Microscan VS-1 User manual

Getting Started with the
VS-1 Smart Camera
83-111017-02
v4.1.0, February 2010

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Microscan Systems, Inc.
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v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera iii
Contents
PREFACE Welcome! v
Purpose of This Manual v
Manual Conventions v
CHAPTER 1 Using a VS-1 Smart Camera for the First
Time 1-1
Establishing a Network Connection and Making a FrontRunner™
Device Button for Your Camera 1-1
Creating a New Job to Acquire Images 1-5
CHAPTER 2 The VS-1 Smart Camera in Action - Simple
Examples 2-1
Icons 2-2
Simple Blob Tool 2-3
Simple Flaw Tool 2-12
Simple Fast Edge Tool 2-19
Simple Data Matrix Tool 2-36
Training Tools 2-41
Where To Now? 2-42

Contents
iv Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010
CHAPTER 3 The VS-1 Smart Camera in Action - Advanced
Example 3-1
Advanced Example Using Multiple Tools 3-2
Input Datums 3-2
Procedure 3-2
Where To Now? 3-21
Index 1-1

v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v
Preface
PREFACE Welcome!
Purpose of This Manual
This manual is designed to get you up and running with your VS-1 Smart
Camera quickly and confidently.
Please don’t be intimidated by the size of this Getting Started manual. It
contains a large number of images that will help you as you create new
Jobs using the tutorials.
Manual Conventions
The following typographical conventions are used throughout this manual.
• Items emphasizing important information are bolded.
• Menu selections, menu items and entries in screen images are
indicated as: Run (triggered), Modify..., etc.

Preface
vi Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010

v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera 1-1
1
Using a VS-1 Smart
Camera for the First
1
CHAPTER 1 Using a VS-1 Smart
Camera for the First Time
Before proceeding with this chapter, you should have:
• Completed installation of Visionscape®software;
• Suitably mounted and wired the VS-1 Smart Camera (see Chapter 2
of Visionscape® Smart Camera Guide)
Establishing a Network Connection and Making a
FrontRunner™ Device Button for Your Camera
This section assumes familiarity with basic wired networking concepts
such as IP addresses and DHCP servers. If these terms are not familiar,
please talk to your IT department and see “Setting Up Network
Communications” in the Visionscape® Smart Camera Guide.
A network connection is required to communicate with the VS-1 Smart
Camera. In order that the VS-1 Smart Camera be recognized, it must
have a valid IP address. As shipped, the VS-1 Smart Camera will try to
obtain an IP address from a DHCP server so, if your network is configured
for DHCP, you will be able to connect to your camera without changing
any settings. However, if your network requires a static IP address to be
assigned, or if you would like to use a cross-link cable, please see

Chapter 1Using a VS-1 Smart Camera for the First Time
1-2 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010
“Setting Up Network Communications” in the Visionscape® Smart
Camera Guide.
Note: When using a VS-1 Smart Camera in a production environment, it
MUST be programmed to use a static IP address instead of DHCP. This is
to prevent loss of communications due to IP lease renewal by the DHCP
server.
Follow these steps when connecting the VS-1 Smart Camera for the first
time:
1. Connect the VS-1 Smart Camera to the same network as the PC that
will be running the FrontRunner™ software.
2. Apply power to the VS-1 Smart Camera; be sure to do this AFTER
making the physical connection to the network.
3. Start the FrontRunner™ application by selecting Start > Visionscape
> Visionscape FrontRunner. The main FrontRunner™ screen is
displayed, as shown in Figure 1–1.
FIGURE 1–1. FrontRunner™ Main Screen
4. Select View > Network Overview to display the Network Overview
window, as shown in Figure 1–2.
Device Buttons
Device Bar
Toolbar

Establishing a Network Connection and Making a FrontRunner™ Device
Using a VS-1 Smart
Camera for the First
1
v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera 1-3
FIGURE 1–2. Network Overview Screen — No Camera Selected
Your camera should appear in the network overview list. The camera
name will be of the form HawkeyeXXXXXX, where the X’s represent
the last part of the camera’s MAC address.
5. Click on the row that lists your camera. The network information area
should update and display the Change Network Settings … button, as
shown in Figure 1–3.
FIGURE 1–3. Network Overview Screen — Camera Selected
6. If the info area displays a red background identifying a camera
communication problem, it means that the camera and the PC, even
though connected to the same network, are not using the same
logical IP addressing. See “Setting Up Network Communications” in
the Visionscape® Smart Camera Guide to correct the communication
problem.
7. Click the Change Network Settings button, which displays the login
screen. Enter the default user name (hawkeye) and password
(“vision”) and click OK. You will see the Change HawkEye Network
Settings dialog box (Figure 1–4), which allows you to change the
name of your camera.

