We will be holding the "Image Processing Seminar" hosted by the Japan Techno Center again this year. The event will take place on Thursday, September 12th. The lecture content can be found by entering the keyword "image processing" in the Japan Techno Center's "seminar" section. A notable feature of our instructors is that they update the "lecture materials" each time to reflect the latest hot information from the development field. Currently, we are revising the materials, but instead of cutting down on content due to excessive information, we are designating some parts as "lecture omissions" so that participants can take them home. Every time, on the morning of the event, we gather information on the participants' "main business" and "expected content for today's lecture" in terms of hardware, software, and algorithms, and we adjust the time allocation flexibly based on this feedback. The most exciting part is the "questions" from the participants. The topics we are currently adding (which have changed over the past year) include FPGA-integrated SoCs and why hardware implementation leads to faster performance. The former is evolving daily, while the latter is a topic that participants raise during the "question" time. We are also including "GPU processing," which is positioned between hardware and software, as it significantly contributes to actual business operations.

Within Ipros Monozukuri, we ranked 13th in the ★Catalog Ranking (out of 244,808 items) with our image processing introductory book (not for sale)! 【Aggregation Period】August 9, 2023 – August 15, 2023 For more details, visit http://www.ipros.jp/ranking/catalog/general/?rankNo=13 We will be giving away the "Image Processing Learning Software (IP Kit 3)" (retail price 9,900 yen) to 10 lucky winners selected from everyone who downloads the introductory book. The download is available until August 23. It’s free, so we hope you will take a look! As of August 22, we also ranked 1st in the product ranking for "Image Processing Software" within Ipros Monozukuri. https://www.ipros.jp/ranking/product/category/3/709/

This is an announcement for the "Image Processing Learning Set Giveaway Campaign." From July 18 to August 23, 2023, you can download the "Introduction to Image Processing" (over 50 pages) for free on the Ipros website. Download the Introduction to Image Processing: https://www.ipros.jp/product/detail/2000497063 You can download the "Introduction to Image Processing" from this page. The learning software "IP Kit 3" will be given away to 10 lucky winners selected from all those who download the introductory book. If you want to try it right away, you can download it from our company website or from the Vector website. It is available for free as a trial version. Regarding the content of the introductory book, if you want to understand how to use it in practice, you can gain a deeper understanding by attending the image processing seminar. However, this introductory book is intended to provide a broad overview. Since it is free, we hope you will take a look at it.

This is an announcement for the "Image Processing Learning Set Giveaway Campaign." From July 18 to August 23, 2023, you can download the "Introduction to Image Processing" (over 50 pages) for free on the Ipros internal page. Download the Introduction to Image Processing: https://premium.ipros.jp/apolloseiko_shinyokohama/product/detail/2000497063/?hub=159 We will give away the "Image Processing Learning Software (IP Kit 3)" (regular price 9,900 yen) to 10 lucky winners selected from all those who download the introduction book. This introduction book is an excerpt from the software portion of the lectures given at the "Image Processing Seminar" organized by the Japan Tech Center in the past. Many of the features in the downloaded introduction book can also be realized with the trial version of "IP Kit 3." If you want to try it immediately, please download it from our company website or the Vector website.

We are pleased to announce the revival of the "Image Processing Learning Set Giveaway Campaign." From July 18 to August 23, 2023, you can download the "Introduction to Image Processing" (over 50 pages) for free on the Ipros internal page. Additionally, we will be giving away the "Image Processing Learning Software (IP Kit 3)" (regular price 9,900 yen) to 10 lucky winners selected from all those who download the introductory book. This introductory book is an excerpt from the lectures given at the "Image Processing Seminar" organized by the Japan Techno Center in the past, focusing on the software portion. For those who need the latest information, please attend the biannual image processing seminars. In addition to this software section, topics such as acceleration, SoCFPGA, and hardware implementation will be included (the next seminar will be held on September 27). Many of the features in the downloaded introductory book can also be experienced in the trial version of "IP Kit 3." If you want to try it out immediately, please download it from our website or the Vector website. We will provide further information once the download page for the giveaway campaign is published. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

