Mikrotron GmbH develops, produces, distributes, and rents high-speed cameras, recording systems, software and image processing components. The company, based near Munich, Germany, employs about 35 people, and has 35 distributors operating in over 30 countries.[1]

Mikrotron GmbH
IndustryHigh-speed camera solutions
Founded1976 in Eching, Germany
FoundersBernhard Mindermann and Andreas Stockhausen
HeadquartersUnterschleißheim, Germany
San Diego, CA (USA)
ProductsHigh-Speed Recording Cameras, High-Speed Recording Systems, Machine Vision Cameras, Vision PCs and Services
Number of employees
35
Websitewww.mikrotron.de/en

History

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Mikrotron Digital Microcomputer and Analog Technology GmbH was established by Bernhard Mindermann and Andreas Stockhausen, two Kontron AG employees, in 1976 in Eching, near Munich, Germany, and entered into the commercial registry on January 19, 1977, to develop microcomputer programs, devices and systems.[2] The Mikrotron name is derived from Kontron. In the 1980s, the company supplied data logging systems that can input data into other systems.[3] The company continued to grow[4] and evolve, as they developed customized electronic data logging systems.[5] The company began integrating machine vision into bonding machines in 1990, and integrated specialized video frame grabbers into high resolution cameras in the mid-1990s, as well as recording systems, consisting of a portable PC, external cameras, frame grabbers and software, which evolved into the company's current Long Time Recording Systems.[6] Mikrotron launched its first high-speed camera in 1997, which recorded at a rate of 400 fps with a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels. These high-speed cameras were also integrated into the company's recording systems. In the late 2000s, the company's integrated FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) programming and custom frame grabbers within their cameras helped solve the latency problem with the GigE interface.[7] The company is ISO 9001:2008 certified (1/2014).

Products and applications

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Mikrotron cameras capture images from 1.1 up to 25 MPixel resolution and frame rates from several hundred to more than 250,000 frames per second (fps). They are used for process optimization,[8] quality testing,[9] engineering[10] and motion analysis.[11] Mikrotron develops and designs all of the hard- and software that is used in its high-speed imaging products. Its own electronic manufacturing department produces the circuit boards using surface mount technology and assembles the cameras. The EoSens 25CXP, a 25 Mpixel CoaXPress camera, won the “Product of the Year” award from the electronics portal electroniknet.de.[12] In 2015, Mikrotron was awarded a Top Job Award for its exceptional leadership qualities.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Ebert, Dr. Ing Peter (June 2015). "Chief Editor". InVISION. 3/2015: 32–33.
  2. ^ "Mikrotron entered into Commercial Register". Eching (Germany) Trade Office. January 19, 1977.
  3. ^ Roschmann, Karlheinz (1984). "Company Data Logging/Status and Trends in the Data Logging Offer". Fortschrittliche Betriebsführung und Industrial Engineering. 33 (5): 236–273.
  4. ^ "Open Day: Mikrotron GmbH in the Freising Road Introduces Itself". No. 158. Munchner Merkur. 1987.
  5. ^ "Not without problems - Experts deliver their opinion on data logging systems". Produktion. 44: 4. October 1988.
  6. ^ Mindt, Joachim (March 15, 1996). "Easier is also an option - Image processing with frame grabber card". No. 3. Vogel Verlag und Druck GmbH & Co. KG. Elektrotechnik fur die Automatisierung.
  7. ^ "Crisis Challenges Technical Trends". Elektronik. 35: 16–21. August 28, 2009.
  8. ^ Hessel, Otto. "Battery Discharge". Vision Systems Design. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  9. ^ Blug, Andreas (May 24, 2013). "Inspecting rapidly moving surfaces for small defects using CNN cameras". In Remondino, Fabio; Shortis, Mark R.; Beyerer, Jürgen; Puente León, Fernando (eds.). Videometrics, Range Imaging, and Applications XII; and Automated Visual Inspection. Proceedings of the SPIE. Vol. 8791. pp. 87911D. Bibcode:2013SPIE.8791E..1DB. doi:10.1117/12.2020568. S2CID 110620921.
  10. ^ Katsuki, Yugo (March 2, 2015). "High-speed Human / Robot Hand Interaction System". Proceedings of the Tenth Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction Extended Abstracts. pp. 117–118. doi:10.1145/2701973.2701984. ISBN 9781450333184. S2CID 26623904.
  11. ^ Baird, Emily (May 2010). "Minimum viewing angle for visually guided ground speed control in bumblebees". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 213 (10): 1625–1632. doi:10.1242/jeb.038802. PMID 20435812.
  12. ^ Stelzer, Gerhard. "Lererwahl: Produkte des Jahres 2015". Elektroniknet. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  13. ^ "Top Job Award for Mikrotron". June 2015.
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