Settings Selector based on Capture Speed

This section provides detailed guidance on the best camera settings based on your time budget from the moment you trigger an acquisition until you get the point cloud. Here we also consider your PC specs because data transfer and point cloud processing depend on that as well.

You have determined which Zivid camera to use for your Bin Picking application, and you have mounted it and positioned it correctly. The next step is to select the camera settings that meet your cycle time requirements, given your PC specs. If you haven’t got a PC yet, then this section is also about finding the PC specs that will meet your capture time requirements in combination with the settings used.

Camera settings

Workpieces commonly found in industrial Bin Picking and Machine Tending can be anything from plastic and rubber parts to shiny metallic cylinders, with notable variations in size, color, and material. Typical for these manufacturing and factory automation applications is that the bin often contains only one type of part. Capture time is generally between 700-1500 ms, and accurate point cloud data is more important than having complete surface coverage.

We have split the Bin Picking application into several categories based on scene complexity. For each category, we specify and recommend settings that meet the given imaging requirements and capture speed requirements.

Manufacturing

Diffuse

Diffuse settings work well for relatively simple scenes without strong reflections and high dynamic range requirements. The scene can, in this case, include anything from opaque plastics, and dark absorptive material like rubber, to various diffuse metals. Some metals that are considered diffuse are iron and titanium. Other metals such as aluminum and steel that are brushed, anodized, coarse bead blasted or coarse sandblasted are also diffused due to these processes. Coated and painted metals can also fall into the diffuse category. The image below depicts a scene with typical objects that Diffuse settings are suitable for.

Note

Choose Diffuse settings for absorptive and diffuse plastics and metal.

Fine-Tuning Tips

Tip

To preserve the sharpness of 3D edges, turn off the Noise Repair.

Tip

To deal with interreflections from the bin walls, turn on Noise Filter Suppression and reduce Gaussian smoothing; see Ripples from Interreflections.

Semi-Specular

Semi-specular settings work well for scenes with some reflections that hence require a higher dynamic range. Some metals that are typically considered semi-specular are bronze, brass, and copper. Other metals such as steel and aluminum can also be semi-specular after undergoing surface finishing such as fine sandblasting, fine bead blasting, and satin finishing. Here is an example of a scene where Semi-Specular settings will do the job.

Note

Choose Semi-Specular settings for reflective plastics and metals that are not too specular, e.g. brass, bronze, copper, and sandblasted or satin-finished aluminum and steel.

Fine-Tuning Tips

Tip

To preserve the shape of cylindrical surfaces, turn on the Contrast Distortion Correction.

Tip

To preserve the sharpness of 3D edges, turn off the Noise Repair.

Tip

To deal with interreflections from the bin walls, turn on Noise Filter Suppression and reduce Gaussian smoothing; see Ripples from Interreflections.

Specular

Specular settings are suitable for scenes where you have shiny and reflective parts and therefore need a lot of dynamic range. Metals that are considered highly specular are aluminum, stainless steel and chrome-plated steel. In general, metals that go through surface finishing processes such as polishing, buffing, and electro-plating are specular due to these processes. Dark but reflective plastics also fall into the specular category. The figure below is an example of objects to use Specular settings with.

Note

Choose Specular settings for highly reflective dark plastics and metals with fine surface finishing such as polished aluminum, stainless and chrome-plated steel.

Fine-Tuning Tips

Tip

To preserve the shape of cylindrical surfaces, turn on the Contrast Distortion Correction.

Tip

To preserve the sharpness of 3D edges, turn off the Noise Repair.

Small Features

Small Features settings were made with a special focus on preserving shape and 3D edges for objects with fine details / small features, as well as thin and overlapping objects. The accuracy of object detection and pose estimation for such geometrically intricate workpieces relies on maintaining their true-to-reality shape and distinct depth differences. The figure below illustrates objects such as screws, bolts, gears, and very thin metal sheets/plates as examples of objects with small features.

Note

Choose Small Features settings for small workpieces such as screws, bolts, nuts, and thin overlapping objects such as washers and very thin metal sheets/plates.

Settings Selector Table

The following table represents a settings selector tool based on the required capture time budget. The same table indicates the performance and thus the cost of a PC that can meet your capture speed requirements. Check out Recommended Industrial PCs to see examples of High-End, Mid-End, and Low-End configurations.

