White Papers

“What does better mean in engineering?”

As an engineering services provider, we frequently encounter a question that can come up in any business organization.

It may seems simple but to answer it successfully, an organization should account for different perspectives between stake holders in management, marketing, and engineering functions.

We’ve collected some of the divergent attitudes to product specifications, cost, schedule, road maps, and design concepts we have encountered over the years. Depending on the situation, these attitudes are neither right nor wrong. We try to understand the meaning behind ‘better’.

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“Is Higher Sensor Resolution Always Better?”

In designing an imaging system, sensor resolution is but one important factor. The systems engineer considers the impact of basic lens characteristics such as f/#, resolution, and the mitigation of various aberrations. For example, if a tiny cell phone camera claims to be capturing 5 megapixels in sharp detail, you should be suspicious.

How do I know if a lens is well-matched to a sensor?

Are you designing a system that includes an objective lens and an image sensor? Are you trying to choose a digital camera as a gift, and not sure if you should simply buy the one with the most megapixels? We’ll show you that an optical system is usually only as strong as its weakest link. Whether it’s an ordinary camera or a complex imaging system, you’ll be happier if its detector is well-matched to its imaging optics, such as the objective lens.

The article may be reprinted with attribution.

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“Three case studies”

Three past projects described:

  1. Design of optical media drive
  2. Upgrade of Machine Vision system
  3. Non sequential modeling of illumination

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