We belong to the Techno Horizon Group, and we have decided to merge three of our affiliated companies within the group. On April 1st, K.I. Technology Co., Ltd., Apollo Seiko Co., Ltd., and Aindo Co., Ltd. will merge. The surviving company will be Apollo Seiko Co., Ltd. Our company has not had a dedicated administrative staff member, but with this merger, all of our administrative operations will be unified under Apollo Seiko Co., Ltd. As mentioned above, the changes will be as stated, but what will not change is that none of our members will change, and we will continue our business in Shin-Yokohama as before. Furthermore, our business activities will continue to be "image processing development for our customers." New customers are also always welcome as before. Details will be provided on the websites of each company, including ours. Thank you for your continued support. Since our operations will not change, we look forward to your continued patronage. *News is distributed via our company newsletter.

This is a story from the perspective of an image processing expert. I considered the strengths of each. Human Eye: I believe the most significant feature is its "adaptive" nature. It can spot small differences by staring intently, and it can also gather overarching information from fleeting moments. When something is hard to see, we instinctively squint, right? We also unconsciously use or ignore color information. Camera Eye: Specialized cameras surpass human capabilities for specific purposes. For example, even when the human eye tries hard to be "adaptive," its vision is limited in very dark conditions. However, images obtained through optical amplification can reveal objects in darker spaces than what humans can see (they become invisible if the light source is completely blocked). Specialized cameras can detect wavelengths that the human eye cannot perceive. This is similar in the world of sound. Infrared and ultraviolet light use wavelengths that exceed the range of "visible light" that humans can see, which changes the discussion further. The job of an image processing expert is to "realize" the processing of information obtained from these "eyes" in the "brain" part. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

We are starting preparations to leverage the benefits of the merger. The business and expected benefits of our company after the merger remain unchanged, specifically in the area of "contract development specialized in image processing." If we were to rephrase the "contract" part, it could be described as "dedicated to specific customers." Additionally, we have a strong sales force within the same team, with multiple locations both domestically and internationally. We are confident in this regard. I used the expression "ammunition" to refer to the materials that will allow them to promote to clients that "we are now able to assist in this area as well." Until now, we have been passively disseminating information through this newsletter and exhibitions, saying "there is a company like this here," but we were waiting to be discovered. Our new colleagues, like before, have the main task of "carrying their own catalog and explaining it." During this process, they will explain, "We are now able to assist with such matters," rather than starting with "we are struggling with this." Reflecting on the differences between the "planning department" and the "sales department" during my time at a large organization's research institute, I am re-studying PowerPoint and writing. *News is being distributed through our company's newsletter.

We develop and provide solutions through software and hardware, but it is not uncommon for misunderstandings to arise from our guidance on "acceleration using FPGA." The misconception is that any processing implemented in software can be "accelerated" by developing a dedicated board. In reality, the types of processing that can be accelerated using FPGA are limited. It is suitable for processes that can execute the same calculations in large quantities simultaneously. An example of this is convolution filters. Even if you perform addition and multiplication operations simultaneously, by equipping the necessary number of multiplication and addition circuits, you can obtain results in one clock cycle, regardless of the range. Additionally, for processes that allow "pipelining," in software, you would perform process A, then process B, and then return to process A. However, in hardware, when transitioning from process A to process B, you can perform process A simultaneously, which reduces the processing time of the faster operation. Even with a 5-stage pipeline, results can be obtained in the time of just one stage. By the way, when accessing large volumes of image data, GPUs with very wide data bus widths are also effective. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

It is easy to imagine that the differences in what we provide lead to differences in "advertising and promotion." What we offer is a vague concept called "development in the field of image processing." If the recipients of the information already have a common understanding, the appeal becomes clear, as in the case of "cars," where the appeal is "fast," "cool," "cheap," "fuel-efficient," etc. When it comes to "development in image processing," both the provider and the recipient start exploring questions like, "Is the subject being captured image processing?" or "Can a machine replace what humans can see and understand?" During this exploratory phase, it is difficult to make an appeal like "Please feel free to consult us" before grappling with these issues. Even if you consult us, saying "we can do anything" is a fine line away from "we can't do anything." However, if you reach out, we can respond with, "That's in a neighboring field," or "The challenge will be selecting the camera. If you request assistance with that selection, we can help." This information dissemination through newsletters and image processing seminars has continued as a form of advertising and promotion in a broad sense precisely because it involves vague service offerings. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

