Working Principle of A Line Scanner Camera

The core working principle of a line scan camera is: using a single or multiple linear image sensors, combined with the uniform motion of the object being photographed (or the camera itself), to collect image data row by row, and finally stitch it into a complete 2D image.

Its key working steps are as follows:

Linear Light Sensing: The core component is a linear image sensor (such as CCD or CMOS), which can only capture one-dimensional pixel information along the "line" direction (horizontal), rather than the two-dimensional information of an area scan camera.

Uniform Motion Coordination: A stable relative uniform motion between the camera and the object being photographed must be ensured (e.g., the object moves on a conveyor belt, the camera scans along a guide rail). This direction of motion is the "row" direction (vertical) of the image.

Row-by-Row Acquisition and Stitching: The sensor captures one-dimensional pixel data row by row at a fixed frequency (line frequency), and each row of data corresponds to a new position of the object after movement; the internal camera or backend system stitches these continuous "line images" in sequence, and finally forms a complete 2D image.

This principle determines that line scan cameras are more suitable for the inspection of high-speed, long-length or large-area objects (such as printed matter, metal plates, cloth, etc.) and rely on external motion mechanisms to ensure imaging quality.

Application scenarios of line scan cameras

The core application scenarios of line scan cameras focus on high-precision imaging and inspection of high-speed, large-area, and long-length objects, and they are particularly suitable for scenarios requiring continuous dynamic acquisition. Typical fields are as follows:

Industrial Inspection Field: This is the most core application scenario of line scan cameras. They are used to inspect continuously moving materials on production lines, such as metal plates/coils (surface defect inspection), glass/films (flatness and impurity inspection), printed products (color registration accuracy and text defect inspection), and lithium battery electrodes (coating uniformity inspection).

Logistics and Packaging Field: They are used for package volume measurement and barcode/QR code identification in high-speed sorting lines, or for appearance integrity inspection of continuously packaged products (such as bagged food and cartons).

Printing and Textile Field: In web printing machines and fabric dyeing/printing production lines, they perform real-time inspection of color differences in printed patterns and fabric texture defects (such as broken yarns and holes) to ensure production quality.

Traffic and Security Field: They are used for vehicle contour scanning at highway toll gates (to obtain vehicle model and size data) or railway track inspection (to detect hidden dangers such as cracks and wear on the track surface).

Medical and Scientific Research Field: They are partially applied in medical imaging (such as high-resolution scanning of pathological sections), biological sample observation, or linear scan imaging of industrial CT—scenarios that require high precision and high resolution.