Vision seminars now available to download.

The UKIVA has expressed its satisfaction with the outcomes of two recent exhibitions: Photonex and the PPMA Show. At Photonex, overall attendance at the UKIVA “Vision in Action” conference was more than double that of previous years, while 19 UKIVA members who exhibited at the PPMA Show reaped the benefit of a steady stream of high quality visitors.

At this year’s Photonex exhibition, the association ran its most ambitious seminar programme to date and was rewarded with significantly increased attendance figures. Copies of all of the presentations are available for download here at the UKIVA website. Highly popular were the Keynote speech delivered by Dr. Will Maddern a senior researcher from the mobile robotics group at the University of Oxford, a talk on 3D vision techniques & applications and a discussion on the rise of the CMOS sensor.

Atacama Desert - Mars on Earth!

Dr. Maddern’s talk focused on the challenges and opportunities of using vision in autonomous driving applications. This provided an overview of methods developed at the Oxford Mobile Robotics Group to perform calibration, localisation, mapping, navigation and obstacle detection in road scenes using cameras towards the goal of low-cost autonomy for road vehicles. The technology even has potential beyond its use for autonomous driving here on earth since the research team has also trialled the system on a prototype Mars Rover in tests in the Atacama Desert in South America!

UKIVA Chairman, Ian Alderton, said: “We have received very positive feedback both from those who attended the talks and from the speakers themselves, many of whom were engaged in further discussions following their presentations."

The PPMA Show also proved to be a great success for UKIVA members exhibiting there. Over 17% of visitors to the show registered vision as being at least one of their interests. Many UKIVA members were delighted with the depth of technical discussions they were able to have with their visitors about their practical application needs.

Presentations available

K-TEK part of the ABB Group, has made available their content from the technical conference at ABB
Automation & Power World 2011 in Orlando (FL US). The 2011 event included more than 500 hours of workshops, presentations, and hands-on training. K-TEK delivered the following technology tutorials and case
histories, which are now available for download at no charge:

MagWave Level

• "Feedwater Heater Control: Bringing Efficiency to a New Level," by Kevin Hambrice, Global Factory Sales and Marketing Manager - Level,
• "Level Sensing in Harsh Environments with Guided-Wave Radar," by Charles Richard, Radar Product Manager.
• "Using a Laser Level Transmitter to Improve Plant Productivity at a WoodBoard Manufacturer," by Kevin Hambrice, Global Factory Sales and Marketing Manager - Level

Now part of the Measurement Products Business Unit within ABB's Process Automation Division, K-TEK also exhibited at the conference. They demonstrated their products for level and volumetric measurements of liquids and bulk solids in the conference's Measurement Products booth, including:

• LM80, low cost, high accuracy laser level and distance transmitters that feature a unique, all digital design
• MT5000 Series of guided wave radar transmitters certified for use in SIL2/3 (Safety Integrity Levels 2 and 3) applications
• MagWave™, dual chamber level measurement system designed to provide independent, redundant measurements
• KM26, the industry-standard magnetic level gauge with 3⁄4" extruded outlets
• LS Series of magnetically coupled level switches with hermetically-sealed cam action mechanism and one-step switchpoint adjust for more reliable measurements and zero maintenance
• KSONIK MICRO, compact, low cost, ultrasonic level transmitter/switch; features Variable GAP technology that allows the instrument to work even in the presence of dust, vapor, or foam.

In-air motion control by iPhone

Air Mouse app turns iPhone4 into in-air motion controller for PC-connected home theater and business presentations

Movea has announced its Air Mouse application for the iPhone4 is now available for £1.19 (USD 1.99) in the App Store. The new Air Mouse app empowers iPhone4 users to transform their phone into an in-air motion controller for home media and presentation uses.

Utilizing the iPhone4’s gyroscope and Wi-Fi connectivity, Movea’s Air Mouse application enables users to kick back and relax while watching high quality, web-based entertainment from the comfort of their couch and is the perfect navigation tool for online and home media center digital entertainment. With the new Air Mouse app, the user’s natural hand movements can drive more powerful presentation delivery, more interactive classroom lectures, and more immersive motion gaming. With Movea’s Air Mouse app and the iPhone4’s Wi-Fi range of over 100 feet, presenters have the freedom to move around the room to captivate and engage their audiences.

“We are excited to enable iPhone4 users to transform their phones into a powerful, motion-sensing peripheral to create poetry in motion for more effective communications and more immersive entertainment experiences,” said Bryan Hoadley, Executive Vice President of worldwide sales and General Manager of Movea, Inc.

Accompanying the iPhone4 app is Movea’s powerful MotionTools software, available for Mac or PC. MotionTools gives users a suite of effects and tools that allow them to customize, activate and control desktop applications with the flick of their wrist. MotionTools includes a wide range of tools for web browsers, media players, and presentations:

·Dynamic display scroll, pan, and zoom

·Pen drawing, image stamps, and highlighter

·Cut, paste, and other menu keystroke shortcuts

·Internet, and other application hotkeys

·Media player and volume controls

·Presentation tools

MotionTools and the Air Mouse app enable a presenter to turn their computer’s cursor into a highlighter, laser pointer or pen. MotionTools also has built in gesture recognition that allows users to gently swipe their phone in the air to launch applications, skip through songs in a playlist, activate presentation effects, navigate the web, and much, much more