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Stemmer imaging News
Easy 3D Plug & Play with Zivid One+
STEMMER IMAGING has extended its portfolio with the Zivid One+ 3D colour cameras from the Norwegian supplier Zivid since summer 2019. Our product manager Tim Huylebrouck describes his first experience with the 3D cameras.
So, Tim, how did you enter the world of machine vision?
I was studying Image Engineering Science at the Cologne University Of Applied Sciences, and noticed the Imaging & Vision Handbook from STEMMER IMAGING on many of my professors’ desks. After completing my studies, I applied directly to STEMMER IMAGING and have now been in product management for four years. The great thing about my job is that I’m one of the first to learn about current trends and new technologies.
What do you see as the biggest challenges for people starting to use 3D vision today?
I’d say that inexperienced users can be overwhelmed by the options available. Simply selecting which technology is best-suited for a specific application can be a bit of a minefield. Whether it’s laser triangulation, active or passive stereoscopy, time of flight or pattern or fringe projection technologies, there really are are a lot of options to consider.
And then once the right technology has been selected, the next challenge is what software to use with it. Again, there are numerous options available from many different vendors, each with their unique attributes. That’s why we work through the whole decision-making process with our customers to ensure they have the combination of 3D products and software that’s just right for them.
At STEMMER IMAGING we have a very broad portfolio of 3D imaging technologies, and our customers value us for the independent advice we can provide. Whether its for bin-picking, precision measurement or comparing a golden sample with a real-world object, we offer a machine vision solution that handles the task in the best way possible.
STEMMER IMAGING has decided to bring Zivid One+ 3D colour cameras into its portfolio. What was the rationale behind the decision?
At Stemmer Imaging we see ourselves as technology providers rather than distributors. We always want to make sure that our customers have a significant technology advantage over their competitors and we found that the Zivid One+ filled a gap in our portfolio. Thanks to its point cloud quality, field of view flexibility and data acquisition speed, we’re now able to overcome challenges that previously couldn’t be solved.
From a pure technology perspective it was also very clear to us that we wanted to work with Zivid. At the same time, in a highly competitive landscape it’s very important to us that our partners also have the right mindset, and a strong customer orientation. And Zivid brings us this, making for a great partnership and an outstanding customer experience.
We hear that you took a Zivid 3D camera home with you. How did that go?
It’s true. The engineer in me came out, I grabbed a Zivid One+ from the demo pool and took it home to play with. To familiarise myself with a new product I’d normally pick it out of the warehouse and inspect it at my desk or in our tech support department. This time though it just felt different.
To the amusement of my surprised, yet supportive team manager, I think I wanted to prove to myself that I was still an engineer at heart, and this exciting new Zivid One+ was going to help me do it. And it did, and I’m still an engineer after all!
With Zivid’s online knowledge base it was very easy to get my laptop going with the latest Zivid software. I updated my video card driver, installed Zivid Studio, connected the One+ camera to the USB port and I was away.
The software automatically detected the camera and the default values worked well at grabbing me my first 3D colour image. I could even see which tomatoes were ripe on my balcony! After a bit more work with the sensor, I got a good feel for which buttons to use to achieve the best results.
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