At SPS 2024 in Nuremberg, Germany, Contrinex introduced a groundbreaking 3D smart camera, marking the company's entry into the vision technology market. In this interview, Norbert Matthes, Technical Sales Manager of Contrinex, discusses the motivation behind this move, the advantages of Time of Flight technology, and the technical innovations of their new product, as well as its applications, target user groups, and future developments.

inspect: At SPS 2024 in Nuremberg, Germany, you presented a 3D smart camera. Why is sensor manufacturer Contrinex now targeting the vision market?

Norbert Matthes: With the advancement of technologies available on the market, vision systems are increasingly replacing conventional sensors. Contrinex has over 50 years of experience in measurement technology. We are convinced that vision technologies have an important role to play in the automation/sensor market. For us, this is an opportunity to supply existing markets with innovative products and to develop new ones.

inspect: And why a Time of Flight (ToF) camera, of all things?

Matthes: Contrinex has been manufacturing inductive and photoelectric sensors since the 70s. Until now, we and our customers have always measured in the three-dimensional world. ToF technology enables us to tackle projects for which we previously needed several sensors and which, in addition, required complex integration. With ToF technology, we can solve such projects much more easily and at a lower cost for the customer.

inspect: What are the technical highlights of the camera?

Matthes: The number one technical highlight is definitely the integrated image evaluation in the camera. We are also working on new use cases (pre-configured algorithms for specific applications) that can be easily adapted by the customer for their application without any experience in 3D vision. This means that the 3D smart camera can be used as a vision sensor and complex control processes can be converted into a binary signal (OK/Not OK).

In addition, we have integrated an IO-Link interface to forward measurement data to external systems in a simple and structured way. For more complex applications, customers can configure their own algorithms and load them into the smart camera, or forward the image stream to an external processing system via an Ethernet interface. This makes our product highly flexible and a perfect alternative to conventional sensors for both expert and non-expert customers.

inspect: What applications are you focusing on?

Matthes: The main focus is on automated handling, production and packaging lines. The smart camera can control intermediate steps or the end product through the various use cases. We have use cases for level measurements of containers, where the taught images are compared with the current product as part of quality control, or packaging control for logistics applications.

With our use case editor, customers will also be able to solve less complex customized applications.

inspect: Which user group are you targeting with the camera?

Matthes: Our target group is, on the one hand, our current customers who purchase standard sensors and cannot currently find a cost-effective or functional solution for their applications on the market. But also end customers who have an automated line and, until now, without experience, have not had the opportunity to introduce vision technology to their facilities.

inspect: When will the camera be available to order?

Matthes: The product launch is planned for the second quarter of 2025.

inspect: What is the next machine vision product that Contrinex will introduce after the 3D smart camera?

Matthes: The clever system architecture in our smart camera allows us to incorporate other imaging technologies without too much effort. For example, we can integrate technologies used in thermal imaging cameras into the 3D smart camera. However, our initial focus is on ToF technology, where we plan to launch a range of variants with different image resolutions and fields of view.

Author
David Löh, Editor-in-Chief of inspect