ActivVisionTools from MVTec Software GmbH
Release Notes for Version 1.3





Major New Features of ActivVisionTools 1.3

Detailed Description of Changes in ActivVisionTools 1.3

Detailed release notes can be obtained for the following topics:

ActivVisionTools in general
ActivView
ActivGeoCalib
ActivZoom
ActivMeasure
ActivBarcode
ActivBlobFinder
ActivFeatureCalc
ActivDataView
ActivDecision
ActivFile
ActivSerial


ActivVisionTools in general

o Speed-Up and Enhancements:
  • The internally used structures for results and evaluations have been revised completely to speed up ActivVisionTools applications.

o Functionality:
  • Corresponding to the new structures for results and evaluations the syntax of the so-called description files which store the state of an ActivVisionTools application (regions of interest, parameters, etc.) has been changed significantly. This means that the information contained in description files written by ActivVisionTools 1.2 will be discarded almost completely when opened by an ActivVisionTools 1.3 application. In order to upgrade an older application you thus have to recreate regions of interest and reparameterize it.
  • Within Visual Basic no interaction is possible during the initialization of ActivVisionTools. This process is now signalled by a splash. Note, that the ActivVisionTools are initialized whenever you switch between design and user mode, i.e., also when you stop the application, and when creating an executable. The splash only appears within Visual Basic and when using ActivViewer.
  • When the parameters of a tool are changed, the output tools are not re-executed anymore, i.e., the resulting data does not appear in the output.
  • The log files (general and frame grabber) are no longer overwritten by running or stopping the program. Instead they will be extended until they exceed a size of 20 KByte.

o Manual:
  • The manual 'Getting Started with ActivVisionTools' now includes a new chapter containing information which helps working with ActivVisionTools, e.g., how to inspect the status of an ActivVisionTools application using ActivView's new support tool AVTViewStatus or how to install the dongle driver manually. The chapter ends with a list of problems you might encounter with ActivVisionTools in general, together with tips how to solve them.
  • The example Visual Basic projects have been adapted to version 1.3.

ActivView

o Functionality:
  • The new subtool AVTViewStatus displays the current status of an ActivVisionTools application, together with error messages. Furthermore, this tool shows the time needed for the last processing cycle, or alternatively the current "speed" of the application, i.e., the number of processing cycles per second. Because of the new subtool the status bar in AVTViewImageGrabber has become obsolete and therefore has been removed.
  • The context menu of AVTView now allows to open all available dialogs, i.e., also the subtool dialogs of other tools which have been placed on the form.
  • AVTView no longer creates mouse actions (e.g., ROI or AVTZoom) if the mouse is outside the visible image.
  • Objects (e.g, from AVTBlobFinder) are now displayed after ROIs. They are therefore visible even if they fill the whole ROI.
  • After creating an ROI for a specific tool AVTViewROI will no longer switch to another tool.
  • The property of the display font (DisplayFont) for results (e.g. of AVTBarcode1D) is now handled as a standard font with interactive settings for the font parameters.
  • With the new property RunState you can stop an execution cycle or start a continuous execution.

o Bug Fixes:
  • When using AVTViewExecute to execute single processing cycles sometimes two cycles were executed instead. This bug has been fixed.

o Manual:
  • The User's Manual describes the new subtool AVTViewStatus; sections referencing the former status bars of AVTViewImageGrabber and AVTBarcode1D have been adapted correspondingly. Furthermore, the appendix now contains a new section describing how to access frame grabbers which are not yet supported directly.
  • The example Visual Basic projects have been adapted to version 1.3.

ActivGeoCalib

o Functionality:
  • Because of ActivView's new subtool AVTViewStatus the status bar in AVTGeoCalibration has become obsolete and therefore has been removed.

o Manual:
  • Sections referencing the former status bar of AVTGeoCalibration have been adapted to describe ActivView's new subtool AVTViewStatus instead.
  • A new example project has been added showing how to "feed" images directly into an ActivVisionTools application. This mechanism can be used, e.g., to access a frame grabber which is not yet supported by the ActivVisionTools. Besides, all example Visual Basic projects have been adapted to version 1.3.

ActivZoom

o Functionality:
  • If image parameters of tools are modified (e.g., a threshold in AVTBlobFinder) AVTZoom now immediately displays the new objects. Similarly, AVTZoom is automatically updated after changing the zoom factor.
  • Other tools are not reexecuted anymore after the zoom factor in AVTZoom has been changed.
  • There is now more space for the coordinate values in AVTZoom. This allows to display coordinate values up to 9999x9999.

