Introduction

Overview

Much has been written about intelligent automation systems; however, anyone wishing to construct such systems will further need a vast amount of background information on sensors, signal processing methods, electronic hardware, lighting, optics, and much more. This information is available, but is so widely dispersed through so many specialist reference books and scientific papers, often not directed towards automation applications, that it is hard to uncover, access, and hence exploit. We have brought this information together in a single volume.

This book has four principal objectives. The first of these is to present at an introductory level the basic principles which are applied in intelligent automation systems, and to explain the terminology. More advanced concepts are dealt with in specialist monographs, and particularly in papers published in technical journals; references to the most useful of these are given at the ends of chapters. The second objective is to describe the specialist hardware used in intelligent automation. Acquisition of information is of fundamental importance, thus sensors such as electronic camera systems are given particular emphasis. Selection of efficient electronic processing requires appreciation of architectures and methodology, and this is duly covered. The third objective is to discuss systems aspects, particularly the configuration of a system to meet specific performance requirements in a reliable and cost-effective manner. The measurement of performance and the assessment of its significance are also considered. Finally, a number of case studies are examined to illustrate how the principles and methodologies are applied. These are based on the authors’ own experience. VISION AND INFORMATION PROCESSING FOR AUTOMATION focuses on intelligent automation applied to production in industry since this is where its use is currently greatest. Though in the future intelligent automation will be used in many other fields, the same technology will apply.