Why GigE Vision Is the Standard for Industrial AI Inspection
When manufacturers deploy AI visual inspection, the camera system is the foundation that determines what is physically possible to detect. GigE Vision has become the dominant interface standard for industrial inspection cameras because it runs over standard Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet cable, enables cable runs up to 100 metres without signal repeaters, and provides the deterministic triggering and synchronisation that production line integration requires.
Selecting the wrong camera — wrong resolution, wrong frame rate, wrong interface — is the most common and most expensive mistake in AI inspection deployments. This guide explains what matters and why.
Resolution: How Many Pixels Do You Need?
Camera resolution determines the smallest defect that can be physically captured. The rule of thumb: the smallest feature of interest should span at least 5 pixels in the image. Working backwards from your defect size and field of view gives you the minimum required resolution.
Example: You are inspecting a 200mm x 150mm component, and the smallest defect you need to detect is 0.5mm. Your field of view is 200mm wide. To get 5 pixels per 0.5mm defect, you need 200mm / (0.5mm / 5 pixels) = 2000 pixels of horizontal resolution minimum. A 2MP camera (1920 x 1200) is adequate; a 5MP camera gives comfortable headroom for model performance.
For most surface inspection applications on components between 50mm and 500mm, a 2MP to 5MP area scan camera covers the majority of use cases. Larger fields of view or smaller defect requirements may require 12MP or 20MP sensors.
Frame Rate: Matching Camera Speed to Line Speed
For triggered inspection — where the camera takes one image per part — frame rate matters only in the context of cycle time. If parts arrive every 2 seconds, a camera that can capture 10 frames per second is more than adequate. The trigger signal from the PLC must arrive, the camera must expose and transfer the image, and DeepVision must process it — all within the available cycle time.
DeepVision processes images in 50-200ms depending on model complexity and the edge computing hardware used. Combined with typical exposure times of 1-10ms and GigE Vision transfer times of 20-100ms, total inspection latency is typically 100-400ms per image — well within the cycle times of most production lines.
Sensor Type: Global Shutter vs Rolling Shutter
For industrial inspection with parts moving on a conveyor or presented on a fixture, always use a global shutter camera. Global shutter exposes all pixels simultaneously, eliminating the motion distortion that rolling shutter sensors produce when imaging moving objects. Rolling shutter cameras expose pixels sequentially — a top-to-bottom scan — which introduces skew and distortion on moving targets that will degrade inspection accuracy.
All industrial GigE Vision cameras recommended by Indus Vision use global shutter sensors.
Colour vs Monochrome
Monochrome cameras provide better sensitivity, higher resolution per cost, and simpler image processing than colour cameras. For most defect detection applications — scratches, dents, dimensional errors, contamination — monochrome is the better choice.
Colour cameras are required when colour itself is the inspection criterion: label colour verification, colour mixing detection, browning or discolouration in food products, or any application where colour difference distinguishes acceptable from defective. Colour cameras are also useful when the product has colour variation that needs to be separated from defects during model training.
Recommended Camera Families for DeepVision
| Application Type | Recommended Resolution | Typical Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Small component inspection (<100mm) | 2–5MP | Basler ace2, Hikrobot MV-CS series |
| Medium component/assembly (<500mm) | 5–12MP | Basler boost, FLIR Blackfly S |
| Large panel or sheet material | 12–25MP or line scan | Basler racer, JAI LQ series |
| High-speed packaging lines | 2–5MP, >100fps | Basler ace2 Pro, Allied Vision Mako G |
| Colour/label inspection | 2–5MP colour | Any above with colour sensor option |
Indus Vision works with all major GigE Vision camera manufacturers and will recommend the optimal camera for your specific application during the free site assessment.
To get a camera recommendation for your inspection application, contact Indus Vision for a free technical consultation.