Sometimes I miss the old days of vision systems smart camera wars with continual volleys of new products–each one more powerful and less expensive than the last. Well, National Instruments just upped the ante with today’s announcement–sent to me via Twitter–of three new smart cameras.
Its NI Smart Camera product line three new products include NI 1744, NI 1762 and NI 1764 Smart Cameras that are said to deliver faster processing speed and higher image resolution to offer more powerful options for engineers requiring an embedded machine vision solution.
Powered by a 533 MHz PowerPC, the NI 1744 Smart Camera features a high-resolution image sensor that acquires images up to 1.3 megapixels (1280×1024). Industrial engineers and machine builders can use the camera to inspect objects for smaller defects and make measurements with four times the resolution of previous NI Smart Cameras.
For engineers needing higher performance for pattern matching, optical character recognition and code reading, the NI 1762 Smart Camera offers a 720 MHz Texas Instruments DSP coprocessor alongside the 533 MHz PowerPC, making it possible to run algorithms up to four times faster with no changes to the application software. The NI 1762 contains the same 640×480 resolution image sensor found in the previously released NI Smart Cameras.
The new NI 1764 Smart Camera offers the highest resolution and performance of all the new cameras, featuring the 1.3 megapixel image sensor and the 720 MHz Texas Instruments DSP coprocessor. The NI 1764 is designed for uses such as high-speed manufacturing line applications that are inspecting large objects or locating and identifying small codes or features.
The new cameras are shipped with NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI), an interactive software environment for configuring and deploying complete machine vision applications without programming. With this intuitive, menu-driven software, engineers can build complex machine vision applications incorporating not only vision algorithms but also state-based execution with looping and branching using the built-in state diagram editor. For more advanced applications, NI Smart Cameras also integrate with NI LabView software and the full NI library of image processing and machine vision algorithms. Engineers can transfer machine vision applications between LabView and Vision Builder AI with few modifications because both software platforms support the entire NI Smart Camera family.
-Gary Mintchell
Automation Gear 
Leave a comment