Release Package: PresencePLUS Vision Sensors www.bannerengineering.com
Release
2009R2B
PresencePLUS Vision Sensors Release Notes Release 2009R2B


[ Release Contents | What's New | System Requirements | CD Menu | PC Software Installation | Updating Firmware | Viewing Manuals | Trouble Shooting | Contact Info ]

Release Contents

Media Type Media Description Version
PC Software PresencePLUS PC User Interface 3.5.2
PresencePLUS Firmware Updater 2.5.2
Sensor Firmware PresencePLUS Pro 2.1.2
PresencePLUS Pro XINSP 2.1.2
PresencePLUS ProII 2.5.2
PresencePLUS ProII 1.3 2.5.2
PresencePLUS ProII Color 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 Area 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 Area 1.3 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 BCR 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 BCR 1.3 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 Edge 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 Edge 1.3 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 GEO 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 GEO 1.3 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 OMNI 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 OMNI 1.3 2.5.2
PresencePLUS P4 Color OMNI 2.5.2
Documentation PresencePLUS Help System 2009R2
PresencePLUS Manuals 2009R2

2009R2B - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
Product Change Product change after inspection download into the same slot as the running inspection would not start the newly downloaded inspection.

2009R2A - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
Large Inspections Large inspections containing several Blob Tools (2009R1-2009R1C) would prevent inspection from starting.
Power-up 1st Image The first image acquired after power-up was brighter than all subsequent images on P4 1.3 (1280x1024) sensors only.
Barcode Tool Barcode Tool results not displayed when GUI version 2009R2 (3.5.0) is connected to sensors running 2009R1B (2.4.1) or 2009R1C (2.4.2) firmware.
Sensor Neighborhood Intermittent instability on PCs with only one network card.

2009R2 - What's New In This Release

Major Features Description
Barcode Two new barcode decoders (Pharmacode & IMB) have been added.
Multiple Linear barcodes can now be decoded.
Minor Features
RCC Commands have been added to support Remote Teach; examine and modify Constant operands in String Tool and Math Tool; and examine and modify expected string in OCV Tool.
String Tool Operand values are now displayed in the result tree.
Corrected Issues
Barcode Barcode tools with relaxed linear quiet zone enabled no longer generate quiet zone errors.
Comm Tool Setting the delimiter to 'None' reverted to 'Comma' when saving the inspection and then returing to the Comm Tool.
Object Tool Minimum width was not working properly with units enabled.
MODBUS String Region acknowledgements were being incorrectly withheld.

2009R1C - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
Inspection Loading GUI connected to a P4 BCR or P4 BCR 1.3 sensor was unable to load existing inspections that contain barcode tools.

2009R1B - What's New In This Release

New Products Description
ProII Mini Head Cameras PPROMCAM MINI Presence PLUS Pro II Camera w/M12 Threaded Connector (Resolution: 752x480)
PPROMCAMC MINI Presence PLUS PRO II Color Camera w/M12 Threaded Connector (Resolution: 752x480)
PPROCAM1.3 MINI Presence PLUS PRO II 1.3 MegaPixel Camera w/M12 Threaded Connector (Resolution: 1280x1024)
Minor Features
Flexible Inspection Loading Inspections created on one type of sensor can be loaded into any sensor that supports the tools within the inspection. Users should review inspections on target sensor to verify and correct any automated adjustments made to the FOV, ROI(s), I/O settings and delay values to ensure the inspection will run as required.
Remote Command Channel The Kawasaki robot integration guide and sample AS language program have been added to the help system
Corrected Issues
Object Tool Minimum Object Width with units applied would reset to 1 when a decimal value less than 1 was entered and focus shifted to another control.
Remote Command Channel The 'get coordtool' command was missing the positive command acknowledgement
Internationalization A intermittent PC software crash (typically displayed as TCL script error) could occur when using the Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplfied or Japanese language packs.

2009R1A - What's New In This Release

New Products Description
Sealed P4 COLOR OMNI Sealed ruggedized (IP68) version of the right angle P4 Color OMNI for use in harsh environments where sensors might be exposed to moisture, washdown, etc.
Sealed P4 OMNI 1.3 Sealed ruggedized (IP68) version of the right angle P4 OMNI 1.3 for use in harsh environments where sensors might be exposed to moisture, washdown, etc.
Corrected Issues
Coordinate Tool When running an inspection that contains a coordinate tool with the PresencePLUS program being used to monitor the running inspection, the program might become slow or unresponsive.
Vertical Lines Vertical lines might appear on high resolution (1280x1024) sensors after booting up a sensor in dark or near dark conditions.
Blob Tools & Units A application error is received when units are changed immediately after deleting a Blob Find Tool, Blob Tool or Color Blob Tool.
Edge Tool Copying a Edge Tool with a circular arc ROI will result in the ROI being a circle.
Test Tool Test Tool using Object Tool's object width does not fail when Object Tool fails to find any objects
Communications Added two new columns to PresencePLUS Sensor Neighborhood to display default gateway and subnet mask.
Internationalization Message box text when displaying in Japanese sometimes wraps and/or clips text.

