What Is the NI Embedded Vision System?

Publish Date: Oct 17, 2013

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Camera Selection
3. Multicore Image Processing
4. Rugged Industrial Design
5. Industrial Communications and Onboard Digital I/O
6. Software: Configure or Program Your Inspection
7. Related Links

1. Introduction
NI Embedded Vision Systems are rugged automation controllers that combine industrial camera connectivity with open communication and multicore performance. They are designed to acquire
and process images from multiple cameras and offer options for connecting to IEEE 1394, GigE Vision, Base-configuration Camera Link, and DirectShow-compliant USB cameras. The systems
are ideal for complex, high-speed machine vision applications such as high-speed sorting, assembly verification, and packaging inspection, with the Camera Link option also being suitable for
line-scan imaging applications such as web and surface inspection.

Figure 1. NI EVS-1464RT with Line-Scan, Area-Scan, and Infrared Cameras

NI Embedded Vision Systems offer a fanless design that includes a solid-state drive as well as an extended temperature range, making it ready for the demanding conditions of manufacturing by
reducing maintenance requirements and increasing reliability. The real-time OS of the NI EVS-1463RT and EVS-1464RT also adds to the operational reliability and determinism while the NI
EVS-1463 and EVS-1464 include Windows 7 OS so you can take advantage of the latest Windows technology and develop directly on the deployment system while eliminating the need for a
separate PC for the operator interface.
With a large variety of digital I/O and industrial communication options, this system can communicate and integrate with a wide range of automation devices including programmable logic
controllers (PLCs), human machine interfaces, industrial robot arms, sensors, motion drives, and actuators. More information is included later in the Industrial Communications and Onboard Digital
I/O section of this article.

2. Camera Selection
The EVS-1464 and EVS-1464RT work with any IIDC-compliant IEEE 1394 camera and any GigE Vision-compliant Ethernet camera. The EVS-1463 and EVS-1463RT can acquire from multiple
GigE Vision cameras as well as one Base-configuration Camera Link camera. The camera connectivity makes it possible for you to use of a variety of image sensor types, including infrared
(thermal), line scan, color, area scan, and 3D laser triangulation.
National Instruments has developed the first real-time driver software for communicating, configuring, and acquiring images from both IEEE 1394 and GigE Vision cameras, the latter of which even
enables the use of GigE Vision line-scan sensors.

Multicamera Support
NI Embedded Vision Systems provide a low-cost way to simultaneously acquire and process images from several cameras to inspect parts from multiple angles, increase overall system resolution,
and use several specialty cameras at the same time (color, monochrome, infrared, line scan, and so on). With two IEEE 1394b ports (EVS-1464 and EVS-1464RT only) and a second Gigabit
Ethernet port, you can use hubs to connect several IEEE 1394a/b and GigE Vision cameras to a single port, limited only by the bandwidth requirements of your application.

Figure 2. NI EVS-1464RT Connectivity Options

3. Multicore Image Processing

With NI vision and LabVIEW software, NI Embedded Vision Systems take full advantage of their multicore processor by automatically balancing the computational load on each core. Machine
vision applications can run deterministically and reliably with the real-time NI Embedded Vision Systems and the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, which you can use to implement low-level control for
prioritizing crucial tasks, such as your visual inspection, above less time-critical tasks, such as video display.
Also, the 2 GB of RAM offer the performance needed for handling larger amounts of image data and user interfaces.

4. Rugged Industrial Design

NI Embedded Vision Systems were designed for harsh industrial environments. They are fanless and passively cooled, and the temperature range of 0 C to 45 C ensures that uptime is kept at a
maximum. The two real-time options run with 2 GB of RAM and a 1 GB solid-state hard drive to which you can add more CompactFlash storage, while the Windows-based options run with 2 GB of
RAM and an 80 GB solid-state hard drive. The absence of moving parts makes this machine vision system a reliable addition to your packaging, assembly, and manufacturing environments.

5. Industrial Communications and Onboard Digital I/O

The EVS-1464 and EVS-1464RT have 29 reconfigurable digital I/O lines15 digital input lines, of which 13 are isolated 24 V lines and two are dedicated TTL lines, and 14 digital output lines, of
which four are isolated 24 V and 10 are dedicated TTL. The EVS-1463 and EVS-1463RT come with four TTL and two isolated inputs. These lines include built-in functionality for communicating
with external devices, such as reading from a quadrature encoder, generating strobe pulses, triggering, and writing/reading from digital lines. Using these signals, you can dynamically control your

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with external devices, such as reading from a quadrature encoder, generating strobe pulses, triggering, and writing/reading from digital lines. Using these signals, you can dynamically control your
lighting or cameras, synchronize with a conveyor belt, or integrate NI Embedded Vision Systems with PLCs.
In addition, the system can send commands and data to other devices, such as PLCs and operator interfaces, using industrial protocols such as EtherNet/IP, RS232, Modbus serial, and
Modbus/TCP. With enterprise connectivity, you can also monitor the inspection results, view images, or store data in databases for statistical process control.
Real-time NI Embedded Vision Systems are now also EtherCAT master devices, offering a simple way to integrate single-point I/O, including motion drives and I/O expansion devices. In addition,
MXI-Express connectivity on all NI Embedded Vision Systems provides deterministic integration for waveform data and supports a variety of I/O in high-channel-count systems.

Customized I/O with the LabVIEW FPGA Module

The EVS-1464 and EVS-1464RT have a FPGA directly connected to the digital I/O lines. If your application requires precise timing or custom I/O behavior, you can use the LabVIEW FPGA
Module to reconfigure the digital I/O lines to achieve additional functionality such as custom triggers, timing, PWM outputs, encoder-based queued pulse generators, customer digital protocols, and
high-speed counters.

6. Software: Configure or Program Your Inspection

With the National Instruments machine vision software approach, you can choose to configure your inspection with easy-to-use stand-alone NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI)
software or to program it for more advanced customization using the NI Vision Development Module. Both options take advantage of the hundreds of built-in machine vision and image processing
functions to enhance images, check for presence, locate features, identify objects, and measure parts.

Figure 3.(a) Vision Builder for Automated Inspection Configuration Interface

(b) LabVIEW Project Explorer, Front Panel, and Block Diagram for Vision Application

Software Scalability
National Instruments uses the same configuration software (Vision Builder AI) and programming software (Vision Development Module) across the entire NI vision hardware portfolio. So after
learning just one set of vision software, you can easily reduce time and cost to maintain your systems or build new applications while enjoying the freedom to choose the suitable hardware for each
application, be it a PC, an NI Embedded Vision System, or an NI Smart Camera. All NI vision software comes with NI Vision Acquisition Software, a collection of drivers for IEEE 1394 and GigE
Vision cameras that scales to support a larger range of camera types for use with other NI vision hardware.

Figure 4. NI vision software works with all NI vision hardware.

7. Related Links
Purchase the NI EVS-1464RT Real-Time Embedded Vision System for GigE Vision, IEEE 1394 Cameras
Purchase the NI EVS-1463RT Real-Time Embedded Vision System for GigE Vision, Camera Link Cameras
Purchase the NI EVS-1464 Embedded Vision System for GigE Vision, IEEE 1394 Cameras
Purchase the NI EVS-1463 Embedded Vision System for GigE Vision, Camera Link Cameras
FAQ: Answers to 20 Frequently Asked Questions About Real-Time NI Embedded Vision Systems
Webcast: NI EVS-1464RT Real-Time Embedded Vision System Guided Tour
How-To Tutorial: Getting Started with the Real-Time Embedded Vision System
How-To Tutorial: Getting Started With the Windows-Based NI Embedded Vision System

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