Therefore, the popular image processing library HALCON can now be used with the vicosys® multi-camera system under Linux.
Speed and reliability are two pillars of industrial image processing. The HALCON library from software provider MVTec is known for its particularly optimized image processing algorithms. In benchmarks, it is found among the fastest and most reliable algorithms for pattern matching, MD image processing and code reading. The most common tool to develop scripts with this library is the development environment HDevelop from the same manufacturer. Since this editor only runs under Windows, HALCON is also mainly used for multi-camera systems in Windows environments.
In the industrial environment, however, the use of Windows is problematic for several reasons. This already starts with the short lifetime of the different operating system versions. For example, support for Windows 11 is scheduled to end as early as 2024. Responsible administrators will classify Windows 11 systems with network connections as a security risk by then at the latest, because there will be no more security updates. Another shortcoming is the way Windows works. Programmers cannot prevent Windows from interrupting the necessary image processing for a few tenths of a second and running a background process instead. Applications that require reliably short reaction times are therefore not feasible under Windows.
Vision & Control therefore separates development and execution. With the new software version (310), the vicosys® multi-camera system is able to execute Halcon scripts. Halcon developers can create HDEV scripts in a familiar Windows environment with HDevelop based on error images. Then it is inserted into the programming environment vcwin at the appropriate place as a script call and transferred to the Linux system vicosys®. Users thus have the possibility to create particularly time-critical and reliable applications with HALCON and vicosys®. HALCON is already available for delivery as an option (Progress Edition RTL) when ordering a vicosys® from Vision & Control.