Chapter 1Using a VS-1 Smart Camera for the First Time
1-4 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010
FIGURE 1–4. Change Network Settings Dialog Box
8. Highlight the existing camera name, type in a new name (no spaces
are allowed), and click OK. You will see the name of your camera
change in the network overview. You can close the Network Overview
Window.
9. From FrontRunner™, click to display the Select Device dialog
box.
10. Click on the camera name you just assigned and click OK. You will
see a new device button appear for your camera, as shown in
Figure 1–5.
FIGURE 1–5. VS-1 Device Button Added

Creating a New Job to Acquire Images
Using a VS-1 Smart
Camera for the First
1
v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera 1-5
Note: The green triangle symbol indicates that the camera is currently
running a job.
11. From this point on, you can simply click on the device button for your
camera to establish a connection.
Creating a New Job to Acquire Images
The instructions that the VS-1 Smart Camera performs in a particular
application are called “Steps”, and the complete collection of steps is
called a “Job”. To do anything, even to take a picture, the VS-1 Smart
Camera requires a Job. Use the following procedure to create a new Job:
1. Click the device button for your camera.
2. Take control of the camera by clicking .
This will display the Login to Device dialog box, where you should
enter the username (hawkeye) and password (“vision”) and then click
OK.
3. To begin creating a new Job, select File > New Job (or click ).
FrontRunner™ displays the screen shown in Figure 1–6.

Chapter 1Using a VS-1 Smart Camera for the First Time
1-6 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010
FIGURE 1–6. FrontRunner Main Screen After Clicking New Job
4. To acquire a new image, click . You should see an image appear
in the display area.
5. To display a “live” image, click . (Click it again to exit live video.)
6. To bring up the step editing environment, click .
You will see a hierarchy of steps on the left hand side of the editor, as
shown in Figure 1–7.
Acquire New Image
Live Video

Creating a New Job to Acquire Images
Using a VS-1 Smart
Camera for the First
1
v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera 1-7
FIGURE 1–7. Hierarchy of Steps
7. Select the step named “Acquire”. After you select the Acquire step,
the right hand side of the editor will display the various parameters
and settings that can be modified. Of immediate interest is Exposure
Time. You can click on the spreadsheet cell with the current Exposure
Time value to change it. Reducing the exposure time will darken the
image, while increasing it will make the image brighter.
So far, the Job you are manipulating exists only on the PC. You are
using the Job in “Setup Mode”, which allows you to create, edit, and
debug Jobs on the PC.
8. To transfer the Job to the camera, click
If you want the Job to be non-volatile (still be loaded on the camera
when it is rebooted), then click

Chapter 1Using a VS-1 Smart Camera for the First Time
1-8 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010
9. Now that there is a Job loaded onto the camera, start it by clicking
This will switch FrontRunner™ to a runtime display which, in the case
of this example, will simply display the image, as shown in
Figure 1–8.
FIGURE 1–8. Image Displayed by Your New Job
Note: Notice the statistics at the bottom of the display.

v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera 2-1
2
The VS-1 Smart
Camera in Action -
2
CHAPTER 2 The VS-1 Smart Camera in
Action - Simple Examples
This chapter contains simple tutorial examples to help you become
familiar with various FrontRunner™ tools:
• “Simple Blob Tool” on page 2-3
• “Simple Flaw Tool” on page 2-12
• “Simple Fast Edge Tool” on page 2-19
• “Simple Data Matrix Tool” on page 2-36
Notice that each sections lists the complete Job (xxxxx.AVP) that
corresponds to the Job you will create.

