Cognex’s comprehensive line of vision sensors, 2D vision systems, and 3D laser profilers all use machine vision technology to perform inspections – but each are engineered for different tasks. When it comes to 3D, manufacturers in all industries trust Cognex technology to deliver high accuracy surface feature measurements that go beyond the capabilities of 2D machine vision technology.
3D machine vision systems typically comprise multiple cameras or one or more laser displacement sensors. Multi-camera 3D vision in robotic guidance applications provides the robot with part orientation information. These systems involve
multiple cameras mounted at different locations and “triangulation” on an objective position in 3-D space.
In contrast, 3D laser-displacement sensor applications typically include surface inspection and volume measurement, producing 3D results with as few as a single camera. A height map is generated from the displacement of the reflected
lasers’ location on an object. The object or camera must be moved to scan the entire product, similar to line scanning. With a calibrated offset laser, displacement sensors can measure parameters such as surface height and planarity.
