Main outcomes and decisions from the standard working groups
The machine vision standardization community is looking back on a successful spring edition of the International Vision Standards Meeting (IVSM) which was hosted by the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA) and held in the Czech capital, Prague from April 13 – 17. Overall, 82 machine vision engineers from all over the world have attended the meeting in person. The main discussions and decisions in the working groups are summarized as follows. Above that, a common theme in many meetings was the possible impacts of the EU Cyber Resilience Act and how to address the topic.
The GenICam meeting was attended by over 50 engineers. After more than three years of development, the working group released new versions of the Standard Features Naming Convention (SFNC) and the GenDC standard. SFNC 2.8 and GenDC 1.2 can now be downloaded from the EMVA website. Also discussed were major future extensions under development like the Generic Feature Access API (working title GenFeA), optimization potentials of the GenApi reference implementation, and future SFNC extensions including EMVA 1288 extensions for enhanced/automated data capturing during testing and support for hyperspectral cameras, upcoming updates to the GenApi reference implementation as well as the GenICam Device Validation, which aims to enhance interoperability in the Machine Vision marketplace between devices and software applications.
The CameraLinkHS working group plans to release the standard version 1.3 by the end of the year. It will contain some clarification of how to use MPO to LC fiber break-out-cable, add the defined way to transmit 32 bits per pixel and will include other minor improvements.
The USB3 Vision® technical meeting took place on Friday, April 17. Engineers from the standard working group discussed future possible extensions to the standard. The discussion on testing devices without High-Speed USB resulted in input for updating compliance documentation. An update was given on Infineon electronic parts. Overall, the meeting was productive and defined several follow-up actions for the technical community.
The GigEVision meeting included final changes on the GigEVision v. 3.0 which was set to be tested at the plugfest (see below). In connection to that, the voting for the release candidate of GigEVision 3.0 was prepared.
During the OOCI working group meeting a presentation was held by Computar/JIIA addressing their local standard LensConnect, which is about to be released by the end of 2026 being complimentary to OOCI. Computar/JIIA intends to use the OOCI-SFNC integration to enable easy software integration of the standard by end-users. In addition, farewell was given to the Chairs Marcel Naggatz and Erik Widding, connected with a call for new chairs.
The CoaXPress meeting addressed final changes on the CoaXPress 3.0 specification for the plugfest, and a release plan for the standard version to be agreed with the hosting association JIIA. Another topic was an update and roadmap about MicroChip 25Gbps components.
JIIA held a session at the IVSM to introduce two new standardization activities. One is the latest JIIA standard, LensConnect. The other is Small Optical Connectors.
Always being one of the highlights, the traditional plugfest gathered engineers applying the standards connecting a wide range of products to test compatibility, functionality and technical performance. Herein, the release candidate of GigEVision 3.0 had its inaugurating plugfest in preparing the release of the standard version.
During the commonly held Future Standards Forum (FSF) it was agreed that the G3 information brochure presenting machine vision standards will get a feature update regarding CoaXPress 2.x, CoaXPress-over-fiber and GigE Vision 3.0 to be ready in June and a major layout-change later in 2026.
Finally, the timeline for the two next International Vision Standard Meetings were announced:
- Autumn 2026 IVSM hosted by A3 in Ottawa/Canada, October 2026
- Spring 2027 IVSM hosted by JIIA in Fukuoka/Japan, April 2027.
The IVSM format is supported by the G3 group formed by A3 (US), CMVU (China), JIIA (Japan), EMVA (Europe) and VDMA (Germany).
Founded in 2003, the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA) is a not-for-profit and non-commercial association representing the Machine Vision industry in Europe that is open for all types of organizations having a stake in machine vision, computer vision, embedded vision or imaging technologies: manufacturers, system and machine builders, integrators, distributors, consultancies, research organizations and academia. The EMVA hosts four international vision standards, and all members – as the 100% owners of the association – benefit from the dedicated networking, standardization, and cooperation activities of the EMVA. www.emva.org