2009R1 - What's New In This Release

New Products Description
Sealed P4 OMNI Sealed ruggedized (IP68) version of the right angle P4 OMNI for use in harsh environments where sensors might be exposed to moisture, washdown, etc.
Major Features
Remote Command Channel (RCC) A simple ASCII-based interface that allows remote control of any P4 and ProII vision sensors using serial and Ethernet connections. Commands supported by RCC allow users to trigger the sensor, perform product changes, query sensor status and examine inspection output.
BlobFind Tool A locational tool used to position other vision tools in reference to specific blob. Supported on all P4 OMNI and ProII sensors.
Coordinate Tool The Coordinate tool takes coordinate values from different vision tools or constants and combines then into a single point represented by and X,Y coordinate and a rotational value along the z-axis. Supported on all P4 OMNI and ProII sensors.
Blob Tool Added filtering and sorting based on statistics
Color Blob Tool Added filtering and sorting based on statistics
OCR/OCV Expanded character boxing options
Minor Features
Communications Tool Added hexadecimal escape characters to start and end strings
Communications Tool Ethernet port numbers are now user selectable
Pattern Count Tool Added angle and percent match to results tree
Internationalization Language updates for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Italian, German
NTSC Maximum tool name display increased from 11 to 16 characters
Image Export Utility Added new properties (IP Address, TCP Port, Connect) to support platforms which do not support methods
Corrected Issues
Geo Tool Non-symmetric rotation angles were searching opposite of the values entered
Tools Configuration Licenseable tools indicate help improperly
Bar Code Tool Default timeout value increased to 10 seconds.
Recorder Windows 2000 PC's would erroneously indicate no space to record files
Test Tool Tool does not fail if incoming Measure Tool fails
Test Tool Multiple test tools could specify the same output pin causing unknown I/O state of that pin
Edge Tool When using edge strength, improper number of edges displayed until clicking on graph
Firmware Updater Added DEMO support for latest versions of sensor hardware
OCR/OCV Tool Displaying flipped ROI's during ROI moves is now disabled during the ROI movement
OCR/OCV Tool In some instances the minimum space between characters was using 2 pixels instead of 1
Save Inspection Dialog Dialog edit field for filename was not handling overstriking in certain instances
Setup WhiteBalance button was enabled without ROI first being drawn

2008R2 - What's New In This Release

Major Features Description
Help System Press 'F1' at any location in the PresencePLUS user interace for context sensitive help
Help System Directly viewable help system installed directly on CD for immediate viewing without the need to install the entire application
Pattern Find Tool
Pattern Count Tool
Now available on all variants of the P4 OMNI Sensors running this release (or later).
Bead Tool The new Bead Tool with runtime annotation is now available on all P4 OMNI and ProII sensor variants running this release (or later).
Barcode Tool Added PDF-417 Barcode decoding support to all sensors licensed to run the Barcode tool and all P4 BCR and P4 BCR 1.3 sensors with dedicated Barcode tools installed.
Playback & Record Playback and Record are now supported on all color sensors
Minor Features
Ethernet ID Now supports multiple string regions
Industrial Protocols User selectable string byte reading order
Sensor Neighborhood listings now sortable in PresencePLUS PC Software and the Firmware Updater
Corrected Issues
Internationalization Users logged into PC with international characters in the username caused errors during inspection loading
Remote Teach Repeated Remote Teaches with Pattern Tools could cause system to become unresponsive.
Sensor Neighborhood inability to detect large numbers of sensors or sensors spanning different subnets.
Recorder Image recording (all sensors) would gradually slowdown after continious use
Recorder Fast triggers during record intermittely caused system to hang
Recorder Prompt to create new record folder prompting to create all intermediate folders
OCR/OCV Tools Print Contrast set to Bright on Dark was not annotating properly in the Trainer Dialog
OCR/OCV Tools Runtime results or previous trigger not cleared when tool fails on next trigger
OCR/OCV Tools Fixed thresholding was not properly using the low and high threshold values
Image Export Microsoft Vista users unable to conect to sensors