Chapter 2The VS-1 Smart Camera in Action - Simple Examples
2-2 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010
Icons
Table 2–1 describes the icon used in this chapter:
TABLE 2–1. Icons and What They Mean
Icon What It Means
This is step #1 of a procedure.
Click the left mouse button.
This is step #2 of a procedure.
Click the left mouse button.
1
2

Simple Blob Tool
The VS-1 Smart
Camera in Action -
2
v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera 2-3
Simple Blob Tool
FrontRunner™ Job:
Start > Visionscape > Visionscape Tutorials & Samples > Tutorials >
HawkEye 1600T > Simple Blob Tool > tutorial_blob.avp
The Blob Tool performs connectivity analysis on an image, finding groups
of connected pixels with gray levels above or below a threshold. Each
group is called a blob. The Blob Tool records all the detected blobs into a
blob tree. For each blob, the tool calculates many geometric features
including the length, width, area, etc. In addition, the number of blobs and
number of parts in the region of interest (ROI) are calculated. A part is a
blob that has the opposite color of the background. A hole is a blob with
the same color as the background.
This example counts the number of pips on a die.
1. Start FrontRunner™ by selecting Start > Visionscape > Visionscape
FrontRunner. FrontRunner™ displays its main window.
2. Do either of the following:
a. For a camera already added to FrontRunner™, simply click the
camera button.
b. For a camera that has not been added to FrontRunner™, click
FrontRunner™ displays the Select Device dialog box. Select a
camera and click OK.
3. Take control of the camera by clicking .
FrontRunner™ displays the Login to Device dialog box.
Note: You will not see this screen if no login parameters are set.
4. Enter your username (default is “hawkeye”) and password (default is
“vision”), and click OK.
5. If the camera is running, stop it by clicking . FrontRunner™
displays the Device State Changed dialog box. Because we’re
creating a new Job, click No.

Chapter 2The VS-1 Smart Camera in Action - Simple Examples
2-4 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010
6. Start creating a new Job by clicking Create New Program, and then
Editor, as shown in Figure 2–1.
FIGURE 2–1. Start Creating New Job
The camera will change to Edit Mode (indicated by the pencil next to
the camera icon).
Note: Maximize or minimize the Editor as needed.
7. In the left pane of the Step Tree Editor window, click on the Step
named “Acquire”.
FIGURE 2–2. Acquire Step
Note: You may have to click the Acquire tab in the properties window.
FrontRunner™ displays the Acquire properties page.
8. Adjust the following Acquire properties:
– Picture Mode — Set to Load Images from File.
1
2

Simple Blob Tool
The VS-1 Smart
Camera in Action -
2
v4.1.0, February 2010 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera 2-5
– File List — Click <empty>, and then Add... to display the Open
dialog box. Browse for the file die1pip.tif from Windows. It’s
located at:
C:\Vscape\Tutorials & Samples\Tutorials\HawkEye 1600T\Simple
Blob Tool
Select die1pip.tif and click Open.
Note: These files were installed from the installation CD onto your
hard drive when you installed Visionscape. If you installed
Visionscape to a location other than C:\vscape, replace it with the
appropriate drive and directory designation.
9. Highlight Snapshot in the Step Tree. Right click Snapshot and click
Insert Into. FrontRunner™ displays the Insert Step window. Double
click on Blob Tool to insert it into the Snapshot.
10. In the left pane, highlight Blob Filter in the Step Tree. Right click Blob
Filter and click Delete. FrontRunner™ displays the Are you sure you
want to delete this step? screen. Click Yes.
Note: Normally, you wouldn’t delete Blob Filter from your Job. But,
since we’re simply counting pips on a die, you can delete it in this Job.
11. Click Blob Tool in the Step Tree to display the Blob Tool properties
page.
12. Adjust the following Blob Tool properties:
– Use Autothreshold — Uncheck it.
– High Threshold — Set to 64.
– Maximum Blob size — Set to 10000.
– Min Number of Blobs — Set to 1.
– Max Number of Blobs — Set to 6.
13. To display die1pip.tif, click .
FrontRunner™ displays the image and a box (the Blob Tool ROI), as
shown in Figure 2–3.

Chapter 2The VS-1 Smart Camera in Action - Simple Examples
2-6 Getting Started with the VS-1 Smart Camera v4.1.0, February 2010
FIGURE 2–3. die1pip.tif and Blob Tool ROI
14. Click on the box. Move and size the box so that it surrounds the die,
as shown in Figure 2–4.