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New 5 MP Polarization Cameras: A New Tool for Industrial Imaging

Published on September 27, 2019 by TIS Marketing.

Sony's Polarsens™ 5.1 MP global-shutter CMOS image sensors (IMX250MZR/ IMX250MYR) capture visual data which cannot be obtained using other standard monochrome and color sensors. The Imaging Source's new USB 3.0 and GigE polarization cameras feature the Polarsens technology which uses four-directional (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°) nanowire micro-polarizers placed in front of each 2x2 pixel array (calculation unit) to deliver multi-directional polarized images.

Illustration of Sony's Polarsens sensor structure.

Many materials, such as plastics, glass, metals and liquids display intrinsic polarization properties which can result in glare and other image artifacts in standard intensity images.

Standard intensity images of transparent objects often yield little useful visual data.

The sensors' polarization filters make use of these polarization properties to visualize material stress and surface scratches as well as to reduce glare, improve edge detection or to enhance contrast in low-contrast materials.

Images from DZK 33UX250: (Left) Using AoLP processing of the polarization data and HSV color mapping to show residual stress in plastic. Images using DoLP processing of the polarization data to reduce glare and improve contrast for defect and presence inspection.

Standard intensity image of black granite pyramid shows low contrast (left). DoLP processing of the polarization data (middle) adds contrast; AoLP processing of the polarization data with HSV color mapping (right) from DZK 33UX250 adds additional image information which can be used for effective segmentation.

On-chip, four-channel polarization: Users can isolate specific channels for additional image processing.

The 5.1 MP cameras are available as color and monochrome variants with either a GigE (max. 24 fps) interface or a faster USB 3.0 interface (max. 75 fps). For additional information, please have a look at our whitepaper.

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