2008R1 - What's New In This Release

Major Features Description
OCR Tool Added the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool to decode character images into text (P4BCR, P4OMNI, ProII, and all variants)
OCV Tool Added the OCV (Optical Character Verification) tool to verify character images decode to predefined text values (P4BCR, P4OMNI, ProII, and all variants)
String Tool Added the String Tool to support string compares between OCR and BCR tools (P4BCR, P4OMNI, ProII, and all variants)
Color Blob Tool Added Color Blob Tool to specify blobs based on selected colors an enhanced feature allows the color range to be specified (All Color Sensors)
Average Color Tool Added Average Color Tool to decode the average of the color pixels within the ROI into RGB or HSI space (All Color Sensors)
Configurable GUI Added Configurable GUI support to allow customization of supported tools on a sensor by hide tools and their enhanced features
Tools Page Tools are now distributed into three groups (separate tabs), Locational, Vision and Analysis
Logging User can save all inspection log files with one click
Minor Features
Color Match Tool Updated to illustrate colors on Color Wheel.
Blob Tools Largest blob is now selected as default for grayscale and color Blob Tools.
Barcode Tool Enhanced the Postnet decoder's read-rate and grades
Barcode Tool Added the ability to use a timeout value.
Locational Tools Support added to force a locational tool to absolute versus relative
Measure Tool Support added to measure distance from the Reference Point of locational tool
Color Blob Tool Now allows the acceptable range of color probe to be defined (HSI space)
Corrected Issues
Communications Tool Spaces were erroneously being output when writing Math tool's output data
PLC Registers Frame Number was not updating in the selected PLC register
Test Tool Object Tool in Test tool where "All Bright" in test tool with min = 0 and max == 10, would erroneously fail if no objects were found
Math Tool Erroneously reporting two barcodes found when a barcode was NOT in reference image
Edge Tool GUI crashing when copying an Edge tool (2007R2_BETA_4 release only)
Math Tool With Blob Tool as input, in units other than pixels, was producing incorrect results during run-time.
Test Tool Was testing both Smallest and Largest Blobs when Compute Statistics enabled and ONLY Smallest Blob was selected in Test Tool.
Edge Tool When using maximum FOV, ROI annotations during run-time were incorrectly drawn.
Pattern Tool Pattern ROI could not be rotated 360 degrees in the GUI
Measure Tool Not failing if one of its input tools failed, tools should fail if any of their input tools fail
Blob Tool Annotations were not drawn when GUI was connected to older sensors
Test Tool If Barcode tool used as Input 2,3 or 4 in Test Tool, barcode type would not get updated in Test Tool if changed in Barcode Tool
Misc Incorrect IP address was displayed if connection to a sensor failed
Firmware Updater Not failing if there was not enough flash available, should indicate error to user instead of attemping operation
Blob Tool Changing circular ROI in existing Blob Tool caused errors within GUI
Blob Tool 'Minimum Radius Position' parameter was missing in results if compute statistics selected in Blob Tools
Color Match Tool PresencePLUS PC software generated error code 1001 when using Color Match Tool when connected to older firmware versions
Misc Zoom button would intermittently not change state when user clicks outside of the image area.

2007R1C - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
1.3MP Sensors Vertical black bars might appear in captured images.
1.3MP Sensors Sensor might stop responding while performing rapid product changes with fast asynchronous triggers.

2007R1B - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
Product Change Intermittent issue causing Product Change not to occur (all sensors)
Product Change Software product change (from Industrial Protocols) does not occur when Product Select is in software Override mode.
NTSC Enabling NTSC Annotation would intermittently cause sensor to stop responding.

2007R1A - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
Test Tool Not supporting the ability for user to test Blob Tool with 0 blobs in reference image.
Setup Gain and Exposure values would get out of sync with Reference Image when discarding new image settings.
Edge Tool
Object Tool
Memory leak in Edge and Object tools if circular or elliptical ROI goes out of FOV.
Math Tool Not retaining its input tool name if the input tool name is a substring of other tools
Run Mode Drawing of rotated ROIs in RUN mode is incorrect.
Product Change If software product change is performed then hardware product change stops responding
Firmware Updater Backup of Pro sensors failing for versions older than 1.2.2.
Firmware Updater Unable to restore firmware that was backed up from another sensor.

