Mistaken identity

Next week marks the start of one of the biggest event in Vision Systems Design's calendar -- the VISION 2011 show in Stuttgart Germany.

Accompanying me to the show this year will be Susan Smith, our publisher; Judy Leger, our national sales manager; and the latest addition to our editorial team, Dave Wilson.

As many of you may know, Dave joined the magazine just last month to increase our presence in the important European market. But what some of you may not know that Dave is also my identical twin brother, a fact I thought I'd make perfectly clear before the show begins, in order to diminish the confusion that will inevitably arise as a case of mistaken identity on the show floor.

You see, although numerous vision system algorithms have been developed over the years to differentiate between products of a similar nature, I'm sorry to say that most human beings' visual systems -- even those in the machine vision industry -- seem to be incapable of differentiating between the two of us, despite the fact that I clearly inherited all the brains and good looks.

For that reason, I have programmed my brother's central processing unit to respond to the greeting "Hi, Andy" whenever he hears it, after which he will instigate a verbal subroutine, which will explain that he is simply a poor imitation of the real thing.

However, if you do run into the man instead of me, you will find that he is equally as willing to learn what new technologies are being discussed at the show.

He would be especially delighted to discuss any applications of machine vision related to the use of smart cameras and hyperspectral imaging. Please be sure to bend the man's ear if you see him!