SICK USA BLOG
  • Home
  • Applications & Technology
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Inside SICK
  • On-Demand Webinars
  • Podcast Episodes
  • Contact Us
SICK USA BLOG
SICK USA BLOG
  • Home
  • Applications & Technology
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Inside SICK
  • On-Demand Webinars
  • Podcast Episodes
  • Contact Us
Machine Vision, When to use 3D Vision over 2D Vision in your Machine Vision Application
Home - When to use 3D Vision over 2D Vision in your Machine Vision Application
AApplications & Technology

When to use 3D Vision over 2D Vision in your Machine Vision Application

  • August 8, 2018

Machine vision gives machines the gift of sight, replacing or complementing manual inspection tasks using digital cameras and image processing. Vision used to be very expensive and complicated, but now exciting advancements have caused the cost to come down creating a compelling and quick ROI. These improvements have led to vision becoming more and more common in the market. There are two vision types: 2D vision and 3D vision.

Machine vision applications range from fairly basic tasks, like presence detection, to complex real-time inspection and grading tasks in harsh environments. Machine vision tasks can be categorized into one of four main tasks:

Machine Vision, When to use 3D Vision over 2D Vision in your Machine Vision Application

  • Positioning is the task of detecting and locating objects, then report presence or coordinates of the object.
  • Inspection is the task of verifying product quality, eg check the presence of all parts of an assembly or find defects and deviations.
  • Measurement is the task of determining object dimensions such as length, width, height, area, and volume.
  • Reading is the ability to decode and read texts, such as 1D code, 2D code, and OCV/OCR.

2D Vision

In 2D imaging, the analyzable scene is captured either by area camera or by scanning using a line scan camera. The image produced is either in intensity values (monochrome) or color (RGB values). Lighting is one of the most important factors in capturing these images. Correct lighting emphasizes the features that the sensor wants to analyze and ensures a high-quality image. 2D vision is perfect for applications with high contrast, or when the texture or color of the object is the key to the solution.  Depending on the type of lighting for the task, 2D vision can be used to do all four tasks and is the dominant technology for machine vision.

3D Vision

Machine Vision, When to use 3D Vision over 2D Vision in your Machine Vision Application

3D imaging can be done with scanning technologies or snapshot technologies. Using scanning technology, 3D images are created profile by profile by moving the object through the measurement region or by moving the camera over the object. This movement must be constant for the 3D image to turn out correctly. Snapshot technology captures the 3D images much like a regular camera by simply snapping a picture and then creating the 3D image. Scanned images are usually much more accurate as a 3D image than the snapshot images. 3D vision is ideal for analyzing volume, shape, or 3D position of objects. It can also be used to detect parts and defects with low contrast as long as there is a detectable height difference. 3D vision is mainly used for measuring, inspection, and positioning.

3D imaging in machine vision can be accomplished in various ways and provides numerous benefits for disparate imaging applications. Knowing when to deploy 3D vision instead of 2D vision, however, is an important factor to consider before making a switch.

Want to learn more about machine vision? Download the Vision Systems Design Webcast sponsored by SICK. When to Consider Using 3D Vision in Your Machine Vision Application Webinar goes in-depth into 2D & 3D machine vision applications with Tom Wik, SICK National Product Manager – Vision and Identification! Download today!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
— Previous article

What does TDC Stand for? Q&A with a Telematic Data Collector Gateway System Expert

Next article —

Contributing to Economic Upstream Gas Metering with a Dual-path Ultrasonic Metering Solution

You May Also Like
AApplications & Technology
robotic mower, First robotic mower for large outdoor areas with intelligent sensors
Read More

First robotic mower for large outdoor areas with intelligent sensors

  • November 21, 2021
A true jack of all trades: from lawncare to field design RoviMo® is the world’s first fully electric,…
AApplications & Technology
RFID in automotive production, Improving Automotive Production with Superior RFID Technology
Read More

Improving Automotive Production with Superior RFID Technology

  • February 26, 2020
Smallest RFID Reader Enhances Tracking of Small Automotive Parts In today’s automotive production, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology…
AApplications & Technology
tire curing presses, Hazardous Area Protection for Tire Curing Presses
Read More

Hazardous Area Protection for Tire Curing Presses

  • September 29, 2014
Continental Working with Experts from SICK to Improve Safety A flexible system for hazardous area protection on tire…
AApplications & Technology
Baggage Tracking, Continuous Baggage Tracking
Read More

Continuous Baggage Tracking

  • January 21, 2018
Delayed, damaged or lost baggage is more than just a nuisance. It reduces customer satisfaction and constantly generates…
AApplications & Technology
2d and stacked codes, High Performance Compact Image-Based Code Reader for Miniature Codes
Read More

High Performance Compact Image-Based Code Reader for Miniature Codes

  • August 26, 2020
SICK’s Lector61x is a compact camera-based code reader that specializes in reading miniature codes at a high performance…
AApplications & Technology
collaborative robots mobile, [VIDEO] Making Collaborative Robots Mobile
Read More

[VIDEO] Making Collaborative Robots Mobile

  • September 24, 2015
This guest post from our friends at Clearpath Robotics is part of an ongoing collaborative robots series. See the rest of…
Get Moving on Mobile Robots

Are you using mobile robots in your facility? We’ve got tons of great content detailing how you can utilize safe productivity and localization for your mobile robots.

Join to learn more!

Your Partner in Building Mobile Robots

Are you a mobile robot OEM? We’ve got all you need to know about mobile robot safety so you can find the right safety solution with full service support.

Learn more

Contact Us
SICK USA BLOG
This site is owned by SICK, Inc. Privacy Policy