Lighting Techniques For Machine Vision

Lighting Techniques for
Machine Vision
October, 2022
Daryl Martin
Technical Sales and Product Specialist
Advanced illumination
「 Lighting is our passion
802-767-3830 x251
Flexibility is our model 「 [email protected]
Who is Advanced illumination?
• Ai is a full-line lighting solutions company,

primarily serving the Machine Vision Industry.
Some of our firsts:
• Leading Edge Lighting Technologies
– Collimated LED lights
– Evenlite ® aiming Technology
– Controllable, multi-channel and RGB LED lighting
– Strobe overdrive LEDs
– SignaTech ® for optimizing power safely
– 1,000,000 BTO Products in 1-3 weeks ARO
• Complete In-house Custom Design & Prototyping

• Long-time Vision Partner to OEMs & Mfrs.
Precision Lighting for Vision and Imaging 440 State Garage Road, Rochester, VT 05767 +1802-767-3830 www.advancedillumination.com
Topics
 Objectives of Vision Lighting

 Review of Light
 Vision Lighting Design Method
 Lighting Sources
 9 Guidelines for Applying MV Lighting
 Image Contrast Enhancement Concepts 1-4
 Geometry/Structure
 Color & Wavelength
Otherwise known as:
 Filters
 UV and Vision Lighting “Best Practices”

IR Imaging
Primary Objective of Vision Lighting
What we really require is control of the lighting environment!
Why?
- Create Feature-appropriate lighting on the Part of Interest

- Standardize components, techniques, deployment & operation
- Generate Reproducible inspection results
- Demonstrate Robustness for part variations of “all types”
Vision Lighting Development
• Wave and Look (most common)
- Image the part while trying different sources at different positions
• Scientific Analysis (most effective)

- Analyze the imaging environment and short-list the best solution possibilities
Contrast:
(Image) Contrast: A difference in image grayscale that distinguishes an object or feature from its background.
Multiple formulas to formally quantitate “image contrast” – largely image content dependent
Grayscale: Characterizes only the amount of light (intensity information), typically calibrated from “0”
(black) to “255” (white) – for an 8-bit (28 values) camera image.
Lighting Image Contrast
It’s All About (creating) Contrast
Contrast!! Have we? 
1) Maximize image contrast

• Part / features of interest vs. background No
2) Minimize sensitivity to normal variations

affecting image contrast
• minor part differences
• presence of, or change in ambient lighting
• object handling / presentation differences Yes!
Point 1 might solve some apps; # 2 can be critical!

Review of Light for Vision
Illumination
Characterizing Light for Vision
Light: Photons propagating as an oscillating transverse
electromagnetic energy wave - characterized by:
- Measured “Intensity” (Power): Radiometric and Photometric

- Frequency: Varies inversely with wavelength (Hz – waves/sec)
- Wavelength: Expressed in nanometers (nm) or microns (um)
Photons:
Energy packets exhibiting properties of
waves and particles.
Images Courtesy Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
100,000 nm
MV Electromagnetic Spectrum
Eyes and cameras “see” differently
Nanometers (nm)
400 500 600 700
Human Visible
100 nm 1000 nm 1000 um

10-8 um 10-5 um 0.01 um 1 um 1 mm 10 mm 103 m
Micro-
Gamma Rays X-Rays UV IR waves Radio Waves
UV-C UV-B UV-A NIR SWIR MWIR LWIR
280 315 400 730 1000 3000 5000 Nanometers (nm)

1 um 3 um 5 um
Light / Object Interaction
Properties when interacting with media (objects):
• Diffusion: Spreading, or dispersal of light into the object - may be wavelength specific
• Reflection: If not viewing a source directly, light must interact (mostly reflect) with objects for us to see it!
• Refraction: Wave front direction change upon entering media of a different index of refraction (violet > red)
• Diffraction: Bending around edges – Not a major factor in machine vision lighting (red > violet)
Angle of Dispersion
Φ1 = Φ2
Φ1 Φ2
White Light
Specular Reflection
n = 1.5 (glass) Φ1 > Φ2
n = 1.0 (air)
Diffuse Reflection
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Light / Object Interaction
Total Light In = Reflected + Absorbed + Transmitted + Emitted (fluorescence) Light
Incident Illumination • Measured Irradiance/Illuminance

falls off as the inv. sq. of the
distance (I = 1 / r2)
Absorb
• 2X (WD) = ¼ the “intensity”
Reflect –
Specular or
Diffuse
WD
Emit (fluorescence) Transmit
Vision Lighting Sources
Primary Vision Light Sources
LED - Light Emitting Diode

