Pictures of the Future    Fall 2006

Image Processing: A Booming Market

Image processing applications already range from industrial uses and security systems to transportation and medical technology. Even so, industry experts agree that only about 20 % of all possible applications have been addressed so far. According to estimates provided by a number of manufacturers, the worldwide market volume for machine vision systems presently amounts to about 6.5 bill. €, with annual growth rates extending into the double-digit range.

In the industrial area, image processing systems are employed for quality control in virtually every sector. They are used to inspect everything from computer displays and the surfaces of gearbox components to printed circuit boards for cell phones. Image processing is also useful in metrology, where it is used in visually guided machines and to recognize components, symbolic characters and codes. Cameras can help robots recognize objects, such as the shape and position of workpieces.

In Germany, industrial image processing has been growing faster than other sectors of automation technology for several years. According to a study published in July 2006 by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), sales volume in 2005 grew 7 % and now tops the one billion euro mark. "For 2006 we project a growth rate of 9 %, with the strongest advances coming from export sales," predicts VDMA expert Patrick Schwarzkopf. In 2005 about 70 % of component sales involved cameras and smart cameras.

Among the latter, system functionalities—in other words, the image sensor, processor and light source—are integrated in a compact housing. Sales of these products soared 23 % between 2004 and 2005. The share of frame grabbers, on the other hand, declined from 15 to 13 %. This category includes PC cards for digitizing, storing and playback of image signals. The decline resulted from the increased use of digital cameras that have a built-in image processing system without a frame grabber, but that use USB.

According to a 2005 study by Frost & Sullivan (F&S) the market will see increasing growth in sales of gigabit Ethernet cameras that can transmit high-resolution images from a camera to a computer across a distance of several hundred meters. And by 2007, 3D vision systems for robots should be available, as should systems for the inspection of semiconductor components with an accuracy of 4.5 micrometers.

Starting in 2010, smart cameras with neural networks are expected to have the capability of categorizing objects into many different classes—an important feature when it comes to automatic sorting.

Image processing is vitally important in hospitals too. According to F&S market researchers, the key development in that sector is the growing importance of Picture Archiving and Communication System. PACS make it possible to process, store and manage medical images, and have become accepted as the standard in radiology. By 2010 analysts predict sales in Europe will reach $1.47 billion—compared to $0.47 billion in 2003. An important growth engine here is a reduction in costs, which are declining by about 10 % annually. Another trend is the combination of two imaging modalities in a single system, such as high resolution computed-tomography images paired with nuclear medicine methods that visualize biochemical processes.

In the auto industry too, image processing for driver assistance systems is gaining in importance (Pictures of the Future, Fall 2005,  Driver Assistance). Automakers use not only laser, radar and ultrasonic sensors, but also cameras that can perceive vehicles, lane boundaries, traffic signs and pedestrians faster than the human eye. According to a 2006 F&S analysis, cameras will experience the strongest sales growth among all onboard automotive sensing systems, for instance in video-supported systems that sense lane markers and issue a warning when a car strays from its lane, and in parking assistance systems.

Eyes on London. Security systems are a particularly strong market for video surveillance. According to an F&S study, worldwide sales are expected to reach about $11 billion by 2008. At 44 %, North America represents the largest share of this market. In Europe, the United Kingdom is driving this trend.

As a case in point, the authors of the 2004 EU study, UrbanEye ( www.urbaneye.net), estimate that there are more than four million private and public surveillance cameras in the UK. That makes the United Kingdom the country with the largest concentration of video surveillance in Europe. Around 6,000 cameras of the estimated half a million cameras installed throughout London are located in the city’s Underground system. In some streets, cameras are mounted only 15 m apart. Privacy advocates have calculated that people in London are recorded by a surveillance camera up to 300 times per day. But most Londoners consider the undeniable successes in fighting crime more important than the potential negative aspects of such monitoring.

In the UrbanEye survey, 90 % of London’s inhabitants were in favor of cameras in public places (compared with 25 % in Vienna). In New York too, cameras are multiplying rapidly. In Manhattan, for instance, there are already 9,000 cameras in public places—about four per city block.

In the past, such systems utilized cameras that merely transmitted their images to tape machines and monitors (CCTV, Closed Circuit Television). But now there are more and more digital cameras that transmit data to computers. Presently, four to eight such cameras share one CPU. But in just two to three years many cameras will have their own CPUs. Conventional videotape will be superfluous. Using intelligent software, the latest smart cameras can even use data comparison to detect unusual behavior and trigger an alarm ( Video Surveillance).

By 2008, video cameras will be increasingly combined with access control solutions. That, in turn, will increase demand for biometric systems, especially those based on face recognition. Market researchers also see a particularly strong future trend toward totally digital solutions based on the Internet Protocol. Every surveillance camera will then essentially be a Webcam. What’s more, security personnel will increasingly be able to use mobile telephones to record and transmit the actions of suspicious persons for computer analysis, for instance in airports, railroad stations and sports arenas.
                                                                                                                 Sylvia Trage