As engineers, we should look forward without looking back. I have been sharing this message, but this time I have intentionally chosen this title. Let me introduce the path I have walked. In school, I happened to join a research lab of a professor who was working part-time in "image processing." My first job after graduating and entering the workforce was the development of an "inspection device using a camera." The main CPU was a Motorola 6809. I also designed hardware circuits for the image processing section using the 74 series. The binary template matching board was the size of two 6U units. It was a given that I would write the software for the circuits I created myself. Initially, the camera used a vidicon tube, which later changed to CCD and CMOS. In the next phase, I upgraded to a 68020 CPU with UNIX as the OS, and I also designed the CPU board myself. For the specialized image processing section, I used AMD's bit-slice 2901. Thanks to this device, I learned the workings of microcontrollers. Coincidentally, I have continued to be involved in "image processing" from my new graduate days to the present. I believe that my experience in both hardware and software design is beneficial to my current work in "system design." *News is distributed through our company's newsletter.

Is there a high probability that useful stories are mixed in? The "Engineer’s Newsletter for Engineers" will conclude at the end of March. The publication dates are the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, so there are four issues left, including Vol. 252 on February 8. There may be a "special edition" at the end, but this title and the current members will conclude the newsletter. Counting from the era of print media, the number of information releases is countless, but in terms of this newsletter, Vol. 255 will be the final issue. As for the remaining information releases, there is no way to confirm how much the "high probability of useful stories" has helped through the one-way format of the newsletter. I loved seminars, but they had to be reduced due to infectious diseases. It is important for engineers to have the skills to respond to "unforeseen events," so I would like to continue honing those skills together with all of you readers. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

Depending on the application, there are image processing tasks that cannot be "used" unless the operation time guarantee is strictly adhered to. I will introduce two additional types of "operation time guarantees." Example 1: Inspection Equipment Application If the processing is not completed within the manufacturing tact time of the production line, the next inspection target cannot be inspected. However, the delay time from when the image data is input until the result is produced does not need to be within the tact time. Delays up to the mechanism for rejecting the result are acceptable. By skillfully utilizing this "acceptable delay" and adhering to the principle of "fixed delay time guarantee," implementation costs can be reduced compared to Example 2. Example 2: Collision Avoidance It may be easier to explain with something called automatic braking. Since it is a collision avoidance brake, the faster the time from detection to the judgment of "stop," the better. However, to drop this into catalog specifications, it needs to be paired with braking performance, so an operation speed guarantee is required as "maximum delay." In this case, even if it incurs higher costs than Example 1, speed is prioritized. Since different performance is required for the same terms, understanding the requirements is crucial, as discussed in this column. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

Our company participates in exhibitions such as the Image Sensing Exhibition and the International Image Equipment Exhibition. Perhaps because of this, we sometimes get asked, "You're a machine vision company, right?" While we specialize in "image processing development," our applications are not limited to specific fields; they include medical devices, infrastructure development, and automobiles. Of course, we also handle machine vision both within and outside our group. It can be a unique approach to apply "image processing techniques" from other industrial fields to machine vision (and vice versa), which is why we do not limit ourselves to specific applications. It might be interesting to imagine "what applications are involved?" when viewing our demonstrations at exhibitions or videos on our website. Our main focus is on method development, and we rely on our customers to discover the applications, so we do not have the answers ourselves. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

As our company transitions to a new structure, we will be discontinuing our newsletter. As an engineer, I value looking forward rather than reflecting backward, but I took a moment to look back at our information dissemination. Back in 1996, when advertising was primarily in print media, our first information dissemination was through an advertisement page in CQ Publishing's "Transistor Technology." https://www.kitech.co.jp/information/adv_index.html Since then, despite changes in media, I have continued to share column information as an engineer for 27 years. Currently, this newsletter has been that medium. As of the end of March 2023, our company's structure will change. The newsletter will also be discontinued at the end of March. Under the new structure, we may restart information dissemination through a "newsletter" or similar channels. If that happens, we look forward to your continued support. Thank you for your long-standing readership. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