If you experience artifacts in the form of ripples/waves across the whole point cloud, choose 50/60 Hz to select presets adapted to the ambient light (grid) frequency. If the ambient light is unproblematic, select Off for optimal performance.

Off

Application	Capture Time (3D)			Camera Settings
	High-End PC	Mid-End PC	Low-End PC
Diffuse	~300 ms	~500 ms	~800 ms	Z2+ MR130 Diffuse
				Z2+ LR110 Diffuse
				Z2+ MR60 Diffuse
				Z2 L100 Diffuse
				Z2 M70 Diffuse
Semi-Specular	~500 ms	~800 ms	~1000 ms	Z2+ MR130 Semi-Specular
				Z2+ LR110 Semi-Specular
				Z2 L100 Semi-Specular
				Z2 M70 Semi-Specular
Specular	~800 ms	~1000 ms	~1800 ms	Z2+ MR130 Specular
				Z2+ LR110 Specular
				Z2+ MR60 Specular
				Z2 L100 Specular
				Z2 M70 Specular
Small Features	~1800 ms	~2300 ms	~2800 ms	Z2+ MR130 Small Features
				Z2+ LR110 Small Features
				Z2+ MR60 Small Features

50 Hz

To download the desired settings file, you can also connect to the camera (your specific model) in Zivid Studio, select the preset settings, turn on Ambient Light Adaption, and export the settings.

Caution

The capture time with settings adapted for ambient light frequency might be longer.

Application	Camera Settings
Diffuse	Z2+ MR130 Diffuse
	Z2+ LR110 Diffuse
	Z2+ MR60 Diffuse
	Z2 L100 Diffuse
	Z2 M70 Diffuse
Semi-Specular	Z2+ MR130 Semi-Specular
	Z2+ LR110 Semi-Specular
	Z2 L100 Semi-Specular
	Z2 M70 Semi-Specular
Specular	Z2+ MR130 Specular
	Z2+ LR110 Specular
	Z2+ MR60 Specular
	Z2 L100 Specular
	Z2 M70 Specular
Small Features	Z2+ MR130 Small Features
	Z2+ LR110 Small Features
	Z2+ MR60 Small Features

60 Hz

To download the desired settings file, you can also connect to the camera (your specific model) in Zivid Studio, select the preset settings, turn on Ambient Light Adaption, and export the settings.

Caution

The capture time with settings adapted for ambient light frequency might be longer.

Application	Camera Settings
Diffuse	Z2+ MR130 Diffuse
	Z2+ LR110 Diffuse
	Z2+ MR60 Diffuse
	Z2 L100 Diffuse
	Z2 M70 Diffuse
Semi-Specular	Z2+ MR130 Semi-Specular
	Z2+ LR110 Semi-Specular
	Z2 L100 Semi-Specular
	Z2 M70 Semi-Specular
Specular	Z2+ MR130 Specular
	Z2+ LR110 Specular
	Z2+ MR60 Specular
	Z2 L100 Specular
	Z2 M70 Specular
Small Features	Z2+ MR130 Small Features
	Z2+ LR110 Small Features
	Z2+ MR60 Small Features

To demonstrate reaching the above requirements for bin picking we continuously run benchmark capture programs with our cameras on various PCs. The following table shows the results.

Testing 3D Settings

You can use Zivid Studio to test 3D settings.

To import the settings in Zivid Studio:

• Click on File → Import Capture Settings

• Navigate to the location of your settings file

• Click Open

You can also drag and drop a YML file into Zivid Studio to import the settings.

You can also load the settings with the SDK.

C++

source

const auto settings = Zivid::Settings(settingsFile);

C#

source

var settings = new Zivid.NET.Settings(settingsFile);

Python

source

settings = zivid.Settings.load(settings_file)

Should the quality of the point clouds prove insufficient, check out some of our advanced tutorials:

• Dealing with Highlights and Shiny Objects

• Dealing with Strong Ambient Light

• Dealing with smooth 3D edges

In the next section, we cover Optimizing Robot Cycle Times for speed by making use of multithreading.

Version History

SDK	Changes
2.12.0	Zivid One+ has reached its End-of-Life and is no longer supported.
2.11.0	Added tips on how to preserve shapes and get sharper point clouds.