2007R1 - What's New In This Release

Major Features Description
Blob Tool Added histogram output, major/minor axes and other statistics, ability to discard boundary blobs and fills holes.
Edge Tool
Object Tool
Elliptical and Circular arcs now supported
Field Of View (FOV) User can now modify the height and width of field of view (can only adjust height in Pro sensors).
Barcode Tool Added UPC-E, POSTNET, reduced Quietzone for Linear barcodes, and improvements to Linear code read rates
Barcode Tool Added support for FNC1, Macro 05 and Macro 06.
Firmware Updater Backup & Restore added for all sensors (provides the ability to "clone" a sensor).
Minor Features
Math Tool Square Root function added
Barcode Tool Added an ability to enable/disable grades in Barcode Tool.
Geo Tool Added timeout
NTSC Now displays inspection number and barcode data. When inspection fails, displays name of first tool that failed.
NTSC Option to not display any information on the image
Industrial Protocols Support software generated Remote Teach with hardware generated Trigger
Industrial Protocols Support software generated Product Change with sensor in hardware or software override product select modes.
Corrected Issues
Pattern Find Tool
Pattern Count Tool
Tools occasionally run very slowly
Geo Tool Displayed incorrectly after product change
Math Tool Fails in non-English languages
Quick Teach Locks up PC Software when inspection includes a Pattern Tool
Test Tool Output of all Test Tools on EIP/Modbus (Communications Tool) is zero if test tool fails
Load Inspection Loading inspection from host sensor using PC Software would reset Gain and Exposure values.
Object Tool Maximum width was set at 800 pixels
Product Change
Remote Teach
Product change \ Remote Teach input active state was incorrect
Load Inspection Grayscale inspections were allowed to be loaded into color sensors.
Color Match Tool Failing during setup if preceded by a Pattern Find or Pattern Count tool
Barcode Tool Checksum verify option was erroneously disabled within GUI

2006R6C - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
Geo Tool Memory leak when sensor connected to PresencePLUS PC Software in logging mode.
Quick Teach Failing with Pattern Tool in inspection

2006R6B - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
Load Inspection Allowing grayscale inspections to be loaded on color cameras.
Color Match Fails during setup if preceded by a Pattern Find or Pattern Count tool
Pattern Find Tool
Pattern Count Tool
Tools sometimes work incorrectly on color cameras.
Pattern Find Tool
Pattern Count Tool
Tools occasionally run very slowly.

2006R6A - What's New In This Release

Corrected Issues Description
Misc Gain and Exposure values are reset during modification of existing inspections
Internationalization Some text strings displayed in non-English languages were incorrect

System Requirements


CD Menu Program

Automatic Loading:
Manual Loading:
If the CD Menu Program does not autorun when the CD is inserted (or the media equalivalent is unpacked) the following steps can be used to manually start the CD Menu Program.
  1. Click the Windows 'Start' button on the Windows Task Bar
  2. Click the 'Run' menu option
  3. Click the 'Browse' button on the 'Run' Dialog
  4. Navigate to the drive or path where the PresencePLUS Vision media is located (this should be in the root of the drive or directory where the media is located)
  5. Select the 'CDMenuPro.exe' program from the list
  6. Click the 'Open' button
  7. The 'Run' Dialog "Open:" path will now be updated with the selection from the previous ste.
  8. Click 'OK' on the 'Run' Dialog
  9. The CD Menu Program will open
  10. To verify the proper media was selected, examine the Title Bar of the CD Menu Program which indicates which indicates the media version.


Installing PresencePLUS PC Software

NOTE: Are you currently running an older version of the PresencePLUS Pro PC Software (version 1.2.0, 1.2.1 or 1.2.2)?
If so, please follow these instructions first before continuing with the steps below.
NOTE: Administrative rights are required when running PresencePLUS PC software installations on Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista

  1. Close all running PresencePLUS applications
  2. Insert the CD into the drive or unpack this media
  3. The CD Menu Program will automatically load (if menu program fails to load see Manual Loading of CD Menu)
  4. Locate the 'Installs' Section
  5. Click the 'PresencePLUS PC Software' menu option
  6. The PresencePLUS PC Software installation program will launch
  7. Follow the instructions given by the installation program.

Updating PresencePLUS Sensor Firmware

WARNING: During the firmware update process it is important to leave the device powered up and connected to the communication port throughout the update in order to prevent the loss or damage or critical files, inspection file and user configuration settings.

