Experiences with the use of computer-aided design of image acquisition for surface inspection

This paper focuses on recent experiences gained in the computer-aided design of image acquisition for demanding surface inspection applications. The design procedure used in the experiments has been developed at VTT Electronics and a commercially available optics design software is used in the practical implementation. An example of the design of image acquisition for metal, paper, and wood inspection is described to illustrate the utility and practicality of the planning tool for assisting in the design of image acquisition. Certain crucial optical parameters, such as the divergence of an illuminator, the diffusion level of a diffuser, and the illumination and viewing angles are considered in particular and their effects on the resulting illumination patterns on the surfaces of objects are simulated with the help of the design tool. Finally, the simulation results are compared with measurements acquired with a real imaging construction and test samples and the advantages and drawbacks of the computer aided planning tool are evaluated.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.