There is a fear that no one has tried cutting-edge technology. With the evolution of software, automatic updates have become common, but hardware has yet to achieve the ability to swap out components later. Designers sometimes choose to "hide" certain features as a result of various considerations, so I would like to introduce this. Registers set in LSI and FPGA are provided for external "configuration." This "configuration" can easily lead to the misunderstanding that "the more settings available, the better," and if there are many settings, it is necessary to understand the meaning of those settings and consider the order in which they are applied. Ideally, it would be best if there were "no configuration required" and the device would "start operating as soon as power is supplied," making it user-friendly. However, there are unexpected usage methods and environments that differ from what the designers anticipated. Therefore, it becomes necessary to expose the "configuration" to accommodate those situations. Having many options is not always good, and having too few can lack versatility, which is a dilemma. I have often been helped by this, but there have also been times when I was troubled by the lack of publicly available information. We also face such dilemmas when determining the specifications for the FPGAs we provide. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

This year is coming to a close. Next year, we plan to introduce our new company structure. Although our newsletter is biweekly, I am grateful that our "information dissemination on image processing," which has continued since the era of print advertising before the digital age, has lasted for 27 years. Everything has a beginning, and there is always an end. How many issues would that be if we count from the print era? Thank you for your long-term support this year. We look forward to your continued support next year. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

There are two types of opportunities for us to explain our work. 1. During business negotiations, introducing the company to first-time clients. 2. During recruitment, introducing the job responsibilities to applicants. The first type is relatively smooth since it occurs during business negotiations, which typically have fewer variations. The second type, during recruitment, requires us to gauge how to explain based on the background of the applicants. For example, some may be completely new to the image processing industry, while others may be unfamiliar with the business style of contract development. One of the challenges we face is that our company requires different skills for algorithm development, software development, and hardware development, which necessitates a common internal language of "C++." Explaining this can be difficult, and if we don't overcome this hurdle and help applicants understand the work, it can lead to dissatisfaction on both sides, with applicants thinking, "This is not the kind of job I expected." Therefore, we continue to invest time in ensuring a shared understanding of this aspect. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

This year's International Image Equipment Exhibition has successfully concluded. We would like to thank everyone who visited our booth and the organizers. We will introduce the "highlight" technology from this year's exhibits. The target toy was a rotating sushi toy. It seems to have been released for families to enjoy rotating sushi at home, but due to the loud noise from the motor and other factors, its sales did not meet expectations for its original purpose, making it perfect for demonstration at the exhibition. During the demonstration, we eliminated the movement of the rotating sushi and extracted only the movement of the items on top in real-time. We calculated the motion vectors of various parts of the screen using optical flow, automatically computed the table's movement, and displayed the result by subtracting it from the overall vector data. This involved very heavy calculations and substantial computational costs. Our challenge is whether we could convey this without explanation on-site. *News is distributed through our company's newsletter.

The popular image processing learning set will offer a chance to win "Learning Software (IP Kit 3)" to 10 lucky winners selected by lottery from all those who downloaded the "Introductory Book" during the limited period from September 12 to October 7, 2022. The lottery has now concluded, and we will announce the winners. (Past winners are excluded from this lottery.) (The winners will be announced with the company name and initials in no particular order) Mr. M from Company A, Mr. S from Company S, Mr. K from Company S, Mr. I from Company D, Mr. T from Company D, Mr. S from Company N, Mr. S from Company S, Mr. Y from Company T, Mr. M from Company N, Mr. T from Company H. The above 10 individuals will receive their prizes sent to the company name and section registered with Ipros. They are expected to arrive by the end of this year. We hope you find it useful for learning and practical application in image processing. The standard processing techniques included in the downloaded "Image Processing Introductory Book" are structured for you to learn by trying them out with this software. Since we manage each product with a serial number, if you return the "User Registration Form" with the serial number via fax, we will be able to accept "questions" regarding the product. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