Quartz Halogen – W/ Fiber Optics
Fluorescent
Xenon Strobe
Click dark image to start video

Images Courtesy Wikimedia Commons Public Domain, Stocker Yale (fluorescent ring and F/O source);
Xenon Strobe Sequence copyright Gregory Maxwell, WikiMedia Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Gmaxwell under GNU Free Doc License v. 1.2
Primary Vision Light Sources
Intensity vs. Wavelength
Quartz Halogen / Tungsten
Mercury (Purple)
100
Daytime Sunlight
80 Fluorescent
Relative Intensity (%)
60
Xenon White
LED
40
20 Red
LED
0
300 400 500 600 700
Wavelength (nm)
LED Types
T1 ¾, The Standard
Courtesy Sun LED
Surface Mount LEDs

Courtesy Sun LED
High Current LEDs

Courtesy Cree and Philips
HB Images Courtesy Cree and Philips

LED Lifetime
LED lifetime Specification

1) LED Half-life t1/2 of 50k hr:
- After 50k hr half of the power remains
- After successive 50k hr half of the
previous power remains
(disfavored now)
2) Lumen Maintenance Life:

L70 = 64,000 hr means after 64k hr,
70% of the light power remains
Courtesy of Cree
(more practical)
White Light Color Temperature
White LED Color Temperature:

• Select various color temp bins
• LED die chemistry and mostly phosphor mix
Image Courtesy of Cree
Image Courtesy Wikimedia

Commons Public Domain
Image Courtesy of Cree

LED Safety
IEC 62471 Photobiological Safety
• Identify light hazards specific to UV/blue, blue, visible and Thermal/IR Wavelength range categories
• Assign a “Risk Group” classification and Mitigation/Guidance Measures as follows:
Guidance Control Measures

Exempt Risk Risk Group 1 Risk Group 2 Risk Group 3
Group (None) (Low Risk) (Moderate Risk) (High Risk)
Definition No Photobiological No Photobiological Hazard under No Hazard due to Aversion Response Hazardous even for Momentary
Hazard Normal Behavior to Bright Light or Thermal Discomfort Exposure
Hazard
Ultraviolet hazard Not required Minimize exposure to eyes or skin. Eye or skin irritation may result from Avoid eye and skin exposure to
200 nm to 400 nm Use appropriate shielding. exposure. Use appropriate shielding. unshielded product.
Retinal blue light Not required Not required Do not stare at operating lamp. May be Do not look at operating lamp. Eye
hazard 300 nm to harmful to the eyes. injury may result.
400 nm
Retinal blue light or Not required Not required Do not stare at operating lamp. May be Do not look at operating lamp. Eye
thermal hazard harmful to the eyes. injury may result.
400 nm to 780 nm
Cornea/lens Not required Use appropriate shielding or eye Avoid eye exposure. Use appropriate Avoid eye exposure. Use
infrared hazard protection. shielding or eye protection. appropriate shielding or eye
780 nm to 3000 nm protection.
Retinal thermal Not required Do not stare at operating lamp. Do not stare at operating lamp. Do not look at operating lamp.
hazard, weak visual Images Courtesy of
stimulus 780 nm to Cree
1400 nm
Human Eye vs. Camera
Radiometric: Measured radiant power considering the entire electromagnetic spectrum
Photometric: Radiometric measures scaled to the human eye response (visible spectrum only)
25000
1800
507 nm
Human vs. NIR Enhanced
1600 Human Day vs. Night
20000 Camera Response & Range
Vision Response
1400
1200
15000
1000
555 nm
800
10000
600
400 5000
200
0 0
400 450 507 555 600 650 700 300 400 507 555 600 700 800 900 1000
Scotopic – Night Adapted (lm / W) Photopic – Daytime (lm / W) Relative NIR Enhanced Sensor Response
Sensors and Wavelength
IR Enhanced Analog
80 Digital Interline Transfer
Standard Analog
CMOS
60 UV Enhanced Analog
Human Scotopic (Night)
Absolute QE (%)
Human Photopic
IR Block (Short Pass)
40
20
0
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Wavelength (nm)
4 Contrast Enhancement Concepts
How do we change (create) contrast?
• Change Light / Object / Camera Geometry Warm Cool
– 3-D spatial relationship
• Change Light Pattern (Structure) R V

