Box detector

[DouglasBell]

Hi all

Not sure if this is possible but looking for a little advice. I would like to use a webcam to count the number of boxes that pass in front of it, if a box hasn't passed for a certain period of time then i would like the program to flag this up on some sort of display. Is it possible to use the webcam in this way via Visual Studio 2005 using vb.net. I know it will involve some sort of motion detection, but just don't know the ins and outs of using external devices within vb.

Cheers

Dj

 

[Herman]

It would be much easier to use a proper sensor and controller board hooked via USB. What you want to do is possible, but very complicated on the software side. A simple pulse or count every second or so is enough to tell you if things are moving, you don't need a full sized image.

 

[DouglasBell]

Hi Herman

Thanks for the reply I have looked at the usb sensor boards and have thought about using one, but I would have to get enclosures made to house the sensor board and I would also have to supply an extra 24v to the photoelectric sensors, it would be much cleaner if I could use the webcam.

Cheers

Dj

 

[Herman]

Trust me, it might be cleaner on paper, but not in the real world. By all means try it, you will understand why the webcam might not be the best approach soon enough.

 

[DouglasBell]

Hi Herman

I am still looking into the sensor approach as well, the webcam system idea came from a system that's actually inbuilt into one of my production machines, it basically counts components, scans for defects then outputs the results, so I thought of creating a much simpler system using a webcam. From what you have said though I get the impression it might just give me a sore head instead .

 

[lyndon]

Hi Douglas:
This looks like an old thread, but for anyone still following it, we have a device that will read a sensor and count transitions. It connects to the PC to report data back through a serial port. It works well with a USB to serial adapter for computers without RS232 serial ports. Link is here: Products | Cedar Lake Instruments

Wish I had known about your need back then, we've had this on the market for quite some time now.