Automation and Integration of Industries through Computer Vision Systems

Computer vision is the enterprise of automating and integrating a wide range of processes and representations used for vision perception. It includes many techniques that are useful by themselves, such as image processing (transforming, encoding, and transmitting images) and statistical pattern classification (statistical decision theory applied to general patterns, visual or otherwise). Moreover, it also includes techniques for geometric modeling and cognitive processing. The field of computer vision may be best understood by considering different types of applications. Many of these applications involve tasks that require either work in a hostile environment, a high rate of processing, access and use of large databases of information, or are tedious for people to perform. Computer vision systems are used in many and various types of environments – from manufacturing plants, to hospital surgical suits, and to the surface of Mars. For example, in manufacturing systems, computer vision is often used for quality control. In this application, the computer vision system scans manufactured items for defects and provides control signals to a robotic manipulator to remove defective parts automatically. Current examples of medical systems being developed include: systems to diagnose skin tumors automatically, systems to aid neurosurgeons during brain surgery, systems to perform clinical tests automatically, etc. The field of law enforcement and security is also an active area for computer vision system development with applications ranging from automatic identification of fingerprints to DNA analysis. The aim of this paper is to show some of the most important vision-related topics which can have a more or less direct impact on the machine vision and industrial automation research fields. The paper covers a general Tushar Jain & Meenu 964 purpose computer or machine vision systems with its industrial applications.