– Light Head Type: Spot, Line, Dome, Array
– Illumination Type: B.F. – D.F. – Diffuse – B.L. O B
• Change Spectrum (Color / Wavelength)
– Monochrome / White vs. Object and Camera Response Y G
– Warm vs. Cool color families – Object vs. Background
• Change Light Character (Filtering)

– Affecting the wavelength / direction of light to the camera
Filter Image Courtesy Midwest Optical Systems
Palatine, IL
Important: impact of incident light on the part and its immediate background!
Image Contrast Enhancement Concepts
1&2: Lighting Geometry/Structure
Techniques
Basic Lighting Techniques
1 – Partial (Directional)
Bright Field
2 - Dark Field
3 - Back Lighting
Advanced Lighting Techniques
4- Coaxial Diffuse (DOAL)* 5 - Diffuse Dome 6 - Flat Diffuse
Full Bright Field

Collimated
Coaxial Diffuse Multi-Axis / Combo
Back Lighting Dome + Dark Field Structured
Bright and Dark Field Laser/LED grids, lines
Addressable Rows Focused Linears
* It should be noted that strictly defined, Co-axial Diffuse lighting is a partial bright field Technique.
System vs. Light Ray Geometry
System Geometry: Relative position in 3-D space of light, camera/lens & part
Light Ray Geometry: Direction & angles-of-incidence of light rays w/r to the part
Off-axis Co-axial
Backlighting Std Co-axial Off-axis
Primary Light Ray

Reflected Light Ray
Off-axis
Bright Field vs. Dark Field
Typical On-Axis Ring Light – Sample Geometry
Bright Field Dark Field
Bright Field vs. Dark Field
Classic “W” Pattern
Partial Bright Field Lights in
White Area (Inside the “W”) Dark Field Lights in Grey
Areas (Outside the “W”)
Scratch
45
Mirrored Surface
Light from right for demo clarity
Bright Field vs. Dark Field Light
Bright Field Dark Field
- Specular surfaces reflect glare if light is high-angle - Emphasizes Height, Edges, Shape, Contours
- Diffuse, flat and smooth surfaces reflect evenly - Diffuse Surfaces Bright
- Flat Polished Surfaces Dark
Bright Field
Dark Field
Dark Field Example
- Angled light – 45 degrees or less

- Used on highly reflective surfaces
- OCR or surface defect applications
Back Lighting
• Edge or hole detection
• Useful on translucent materials
Liquid fill levels
Glass/plastic defects
Longer λ light may penetrate some objects better
• Part P/A, location and/or orientation
• Vision-Guided Robotics: Pick & Place
High-accuracy gauging: • Gauging
• Use monochromatic light
• Shorter wavelengths best
• Use collimation – parallel rays
Limiting factor is lens optics and/or camera sensor resolution, not the light wavelength
Back Lighting Example
660 nm Red Backlight
Small Bottle – Determine Fill Level
Consider colors and materials
properties also.
Longer wavelength isn’t always
best for penetration!
880 nm IR Backlight 470 nm Blue Backlight
Collimated Backlight Illumination
No Collimation Collimation Film
Diffuse Dome
- Similar to the light on an
overcast day.
- Creates minimal glare.
Co-Axial Diffuse Illumination
- Light directed at beam splitter
- Used on non-curved, reflective objects
Flat Diffuse
- Diffuse sheet directed downward
- Long WD and larger FOV
- Hybrid diffuse (dome and Co-Axial)
On-Axis BF Ring Diffuse Co-Axial
Diffuse
On-Axis
On-Axis
Diffuse BFDome
DFRing
Ring
Co-Axial
Flat Diffuse
Flat Diffuse
Diffuse Dome On-Axis DF Ring
Advantages - Disadvantages
Technique vs. Object Surface
Geometry Surface Reflectivity Profile
Independent
Area Matte Mixed Mirror Specular
Directional
Flat Bright Field
Surface Diffuse On-Axis

Flatness &
Texture
Uneven
Topography
Dark Field
Flat Diffuse
Curved Diffuse Dome / Cylinder
Inspection Environment
Physical Constraints
- Access for camera, lens & lighting in 3-D (working volume)
- The size and shape of the working volume
- Min and max camera, lighting working distance and FOV
Part Characteristics
- Is the part presented consistently in orientation & position?
- Any potential for ambient light contamination?
- Object stationary, moving, or indexed?
- If moving or indexed: speeds, feeds & expected cycle time?
- Strobing? Expected pulse rate, on-time & duty cycle?
Ergonomics and Safety

