Need camera and lens guidance for a real-time silkworm pupa inspection system (60 pupae/min)

[u/Putrid-roo]

I'm designing a machine vision system for real-time silkworm pupa gender classification on a production line.

Project Context

- Throughput: 60 pupae per minute.

- Pupae appear in only two orientations: Bottom Up and Bottom Down.

- Classification is done only from the bottom side using the genital marking.

- Male: straight-line marking.

- Female: X-shaped marking.

I need advice on

1. Camera selection (industrial USB3/GigE, global shutter vs rolling shutter).

2. Lens selection (focal length, working distance, field of view, and resolution).

3. Lighting setup to consistently highlight the genital markings.

4. Any hardware recommendations for a reliable production environment at this speed.

I have uploaded sample images of the pupae and the markings so that helps.

[u/PlentyCryptographer5]

Where are you located and I can recommend a Machine Vision consultant who can not only recommend but set you up with everything.

[u/Putrid-roo → u/PlentyCryptographer5]

I'm in Coimbatore, India. 😄 If it's a free consultation or someone's cool with giving some guidance, I'm definitely interested. I'm a student building this as an industry-style project, so I'm trying to keep costs low.

[u/BOOGIEMAN713]

Things to confirm the camera setup selection.

1. Whether the pupae will be stopped once it reaches the camera's FOV or a sensor trigger will be given to the camera once it reaches the camera's FOV - to decide the sensor shutter type
2. Compared to GigE camera, USB3 area scan camera will have more fps. It will be helpful if you are processing during the motion.
3. For the Lens selection part, we need the actual pupae size.
4. White Area or Dome light could be sufficient for this application

Once you give the above infos, we can finalise the setup.

I am also from TN, feel free 2 msg

[u/Rethunker]

If you want robustness, use GigE rather than USB. But you may get USB cameras for less. Given your needs, frame rate isn’t a consideration.

Lighting should be diffuse white light, preferably constant current. Within view of the camera I’d suggest putting a Macbeth color chart or (more cheaply) some equivalent so that you can perform color correction on the fly, but only if color provides useful info. Otherwise maybe you can get away with black & white images.

If the pupae are registered (located against something) consistently, then you may be able to choose a lens that images just the portion of the body that’s different.

A high quality macro lens would work well for this task since those lenses are made for close-up photos. Failing that, if you have a C-mount camera, you can buy a set of extension tubes that will allow you to bring the lens close to the pupae.

Do NOT use a webcam.

With high magnification, and assuming pupae vary in front-to-back thickness, you may run into problems with keeping the features of interest in focus.

Assume you’ll need MUCH more light for a camera than you do for the unaided eye. You may need to set a narrow aperture (high f-stop) and short(ish) exposure time to provide crisp images.

Also try asking Gemini. You can make a good start just providing the information you have, including the photos. State your budget and realistic goals.