"Since it was outsourced, only the source code and circuit diagrams remain, and there is no specification document." Looking at this theme, I think many people can relate, so I wanted to share it. First of all, we also want to avoid getting involved in the above situation. I want to convey that. While it is possible to create a "pseudo specification document" by diligently stepping through the source code and circuit diagrams, we cannot trace back to understand "why that method was implemented." When we design ourselves, we create a specification document first, so when we are unsure about the means of implementation, we can refer back to the specification to understand "which method should be used for implementation." Of course, since it is the initial specification document, there are times when we realize "this specification is better" or "this specification has contradictions" while designing, and it is quite common to revise the specification document after completing the design (it is rare not to revise it). I believe it is smoother to think of it as something that cannot be reversed, like finding a dam when going upstream. *News is distributed through our company's newsletter.

We apologize for the delay in announcing the winners of the "Image Processing Learning Set" giveaway campaign, which was accepting applications from September 12 to October 8. The winners, a total of 10, have been determined by lottery. However, we are considering additional winners because the next campaign is still undecided. The "Image Processing Learning Software" IP Kit 3 that will be given away is identical to our direct sales product, so we need to prepare for the creation of CD-ROMs and shipping. However, if we are not careful, we will quickly find ourselves in December at the International Image Equipment Exhibition. We are preparing a demonstration that will provide hints on "Can image processing do that?" at the exhibition. We would be happy if you look forward to both. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

We will be exhibiting at the "International Image Equipment Exhibition 2022" held at Pacifico Yokohama from December 7 (Wednesday) to December 9 (Friday). Our booth number is No. 9. Our policy of "Making core image processing technology easy to understand" remains unchanged, and we will prepare a demonstration using moving toys as shooting targets in a square booth. There will be three demonstration exhibits: 1) AI Utilization Optical Flow Detection A real-time demo of camera footage. The AI recognizes what is captured by the camera and uses optical flow to analyze the movement of the recognized objects. 2) Simultaneous QR Code Reading This new technology can quickly read codes that are deformed into convex or concave shapes. 3) Image Stitching In response to the question, "What is this used for?", we will composite N-gauge train models into a long horizontal video, recreating a scene of "a person inspecting a door." If you wish to attend, please note that pre-registration is required. Please register via the official website of the International Image Equipment Exhibition 2022. https://www.adcom-media.co.jp/ite/ We look forward to seeing you at the venue. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

This is not just about image processing, but I would like to provide some insights on variables (know-how) that may be helpful for software engineers working closely with hardware. Are you familiar with SoCFPGA? It is an FPGA with an embedded microcontroller. Currently, the mainstream offerings from the top two companies both include ARM. This ARM is referred to as a "hard core." On the other hand, for a long time, there has been a demand to embed small microcontrollers within FPGAs. To meet this demand, various manufacturers have developed mechanisms to incorporate freely configurable logic circuits within FPGAs. XILINX, for example, offers a soft core called MicroBlaze(TM). Hard cores and soft cores are used differently based on their applications. Here is an important point that may not be widely known: the char type variable in MicroBlaze is signed, while in ARM it is unsigned. You might be surprised, but as you know, whether a variable is signed or unsigned can lead to different results even with the same calculation. I wanted to highlight this point because if you attempt to port code without being aware of it, you may encounter difficulties. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

We are currently closing applications and are in the process of a lottery. In this information release, I would like to share a pleasant occurrence that happened thanks to this free giveaway campaign, in addition to its sales effectiveness. I believe everyone was able to download the image processing introductory book (full-page version) during the period, but the software will be a gift after the lottery. Despite that, we received feedback from customers who were able to create materials using the learning software for their "troubles." The giveaway is for the commercial version, so there is a limit, but those who received the materials mentioned that they used the "trial version" available on our company website. To convey their "troubles," they utilized features provided in the trial version, such as standard processing and the CSV file export function that allows image data to be read as text in Excel and other applications. This is an episode that makes me feel "good" about continuing the giveaway campaign. I will continue to strive to keep it going every six months. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

I believe engineers will understand, but it's a very difficult title. To explain it simply, as it's a column, it refers to the act of "finding mistakes" in what we humans design. However, the reason it becomes complicated is that not everything is designed by a single person. For example, in the case of software, the operating system or computer that runs it is designed by someone else. In hardware, even if a device is used independently, the electronic components used in it are often not designed by the device designer. Until the cause of a malfunction is found, the focus is primarily on identifying mistakes in one's own design, but there are often cases where the issue lies outside of one's own design. Defining the boundaries of responsibility and separating these issues can be challenging, but there are many engineers in Japan who consider even the gray areas. I am confident that the act of "debugging" will not disappear until our column is no longer published. *News is distributed through our company's newsletter.

