IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH - Experts & Thought Leaders

Dust, moisture and high-pressure cleaning place high demands on cameras used for industrial process monitoring. With the new uEye SFA, IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH is expanding its uEye Live monitoring range with an especially robust model designed for challenging operating conditions. The camera combines an IP69K-rated housing and high image quality with flexible streaming functions. The uEye SFA has been developed for applications that require reliable live images, even in harsh environments. Its housing protects against dust ingress and withstands high-pressure water jets during cleaning processes. Flexible streaming functions Screw-lock connectors provide additional operational reliability. Thanks to Power over Ethernet (PoE), both data and power are transmitted via a single cable over distances of up to 100 metres. "With the uEye SFA, we offer users a rugged monitoring camera that is easy to integrate and delivers reliable live images even under demanding conditions," explains Marcus Rembold, Product Manager at IDS. "Its 8-megapixel IMX678 sensor from Sony's STARVIS 2 series ensures excellent image quality, even in low light environments." Like all models in the series, the uEye SFA is designed for standalone operation. It supports video streaming, hardware-accelerated encoding, and event-based recording. Multiple streams can be configured and operated in parallel, providing additional flexibility when different stream settings are required for process monitoring. The uEye Live family also includes the compact uEye SCP, featuring the industrial standard format of 29 x 29 x 29 mm, and the uEye SLE, a space-saving single-board camera measuring just 45 x 45 mm. IDS therefore offers a range of camera designs for flexible live monitoring applications in industrial processes

Metallic, highly reflective surfaces are among the most challenging objects to inspect in machine vision applications. Reflections obscure details, defects often only become apparent from certain angles, and the quality of manual visual inspections varies throughout the working day. The Austrian company Danube Dynamics, in collaboration with EVVA, a manufacturer of mechatronic access solutions, demonstrates how these challenges can be managed with an AI-supported testing system. The system captures components placed in an orderly manner in a box in one step, automatically assesses surface defects, and integrates quality control reproducibly into the production process. Strict quality specifications Background: Challenging surfaces, high requirements - At EVVA, metallic components undergo several process steps and must meet strict quality specifications. These include, among others, locking cylinders, cylinder cores, and other finely machined or galvanised precision parts from access technology. Mechanical defects such as scratches under 0.1 mm and galvanisation errors must be detected – deficiencies that are often hardly visible to the naked eye. The central difficulty: Highly reflective surfaces reflect light and may conceal relevant features. For a reliable assessment, multiple viewpoints are often necessary. In practice, this complicates maintaining a consistently high quality of manual inspections. A solution was sought that reliably detects defects, supports employees, and integrates stably into the production process. Mechanical locking cylinder with a high-precision metal surface – test object of the AI inspection. Solution: Closed test box, coordinated lighting, AI To reliably solve these challenging inspection tasks, an AI-powered inspection system was developed in collaboration with Danube Dynamics. AI-powered inspection system The system captures components arranged in a 400 × 300 mm Eurobox in one step, automatically assesses surface defects, and integrates quality control reproducibly into the production process. Up to 126 components are arranged in the box and are tested in one pass. To 1/4 create constant conditions despite reflections, a closed test box with customised lighting is employed. Four individually controllable RGBW bars allow for different colours and lighting angles to make various defect patterns visible. The coordinated interplay of lighting, image quality, and AI evaluation was crucial. AI-based Inspection System: Arranged components in the Eurobox during optical inspection. The image capture is performed by a monochrome industrial camera of the type IDS uEye U3-36P0XCP-M GL Rev. 1.2. It is based on the 19.80 MP sensor AR2020 from onsemi, delivers 5K UHD resolution with 5136 × 3856 pixels, and is suitable for inspecting the finest surface details. High-contrast representation The 1/1.8-inch rolling shutter sensor in a 4:3 aspect ratio supports detailed imaging of even the smallest defects. The system is complemented by an IDS lens with a focal length of 8.5 mm (Type 20M11-C08528). “For us, it was crucial that we could capture many arranged components on a large testing area in one step while still reliably detecting the smallest surface defects. Only the interplay of lighting, high-resolution image capture, and AI evaluation makes this quality control robustly manageable,” underlines Edwin Schweiger, Co-Founder and COO at Danube Dymamics. The camera captures the entire Eurobox in high resolution. The image data obtained in this manner enables the detection of the smallest defects in each individual component using AI subsequently. What is crucial is not only the pixel count but also the repeat accuracy under defined lighting conditions. The monochrome version additionally supports a high-contrast representation of relevant surface features. AI detected deviations “Especially with highly reflective surfaces, it is essential to depict fine differences stably and in detail,” emphasises Jürgen Hejna, Product Owner 2D Cameras at IDS. “The camera's high sensor resolution and easy integration provide a solid foundation for industrial applications.” Ease of integration was also a decisive factor for Danube Dynamics. The camera can be integrated into the overall system via a standard interface. This reduces the development effort and ensures stable testing results during ongoing operations. Measurable benefit - The potential of the solution became evident during the first live deployment: The AI detected deviations that even experienced professionals hardly noticed. Above all, the significantly reduced testing time made the benefit immediately measurable. The previously manual visual inspection of more than 30 seconds per Eurobox has been reduced to under five seconds. The basis for this consists of four defined lighting scenarios, from which four images per component are generated. Subsequent AI inference The subsequent AI inference occurs with a runtime of approximately 10 milliseconds per cylinder. At the same time, the testing process has been fully digitised. Testing results are now systematically documented and statistically evaluated. Scrap and deviations that were previously not recorded are now transparently traceable. Manual quality control is therefore not replaced but specifically supported. Employees are relieved, testing processes are reproducible, and quality is measurably integrated into the production process. Another milestone is the ability to retrain the AI independently. EVVA can integrate new product variants and error patterns into the system by itself. This enhances the future viability of the solution and allows for adjustments to growing requirements without altering the fundamental system structure. AI-based evaluation The demands for automated quality control are increasing. At the same time, awareness is growing regarding what is possible with coordinated image capture and AI-based evaluation. While standard applications are relatively simple to implement today, this project demonstrates the potential in the inspection of demanding surfaces. It illustrates how even optically challenging, safety-relevant components can be reliably inspected using lighting, high-resolution camera technology, and AI. Customer - Danube Dynamics Embedded Solutions GmbH is a technology company based in Linz, Austria, which has specialised in intelligent embedded system solutions for industry since 2020. The company develops tailor made solutions at the interface of software, AI and electronics with the aim of driving automation and digitalisation forward in an efficient, secure and future-oriented manner through "AI at the Edge". Mechatronic access solutions Today, Danube Dynamics has over 30 customers across Europe and employs a team of more than 15 highly qualified developers and engineers. For over 100 years, EVVA has been synonymous with mechanical and electronic access systems at the highest technical level. What began in 1919 with the founding of the ‘Invention-Testing-Utilisation-Institution’ (EVVA) is now a central part of the company philosophy: EVVA conducts its own research, develops and produces independently, and realises innovative mechatronic access solutions. As a family-owned business, EVVA is among the most successful companies in the industry internationally: Over 300 patents have been registered; subsidiaries in ten European markets and worldwide distributors ensure international presence.

