.
The Visionary-T Mini has a IP65/IP67 housing and no moving parts, capable of operating at temperatures between -10 and + 50°C, and in bright sunlight up to 50kLux. Rapid and stable communication is assured over industrial Gigabit Ethernet, as well as robust electrical performance, including resistance to electromagnetic interference.
You can find more information about SICK and the Visionary-T 3D snapshot vision sensor that it developed with Microsoft on its website.
Stay up to date with the most recent automation, computer vision, machine vision and robotics news on Automate Pro Europe, CVPro, MVPro and RBPro.
