Source: Vision System Design

BT Imaging Pty (Sydney, Australia), a supplier of luminescence-based inspection and quality control systems for thephotovoltaic manufacturing industry, announced the completion of its Series A2 financing round totaling US$3.8 million (A$4.5 million). This round of financing includes existing investors Allen & Buckeridge and Uniseed, and new investor, Applied Ventures, LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT). Applied Ventures is taking an equity stake in BT Imaging. The funds will enable BT Imaging to accelerate product development, launch global expansion plans, and strengthen and defend its portfolio. 

"Securing additional funding in this challenging economic environment demonstrates investor confidence in BT Imaging's products and management," stated Ian Maxwell, CEO of BT Imaging. "Due to the yield and efficiency gains that our products enable, we are experiencing strong demand from manufacturers in multiple segments of the photovoltaic manufacturing industry. This financing provides us with additional R&D and product development capability, putting the company at least a year ahead of its original roadmap. Not only can we enhance our current offerings, we can also provide the photovoltaic industry with new solutions to address critical yield challenges. As the world's largest supplier of equipment to the PV solar industry, we are very pleased that Applied Materials recognizes the unique strength of BTi's technologies and its potential for widespread adoption." Read more here. 

Source: Vision Systems Design

Target detection and tracking represent two fundamental steps in automatic video-based surveillance systems where the goal is to provide intelligent recognition capabilities by analyzing target behavior. Junxian Wang and colleagues at the University of Nevada (Reno, NV, USA) and Ford Motor Company (Dearborn, MI, USA) have developed a framework for video-based surveillance where target detection is integrated with tracking to improve detection results. Read more here. 

Source: Vision Systems Design

Continuing innovations in machine vision will be demonstrated at VISION 2010, held for the 23rd time from 9-11 November 2010, in Stuttgart, Germany. The technological focal points of VISION 2010 at the New Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre will include, for example, further developments of camera systems with different standard interfaces. Stand-alone camera systems, which integrate complete PC functions, will be highlighted in particular.

These new cameras must satisfy strict requirements and provide superb test quality through high image resolution, a high degree of flexibility during use, a compact design and first-rate functional safety by means of efficient software. They must also be easy to program and install. Read more here.

Source: Industrial Laser Solution

Laser Services has expanded capabilities in both ceramic materials inventory and its laser-based machining services for those materials. The company is a value-added storehouse for a range of ceramic substrates (primarily alumina) from suppliers including Coorstek, CeramTec, and Kyocera.

Laser Services has a close working relationships with top ceramic suppliers, and subsequently stocks various types and thicknesses for custom drilling, cutting, or scribing. In addition, the staff maintains up-to-date details on the critical ceramic material parameters that can impact the mechanical and electrical integrity of a customer’s design. These include consistency of dielectric constant, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and dissipation factor. Read more here. 

Source: Vision Systems Design

Traditional light-field imagers such as the plenoptic camera and the integral imager suffer from an inherent spatio-angular resolution trade-off that typically results in low-resolution measurements. This trade-off is one of the main hurdles in extending light-field imaging to a wider class of applications such as 3-D photography and 3-D microscopy. To address this problem, researchers may make a series of measurements—scanning in either the angular or spatial dimension—to synthesize a higher-resolution light field. However, these sampling approaches require a large number of measurements over a longer exposure time, which is undesirable in many applications. Read more here. 

Source: Laser Focus World

OPTRA was awarded a contract by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to supply Laser Event Recorders (LERs). The LERs will be used to fight the aircraft laser dazzle problem that has become an increasing problem for pilots worldwide in recent years. 

The problem that pilots have been facing in increasing numbers is from people on the ground that point hand held laser devices at aircraft. Some of these laser pointers have a range of up to 5 miles and in some cases can cause temporary blindness for the pilot that could result in loss of control of the aircraft. With the LER being used in the cockpit of an aircraft it is possible to detect a laser pointed in the direction of an aircraft and allow the pilot to avoid eye contact while at the same time capturing critical information that can be used to locate, apprehend, and prosecute the offender. Read more here. 

Source: Laser Focus World

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a system to measure a laser's power and spatial energy distribution simultaneously by directing the laser beam onto a glass target board they designed. Ultimately, the reusable target board and beam diagnostic system will help accelerate the development of such high-energy laser systems and reduce the time required to make them operational for national security purposes. 

High-energy lasers--one type of directed-energy weapon--can be mounted on aircraft to deliver a large amount of energy to a far-away target at the speed of light, resulting in structural and incendiary damage. These lasers can be powerful enough to destroy cruise missiles, artillery projectiles, rockets and mortar rounds. But before these weapons can be used in the field, the lasers must be tested and evaluated at test ranges. The power and energy distribution of the high-energy laser beam must be accurately measured on a target board, with high spatial and temporal resolution. Read more here. 

Source: Industrial Laser Solution

Geoff Shannon, PhD, the laser technology manager of Miyachi Unitek, will give a free Webcast on fiber laser welding on Tuesday, August 24, at 2 pm EDT. Hosted by Industrial Laser Solutions for Manufacturing®, "Fiber Laser Welding: Technology, Capability and Application Opportunities" is now open for registration. Click here to register.http://video.webcasts.com/events/penn001/35421.

"This event is a fabulous opportunity to get up to speed on what fiber lasers offers users who are interested in laser welding," says Industrial Laser Solutions Chief Editor David A. Belforte. Read more here. 

Source: Laser Focus World

Sydor Instruments, a manufacturer of ultrafast imaging systems such as the ROSS (Rochester Optical Streak System) streak camera and other scientific imaging cameras as well as image intensifiers, detectors, and other components for aerospace, energy, and the life sciences, received a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) from the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions and Lethality Contracting Center, to support Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. Sydor Instruments will deliver Rapid Optical Prototyping Facility Design and Oversight support for Picatinny Arsenal's Optics Lab facility. 

"With this newly awarded BPA, Sydor Instruments continues its rich history of providing innovative optical solutions and support to the US Department of Defense," explains Michael Pavia, president of Sydor Instruments. The five-year agreement, awarded to multiple vendors, includes an unlimited dollar amount ceiling with a $500,000 limit on individual Call Orders. Read more here. 

Source: Vision Systems Design

At their main location in Ingelheim, Germany, the Boehringer company produces inhaled medications for respiratory disease. To meet quality control demands, the company designed and installed a machine vision system forpharmaceutical inspection with FireWire cameras to perform a 100% quality test. The optical testing facility was developed under the direction of Dr. Peter Stöckel, a senior scientist at Boerhinger. 

The active ingredient in the capsules is loaded in micronized powder form into pharmaceutical hard gelatine capsules. Patients then load these capsules into inhalation devices. Each capsule contains 5.5 mg of powder, which is dispensed by filling machines into the capsules in the form of a weakly compacted cylinder. Read more here.