Taking computers as an example, the things created by humans continue to evolve year by year. Whether it's memory storage capacity, processing speed, or operating clock frequency. There was a time when it was said that the exposure width of semiconductors had hit a limit at the nanometer scale due to the constraints of light, but through various innovations, it continues to evolve. Clock frequencies were also said to be reaching a point where anything higher would turn into radio waves, but we have overcome that and further advancements in multiplexing technology are ongoing. On the other hand, what about the capacity of the human brain? I am not a neuroscientist, nor do I have any expertise in human biology, so I do not know the answer. Looking at myself, I find that thanks to mobile phones and smartphones, I no longer memorize phone numbers, and thanks to navigation systems, I no longer memorize maps. Is it possible that as generations change, our capacity is also increasing? I don't really notice improvements in human performance, so I don't seek to be "broad and deep." People who are "broad" and those who are "deep" are both needed separately, and we work daily to produce a single outcome through "team play." Unfortunately, this column will end without a clear conclusion. *News is distributed through our company's newsletter.

Within Ipros Manufacturing, our "Introduction to Image Processing" textbook (not for sale) has ranked 2nd in the ★Catalog Ranking (out of a total of 226,719 items)! 【Aggregation Period】From September 21, 2022, to September 27, 2022. For more details, visit: http://www.ipros.jp/ranking/catalog/general/?rankNo=2 Since this is updated weekly, we are unsure of the next ranking, but I believe it is thanks to the campaign "【Introduction to Image Processing Textbook Giveaway】 Learning software also available in a lottery." This textbook is used in the seminar we conduct as instructors for the "Image Processing Seminar" organized by the Japan Techno Center. After downloading, we sometimes receive emails saying, "I learned a lot," which encourages us to continue this initiative. Thank you very much. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

The application period is limited from September 12, 2022, to October 7, 2022, so those interested should hurry. By downloading the "Introduction to Image Processing (Full Page Edition)" for free from the Ipros website, your application will be completed. After that, we will give away the product version of the "Image Processing Learning Software (IP Kit 3)" to 10 people selected by lottery. This set allows you to learn detection methods for "challenge" data that you can think of and realize yourself, starting from application fields and processing examples in image processing, using the standard methods with IP Kit 3. There are various means of realization, and there is not just one answer. This content is also being conducted in the "Image Processing Seminar" hosted by the Japan Tech Center. If you want to know more deeply or learn up to hardware implementation, please apply for the seminar. Although we held an "online seminar" once, we felt it was unsuitable for providing live guidance on "real voices from the development field" and "specific issues," so there are no plans to hold an online seminar. The "Introduction to Image Processing" full-page edition is only available during this period, so please download it if you are interested. *News is distributed through our company newsletter.

Our company's strength lies in being a development company specialized in image processing. We pride ourselves on developing everything in-house, from algorithm development to applications, firmware, device drivers, and hardware. Sometimes we are asked, "Which is more important, hardware engineers or software engineers?" or "Which is more difficult?" While I can convey the benefits of having both within the same company, I have never compared or chosen one over the other. Additionally, while things change with the times, I will intentionally write about it in this column. It is not about superiority or inferiority, but rather a comparison. Comparison Items Software Engineers Hardware Engineers 1) Learning Period 1 year 5-10 years 2) Required Number Many Few 3) Knowledge of Other Field Not required Essential 4) Development Tools Many options Few options 5) Expression Languages Many options Few options While comparisons can be made, it is not about superiority or hierarchy. Furthermore, comments on each item were significantly different 20 years ago. I would like to revisit this topic in 10 years. *News is distributed through our company's newsletter.