IDS Imaging Development Systems will showcase new camera platforms, technologies and innovation projects for industrial image processing at VISION 2026 (Messe Stuttgart, 6–8 October) at booth 8C60. Under the theme “Trends. Innovations. Future.”, IDS will showcase uEye camera platforms, event-based imaging, 3D vision systems, and AI and embedded vision technologies. “Computer vision must do more today than just reliably capture images. It is crucial how quickly and easily image processing moves from an idea to a concrete application – and how well cameras, software and AI functions can be integrated into existing systems. This is precisely what we align our product strategy with: IDS offers industrial cameras and computer vision components that users can flexibly combine into their own solutions. Instead of turnkey systems, we focus on modular hardware and software with high quality, long term availability, technological standards and comprehensive support – right up to customer-specific customisations. Being close to customers and partners is essential: Requirements from specific applications feed directly into our development, improving existing products, expanding our portfolio and helping to bring innovations into industrial practice more quickly. At VISION, we are showing how IDS consistently rethinks image processing, from classic industrial cameras to computer vision components with integrated AI,” explains Jan Hartmann, Managing Partner at IDS. Computer vision components New products and technologies for VISION 2026 IDS Imaging Development Systems has been developing industrial cameras and computer vision components for industrial and non-industrial applications for almost 30 years. The focus of this year's trade fair presence is on new uEye vision camera platforms, which serve as the technological basis for upcoming 2D industrial camera series. They are designed for higher performance, simple integration and long-term availability. In collaboration with Prophesee, IDS is presenting further developments in event-based camera technology for highly dynamic applications such as drones and autonomous systems. A key focus is also event-based image processing. Together with Prophesee, IDS provides an insight into further developments in the field of event-based cameras. The technology is particularly suited to highly dynamic applications such as drones, AGVs and autonomous systems, including object detection, tracking and safe navigation. Embedded vision systems In the field of 3D vision, the company is presenting news regarding the 3D ToF camera Nion, including a new RGB set for synchronised image acquisition that merges colour and depth data. In addition, IDS is showing a new version of the active stereo vision Ensenso N series for precise and robust 3D data acquisition in robotics, bin picking and measurement technology. The technology roadmap also includes AI cameras and embedded vision systems. IDS is extending its uEye Live series of monitoring cameras with streaming and recording functionality by adding AI-enabled models, paving the way for AI-powered image processing on-the-edge. High-performance neural networks from our partner DENKweit perform tasks such as fast object and position detection, precise parcel handling and efficient code reading. New AI-capable uEye Live cameras recognise objects and their position using neural networks from DENKweit. Insight into innovation projects Embedded vision processes As a key innovation project, IDS is presenting the “GMSL Multi-Camera Vision System”. It demonstrates how intelligent embedded vision processes and combines images from multiple cameras with integrated ISPs and SoCs directly within the system, before transmitting the resulting data via a single GMSL cable. This reduces latency and data load in favour of a reliable basis for their own projects with distributed GMSL cameras, particularly in mobile applications. Another project demonstrates active focus control fully integrated into the camera, where control and feedback are provided directly via the software. The robust hardware is suitable for demanding applications in logistics, autonomous systems and retail. For vegetation analysis, IDS is showing an NDVI camera that combines multispectral imaging with high resolution colour imaging. It makes the health status of plants visible and provides reliable NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) values, with which planning and resource allocation in agriculture can be specifically improved. Developing practical solutions VISION Makeathon 2026 At the VISION Makeathon 2026, tangible prototypes are created from ideas: Interdisciplinary teams develop practical solutions for current image processing challenges within one day. IDS is participating as a project company with its own challenge, technology and expert know-how. This year at VISION, IDS is once again showcasing trends, innovations, an future topics in industrial image processing. VISION, the world's pioneer trade fair for machine vision, will take place from 6 - 8 October at Messe Stuttgart