ActivMeasure

o Functionality:
  • Measurement ROIs can now be aligned to moving parts using the new tool ActivAlignment.

o Programming Interface:
  • When ActivMeasure has finished processing it raises an event containing the measurement results as a parameter. This allows, e.g., to create your own graphical user interface or to send results to other output channels than file or the serial interface.

o Manual:
  • The User's Manual now contains a section showing shows how to access measurement and evaluations results directly via the programming interface. Furthermore, the manual has been adapted to reflect the changes in ActivDecision and ActivFile, and it describes ActivView's new subtool AVTViewStatus.
  • Two new example projects have been added which show how to access measurement and evaluations results directly via the programming interface. Besides, all example Visual Basic projects have been adapted to version 1.3.

ActivBarcode

o Functionality:
  • ROIs can now be aligned to moving parts using the new tool ActivAlignment.
  • Because of ActivView's new subtool AVTViewStatus the status bar in AVTBarcode1D has become obsolete and therefore has been removed.
  • AVTBarcode1D no longer returns results if it is used in the test mode (with AVTBarcode1DParameters).

o Programming Interface:
  • When ActivBarcode has finished processing it raises an event containing its results as a parameter. This allows, e.g., to create your own graphical user interface or to send results to other output channels than file or the serial interface.

o Manual:
  • The User's Manual now contains a section showing shows how to access the extracted bar code and evaluations results directly via the programming interface. Furthermore, the manual has been adapted to reflect the changes in ActivDecision and ActivFile; sections referencing the former status bar of AVTBarcode1D have been adapted to describe ActivView's new subtool AVTViewStatus instead.
  • Two new example projects have been added which show how to access measurement and evaluations results directly via the programming interface. Besides, all example Visual Basic projects have been adapted to version 1.3.

ActivBlobFinder

o Functionality:
  • ROIs can now be aligned to moving parts using the new tool ActivAlignment.

o Bug Fixes:
  • Moving an ROI close to the border of an image no longer causes a runtime error in AVTBlobFinder.

o Manual:
  • The User's Manual now contains a section showing shows how to access features calculated by ActivFeatureCalc and evaluations results directly via the programming interface. Furthermore, the manual has been adapted to reflect the changes in ActivDecision and ActivFile, and it describes ActivView's new subtool AVTViewStatus.
  • Two new example projects have been added which show how to access features calculated by ActivFeatureCalc and evaluations results directly via the programming interface. Besides, all example Visual Basic projects have been adapted to version 1.3.

ActivFeatureCalc

o Functionality:
  • ROIs can now be aligned to moving parts using the new tool ActivAlignment.

o Programming Interface:
  • When ActivFeatureCalc has finished processing it raises an event containing the calculated features as a parameter. This allows, e.g., to create your own graphical user interface or to send results to other output channels than file or the serial interface.

ActivDataView

o Functionality:
  • The new property FormatNumbers allows to change the display format for real numbers.
  • When you display objects from AVTDataView by clicking on the left side buttons now the color for error objects (like AVTDecision) is used; these objects are also visible when using AVTZoom.

ActivDecision

o Functionality:
  • ActivDecision now allows to formulate conditions on the level of tools. Correspondingly, you can set tool-wide default values, which can be overridden for individual ROIs or individual objects.
  • The new property FormatNumbers allows to change the display format for real numbers.
  • You can now complete the entering of a value by pressing return.

o Programming Interface:
  • When ActivDecision has finished processing it raises an event containing the results and evaluations of all connected tools as a parameter. This allows, e.g., to create your own graphical user interface or to send results and evaluations to other output channels than file or the serial interface.

ActivFile

o Functionality:
  • The subtool AVTOutputDataSelect now offers an extended selection of output data, especially on the level of tools and ROIs.
  • The sets of tool and ROI features are now enclosed by an own TAG (TOOLFEATURES, ROIFEATURES); object features are enclosed by OBJECTFEATURES. The individual features are also enclosed by the tag FEATURE.

ActivSerial

o Functionality:
  • The subtool AVTOutputDataSelect now offers an extended selection of output data, especially on the level of tools and ROIs.
  • The sets of tool and ROI features are now enclosed by an own TAG (TOOLFEATURES, ROIFEATURES); object features are enclosed by OBJECTFEATURES. The individual features are also enclosed by the tag FEATURE.
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