But wait! There's more: Seeing with UV

Ordinary machine vision cameras replicate the human response very well but do not extend it and so, like the human eye, regular monochrome and colour cameras are limited in their usefulness as tools for inspection purposes. As a consequence, a vast amount of additional and useful information, is hidden in the shorter wavelengths and so is unavailable to these types of cameras (as it is also unavailable to the human eye).

Why is UltraViolet imaging different?

UV cameras work like all other cameras but their image sensors detect light in the near- UV and UV spectrum and so extend the functionality of conventional cameras.

UV light responds to materials in a unique way by revealing features ordinarily undetectable by any other means. While UV light can be strongly absorbed by many materials, it is does not penetrate into the interior. Because its wavelength is shorter, UV light tends to be scattered by surface features that are not evident with the eye's longer wavelength needs. Consequently, using UV, surface artifacts, such as scratches, appear in greater clarity. As well, UV light allows visualisation of even smaller features than are detectable by the eye.

UV cameras put to work

UV cameras have many uses from military to medical and some typical applications of these types of cameras include monitoring equipment and spotting defects.

If you require a solution that is beyond the capability of normal camera vision, it may be are that what you want to achieve is possible using a UV light-sensitive camera.

Adept Electronics Solutions recommend the JAI family of cameras, offering a variety of different progressive scan cameras that can be configured for UV light. These UV industrial cameras typically have either glassless CCD imagers to enable sensitivity below 300 nm, or quartz-covered sensors to provide both extended sensitivity and better protection against damage.

If you are interested in exploiting the use of UV to improve your end product and reduce waste, Adept and JAI can provide you with range of UV inspection cameras with resolutions from VGA to 16 megapixels, and with analog, Camera Link or GigE vision interfaces.