System components
Like other TwinCAT components, TwinCAT Vision is integrated into the Visual Studio-based TwinCAT development environment and the real-time capable TwinCAT runtime environment. The components of the TwinCAT Vision system are explained below.
Configuration Assistants
- Industrial cameras can be connected via the GigE Vision interface. Assistants are available for configuration, calibration and simulation of the cameras.
- Images can be fed from the file system into the PLC runtime via a File Source element.
- The configuration of the cores and the router memory for TwinCAT Vision must always be carried out in the TwinCAT real-time settings.
- TwinCAT Vision can utilize TwinCAT's multi-core support to execute certain algorithms in parallel. Corresponding settings are made in the Vision Job Pool.
Library
TwinCAT Vision provides a library with a large number of algorithms for programming image processing sequences. It also contains function blocks that serve as interfaces for cameras and the file system. The API reference contains detailed descriptions of all library elements.
Debugging tools
TwinCAT Vision provides the following mechanisms for debugging image processing sequences:
- ADS Image Watch can be used for live visualization of camera images and intermediate results. It transfers images from the PLC runtime to the development environment via ADS and displays them there.
- All TwinCAT Vision functions provide information on their execution status based on ADS Return Codes (see HRESULT).
- All TwinCAT debugging functions such as breakpoints etc. can be used for programming.
GigE Vision driver
TwinCAT Vision includes a real-time capable GigE Vision driver. It is used in the development environment for camera configuration and in the TwinCAT runtime. It communicates with industrial cameras via UDP/IP, based on the GigE Vision standard. This standard is used to find and configure cameras in the network and to receive image data from the cameras.
TwinCAT Vision service
For some functionalities, TwinCAT Vision has to communicate with components outside the real-time at runtime. For example, a File Source Control loads images from the file system. The TwinCAT Vision Service is a centralized, ADS-based communication interface between the TwinCAT runtime and external Vision components.
TwinCAT HMI Vision Extension
The TwinCAT HMI Vision Extension is an extension for the TwinCAT HMI that enables transfer of images from the PLC to the TwinCAT HMI. Images from the PLC can be displayed directly in the web-based HMI with HmiImageControl.
TwinCAT HMI Vision Controls
The TwinCAT HMI Vision Controls package provides vision specific controls as an extension for the TwinCAT HMI. For example, it includes a control that provides many more tools and information displays in addition to the image display. The functions and displays can be easily adapted by configuration and used directly without additional programming.