- Man-in-the-loop for operator interaction?
- Safety related to strobing or intense lighting applications?
Contrast Enhancement Concept 3:
Using Color and Wavelength
Create Contrast with Color
Use Monochrome Light to Create Contrast
Warm Cool
1 - Use Like Colors or Families to Lighten:
R V
(red light makes red features brighter)
O B
2 - Use Opposite Colors or Families to Darken:
(red light makes green features darker) Y G
Create Contrast with Color
Warm Cool
R V
Red Green
O B
Y G
1 - red light makes red features brighter
Blue White 2 - red light makes green features darker
3 - Color affects both the object and its background!

White light will contrast all colors; may be a compromise. 4 - Hint: You are creating more contrast in this case…
Wavelength vs. Composition
Contrast Enhancement Concept 4:
Using Pass and Polarizing Filters
Ambient Light
Any light other than the vision-specific lighting that
the camera collects.
Controlling and Negating Ambient Light
Turn off the ambient contribution
Most effective . . . Least Likely!
Build a shroud
Very effective, but time-consuming, bulky and expensive
Overwhelm the ambient contribution w/ high-power

lighting (Continuous-on or Strobe over-drive)
Effective, but requires more cost and complexity
Control it with pass filters

Very effective, but requires a narrow-band source light
Pass Filters in Machine Vision
• Pass filters exclude light
based on wavelength. 715 nm Long
Pass
• Reduce sunlight and
mercury vapor light 4X
• Reduce fluorescent light 35X
Graphics courtesy of Midwest Optical, Palatine, IL
510 nm Short 660 nm Band

Pass Pass
Avoiding Surface Glare
Change Geometry – 3D spatial arrangement of
Light, Sample, and Camera (preferred)
Strobe to overwhelm glare from ambient sources
Use polarization filters (least preferred)
Polarizing Filters in Vision
On-axis Light w/o

Polarizers
w/o Polarizers
On-axis Light
w/ Polarizers
Up to 2 ½
f/stops
Off-axis Light
w/o Polarizers opened! w/ Polarizers
6-pack Plastic Ring Carrier
Back Light w/o Polarizers
Polarized backlighting is best used to

detect internal anisotropy in
transparent materials.
Back Light w/ Polarizers
Avoiding Surface Glare
3-D Reflection Geometry: Light - Sample - Camera
Avoiding Surface Glare - Bar Code
Printing beneath cellophane

wrapped package
Co-Axial Diffuse Illuminator On-Axis Dark Field Ring Light
Off-Axis
On-Axis Broad
Dark
Bright
Co-Axial Area
Field
Field
Diffuse RingLinear
RingLight
Light
Illuminator
On-Axis Bright Field Ring Light Off-Axis Broad Area Linear
Imaging with UV & Near IR Light
Contrast Enhancement
Concepts 3 & 4
Vision Lighting Spectrum
Typical CCD
Sensor
Human Visual
System
Imaging with UV Light - Fluorescence
Colors (wavelengths) and filters work together
Fluorescing Printing
Fluorescing Polymers
Caveats: (nylon)
1) UV light is not always needed – part dependent
2) Use band pass filters to enhance feature contrast
3) Goal is collecting emitted light from part, NOT excitation source light (unlike visible)
4) Emitted (fluorescent yield) light from part is always:
- longer wavelength, thus less energy and less “bright” than source
Imaging with UV Light - Fluorescence
Under 355 nm UV and Application of a Band Pass

