Hardware-independent machine vision software gives users complete freedom in their choice of hardware, allowing them to benefit from greater flexibility and scalability. Thus, companies can significantly increase their process efficiency and save costs.

Machine vision is a key component of an automated production process. Accordingly, there are various machine vision systems on the market that take different approaches. Hardware-independent machine vision software gives users complete freedom in their choice of hardware, allowing them to benefit from greater flexibility and scalability. Thus, companies can significantly increase their process efficiency and save costs.

Today, modern machine vision software is crucial for efficient and consistent value creation processes in industry. The technology can be used to automate and optimize many production steps end-to-end. Examples include automated part verification, product assembly, defect inspection, and packaging, among others. This leads to numerous advantages for companies, such as consistent quality assurance, higher throughput, exceptional accuracy, reduced labor costs, and a higher degree of digitalization.

Machine vision solutions use multiple hardware components such as imaging sensors, optics, lighting, computer systems, and machine vision software. The latter is the brain of the application, in which the image processing and analysis take place. Using multiple vision software products from different providers can be costly and a drain on resources. For this reason, a single, comprehensive software product that can solve a wide range of machine vision tasks is recommended.

Choosing best-of-breed hardware for machine vision applications
By using such standardized, hardware-independent software, manufacturers benefit from numerous advantages. First, they are free to choose the best-of-breed hardware for their application. In addition, since the use of the software is not limited by the number of connected sensors, the user can add new inspection tasks to existing machines at a much lower cost. Likewise, a single sensor can be used to perform multiple tasks: A camera used for precision measurement can simultaneously read a data code at no additional cost. Not to mention, the inspection throughput of a hardware-independent vision solution can often be increased by simply upgrading to a faster computer - instead of buying an entire vision system.

To ensure users can fully leverage these benefits, MVTec offers HALCON, a sophisticated hardware-independent software that can be easily integrated into any imaging device. Users can therefore simply switch to a different camera or add another type of sensor. To ensure maximum flexibility for customers, HALCON includes a powerful and comprehensive toolbox for machine vision that can be adapted to any requirements. Thanks to MVTec's convenient licensing model, users can scale their application flexibly and without further investment by deploying any number of cameras or 3D sensors. Another advantage: Thanks to the ongoing development and short HALCON release cycles, users benefit from access to the latest machine vision and analysis technologies.

Smart combination of functional diversity and hardware independence
John Campbell, Key Account Manager at MVTec, sums up the key benefits of the hardware-independent standard software HALCON: "By standardizing on a single, comprehensive software like HALCON, our customers have access to the entire machine vision hardware market. When you can combine the industry's most powerful software with the most appropriate sensors and computer platform for your vision tasks, the risk of running into limitations or excessive capital costs is minimized. The flexibility HALCON provides enables highly optimized, scalable, and future-proof machine vision solutions. For manufacturers, that can mean greater production capacity from fewer machines."

MVTec, with a subsidiary in Quincy, MA, will be exhibiting at the Automate trade show in Detroit from May 12-15. Visitors can explore the key benefits of the hardware-independent standard software HALCON at booth #5207.


About MVTec Software GmbH
MVTec is a leading manufacturer of standard software for machine vision. MVTec products are used in all demanding areas of imaging: semiconductor industry, surface inspection, automatic optical inspection systems, quality control, metrology, as well as medicine and surveillance. By providing modern technologies such as 3D vision, deep learning, and embedded vision, software by MVTec also enables new automation solutions for the Industrial Internet of Things aka Industry 4.0. With locations in Germany, the USA, China, France, Taiwan and the Netherlands as well as an established network of international distributors, MVTec is represented in more than 35 countries worldwide. www.mvtec.com