Image Quality Evaluation Of Machine Vision Sensors

Abstract

Imaging sensors for machine vision systems include area sensors found in tube and solid state video cameras, linear arrays, and point detectors used in flying spot scanners. With any such sensor image quality is determined by several factors: spatial resolution, dynamic range, spectral sensitivity, etc. In addition, imager defects like structured pattern noise, smear, variations in sensitivity, or poor spatial sampling preclude detection of small changes in reflectivity or depth and limit the performance of pattern recognition algorithms. This paper evaluates several types of imaging sensors and critically reviews their performance for demanding machine vision inspection tasks which require discrimination of several colors, shades of grey, or levels of depth.