Strong Ambient Filter

Imaging with Near IR (NIR)
• Infra-red (IR) light interacts with sample material
properties, often negating color differences.
White light – B&W Camera IR light – B&W Camera
Vision Lighting Design Method
1) Determine the Exact Features of Interest
2) Analyze Part Access / Presentation
 Clear or obstructed, Moving / Stationary
 Min / Max WD range, Sweet Spot FOV, etc.
3) Analyze Surface Characteristics
 Texture
 Reflectivity / Specularity
 Effective Contrast – Object vs. background
 Surface flat, curved, combination
4) Understand Light Types and Applications Techniques
 Rings, Domes, Bars, Spots, Controllers, etc
 Bright Field, Diffuse, Dark Field, Back Lighting
5) Determine Critical Image Contrast Enhancement Issues
 3-D Geometry, Structure, Color & Filters
6) Eliminate Ambient Light Effects / Environmental Issues
9 Guidelines for Applying MV Lighting
1) Coordinated Lighting & Optics are crucial – when properly selected, they provide
the foundation for the MV system.
2) Develop the lighting solution early in the vision system design process – on the
bench first, if necessary.
3) Dedicated Lighting = Control of the Lighting Environment.
4) A primary key for producing accurate, reproducible, robust & standardized
inspection results is creating Feature-Appropriate Lighting image contrast.
5) Understand that a final lighting solution may require considerable compromise.
6) Apply the 4 image contrast enhancement concepts.
7) Consider that light MAY interact differently w/ respect to surface texture, color,
composition and incident wavelength, especially UV and NIR.
8) Be aware of your camera sensor’s spectral sensitivity and range, understanding
that it will be considerably better in both factors compared with your eyes.
9) Understand the Inspection Environment w/ respect to Physical Constraints,
Object Characteristics, Ambient Light and Ergonomic / Safety aspects.
Contact Information
Light Available Transmitted or Emitted Light
(At a Surface) (Through or From a Surface)
Illuminance, Irradiance Luminous, Radiant

Emittance
Presentation courteously of
2 2
Lumens / m (LUX); W / m
Lumens / m2 (LUX); W / m2
Light per unit Solid Angle

(Projected at a sphere)
Luminous, Radiant Intensity
Advanced Illumination
Lumens (lm /Sr); Watts (W / Sr)
For technical support, contact

A
Light Reflected
1stVision
r
(From a Surface)
Solid Angle Ω
= A/r2
Illuminance, Irradiance
Lumens / m2 (LUX); W / m2 www.1stvision.com
Light
978-474-0044
Light Power (Through an area)
(From an infinitely small sphere) Luminance, Radiance
Luminous, Radiant Flux Lumens / m2 / Sr or cd / m2; W / m2 / Sr
Lumens (lm); Watts (W)
[email protected]

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Lighting Techniques for

• Ai is a full-line lighting solutions company,

• Complete In-house Custom Design & Prototyping

 Objectives of Vision Lighting

 UV and Vision Lighting “Best Practices”

What we really require is control of the lighting environment!

- Create Feature-appropriate lighting on the Part of Interest

• Scientific Analysis (most effective)

1) Maximize image contrast

2) Minimize sensitivity to normal variations

Point 1 might solve some apps; # 2 can be critical!

- Measured “Intensity” (Power): Radiometric and Photometric

100 nm 1000 nm 1000 um

UV-C UV-B UV-A NIR SWIR MWIR LWIR

280 315 400 730 1000 3000 5000 Nanometers (nm)

Incident Illumination • Measured Irradiance/Illuminance

LED - Light Emitting Diode

Click dark image to start video

Surface Mount LEDs

High Current LEDs

HB Images Courtesy Cree and Philips

LED lifetime Specification

2) Lumen Maintenance Life:

White LED Color Temperature:

Image Courtesy of Cree

Image Courtesy Wikimedia

Image Courtesy of Cree

Guidance Control Measures

• Change Light Pattern (Structure) R V

• Change Light Character (Filtering)

4- Coaxial Diffuse (DOAL)* 5 - Diffuse Dome 6 - Flat Diffuse

Full Bright Field

Backlighting Std Co-axial Off-axis

Primary Light Ray

Bright Field Dark Field

- Angled light – 45 degrees or less

880 nm IR Backlight 470 nm Blue Backlight

No Collimation Collimation Film

Diffuse Dome On-Axis DF Ring

Surface Diffuse On-Axis

Curved Diffuse Dome / Cylinder

Ergonomics and Safety

1 - red light makes red features brighter

Blue White 2 - red light makes green features darker

3 - Color affects both the object and its background!

Overwhelm the ambient contribution w/ high-power

Control it with pass filters

510 nm Short 660 nm Band

On-axis Light w/o

Back Light w/o Polarizers

Polarized backlighting is best used to

Back Light w/ Polarizers

Printing beneath cellophane

Co-Axial Diffuse Illuminator On-Axis Dark Field Ring Light

On-Axis Bright Field Ring Light Off-Axis Broad Area Linear

Graphics courtesy of Midwest Optical, Palatine, IL

Under 355 nm UV and Application of a Band Pass

Graphics courtesy of Midwest Optical, Palatine, IL

White light – B&W Camera IR light – B&W Camera