Standardization is the key to the success of machine vision technology. Machine vision standards are commonly developed in the standard working groups and here by dedicated individuals. The EMVA interview series ‘Faces of Machine Vision Standards‘ introduces engineers having joined a standard working group and talk about their motivation to contribute and which experience they take out for their daily work.
EMVA recently spoke with GenICam working group member Simon Wölzmüller, Deputy Team Manager Software Development & Research at STEMMER IMAGING AG:
Why do you participate in the GenICam WG?
As a comparably inexperienced developer in our company, I started learning from very active members of the standards working group six years ago. The deeper I understood our in-house machine vision SDK (Common Vision Blox), its architecture and its interaction with manufacturers’ hardware; the more I realized the importance and the benefit of standardized interfaces and communication protocols. Naturally, the expectations and circumstances in software development especially in the machine vision industry are changing rapidly, which makes continuous development and maintenance of such profound standards even more important. The necessary contribution in the technical sense, but also the lively exchange and the discussions at regular meetings represent a great opportunity for improvements, but also a meaningful enrichment of my personal working life.
Which GenICam parts do you intend to shape with your input?
As my daily work has focused on the development of standards-compliant generic data acquisition software and with that deeper knowledge about GenTL, GenDC and GenAPI became necessary, I could very well imagine contributing to the future shaping of these components – always with an eye on the specifications of GEV and U3V. I also started to work on the feasibility analysis and the transformation of the build and deployment infrastructure, as well as on the modernization of the internal communication and collaboration tools.
How does your company benefit from your WG participation?
STEMMER IMAGING obviously benefits from the popularity and proliferation of the GenICam standard within the hardware and software landscape of the machine vision industry. Also, the commitment of sending contributing developers to the committees and working groups generates important expertise and experience that enriches in-house development. The community is a great point of exchange of knowledge and there is – without exception – no question that is left unanswered.
What was your biggest light bulb moment in the GenICam collaboration?
Even though I don’t have a long history of participation, I found the need for face-to-face meetings after the COVID pandemic even more than useful. In my opinion, the IVSM in Vienna 2023, for example, showed that the working group meetings are core to standardization; they accelerate and even improve standards development. Furthermore, the plugfest always surprises me with inspiring moments of ‘connectivity’. When I see that the standard working groups – albeit at a very mature stage – are still developing the standards and reference implementations, and are even continuously working on new topics, my image of them as a living entity in the business is strengthened.