  1. Close all running PresencePLUS applications
  2. Insert the CD into the drive or unpack this media
  3. The CD Menu Program will automatically load (if menu program fails to load see Manual Loading of CD Menu)
  4. Locate the 'Installs' Section
  5. Click the 'PresencePLUS Update Firmware' menu option
  6. The PresencePLUS Firmware Updater application will open
  7. Click on the 'Firmware Updater' tab
  8. Select a sensor from the list or manually entering it's IP Address
  9. Click the 'Connect' button
  10. Wait for the application to connect to the sensor (takes several seconds)
  11. When completed the 'Target Firmware' field will be filled in with all possible software installation options for the selected sensor
  12. Select the appropriate 'Target Firmware' option (if more than one option is available)
  13. Select 'Update Options' as needed
  14. Click the 'Update' button
  15. The firmware update process may take several minutes
  16. When completed the 'Select Sensor" list will update showing your newly update sensor in the list

View PresencePLUS System Manuals

  1. Insert the CD into the drive or unpack this media
  2. The CD Menu Program will automatically load (if menu program fails to load see Manual Loading of CD Menu)
  3. Locate the 'User Information' Section
  4. Click the 'Manuals and Help' menu option
  5. The menu options list will update to display all available manuals
  6. Select desired manual from the list
  7. Document viewer will open and display selected manual

P+Pro Configuration Menu

NOTE: If you use the serial port for PresencePLUS GUI software to camera communication, you must enable PPP on the camera following the firmware installation. This version of firmware disables PPP to allow the Communication Tool to use the serial channel. To re-enable PPP for the PC (Presence Plus GUI) to camera communication, within the P4 Configuration menu select 'p' to enter the PPP Serial State menu item and select to enable PPP.
NOTE: When PPP is enabled, the Communication Tool will NOT be able to use the serial channel.

The P+Pro configuration menu may be entered during power up of the sensor. The P+Pro configuration menu supports the following parameters: To access the P+Pro Configuration menu, perform the following steps
  1. Set up a serial communications termain program (eg HyperTerm) connection with the following properties:
  2. Connect serial port cable from PC port being used to the sensor
  3. Start the serial communications terminal program and ensure that communications on the specified port are enabled.
  4. Reboot the sensor (cycle power)
  5. Immediately after the power is restored, start pressing any key on the keyboard.
  6. Within 10 seconds you should see the [P+Pro Configuration] menu prompt
  7. The P+Pro configuration menu supports the following commands:
  8. When finished making changes type a '@' followed by the enter key to reboot

Troubleshooting Suggestions

NOTE: Administrative rights are required when running PresencePLUS PC software installations on Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista

  1. CD Menu Program does not automatically open when the installation CD/DVD loaded into the drive.
  2. Unable to view the Help System files.
  3. Installation fails to complete
  4. DLL/OCX files fail to register during installation
  5. PresencePLUS PC program group and icons were not created
  6. Known field issues

Legacy Instructions (PresencePLUS Pro versions 1.2.0, 1.2.1, 1.2.2)

These instructions below apply only to users running legacy versions of the PresencePLUS Pro PC Software (see versions listed above)
  1. First uninstall legacy PresencePLUS Pro PC software (see versions listed above).
  2. Install the new PresencePLUS Pro PC software included on this release
  3. If you have inspection files saved to local hard drive, and wish to use them with the new PresencePLUS Pro PC Software follow the instructions in step #4 below to move your inspection files to PresencePLUS directory.Otherwise skip the rest of the instructions.
  4. Instructions to move inspection files to the new PresencePLUS Pro PC Software locations
    (These instruction assume user has installed to the default directories):
    1. Run the PresencePLUS PC software..
    2. Using the PresencePLUS PC Software, perform the following steps to automatically create the required folders:
      • 1.) If the GUI opens in SETUP screen:
        2.) Click "Next" button
        3.) select "Create a new inspection" in popup dialog
        4.) Close the PresencePLUS PC program
      • If the GUI opens in RUN screen:
        1.) Click the "Stop" button 2.) Click the "Tool" button
        3.) Click the "Run" button
        4.) Close the PresencePLUS PC program
    3. Open Windows Explorer
    4. Browse to C:\Program Files\Banner Engineering\PresencePLUS Pro\Inspection directory
    5. Copy both Inspections and Reference Images sub directories
      (Select both directories then mouse right click on them and select "Copy")
    6. Browse to C:\Program Files\Banner Engineering\PresencePLUS\Inspection Folder\Pro directory
    7. Right click on this directory and select "Paste".
    8. Follow the instructions within the message boxes.

Contact Information for Banner Engineering Corp.

Address: Banner Engineering Corp.
9714 10th Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55441
Technical Service: 1-888-3-SENSOR (1-888-373-6767)
Toll Free: 1-800-809-7043
Phone: (763) 544-3164
Fax: (763) 544-3213
Email: sensors@bannerengineering.com
Website: http://www.bannerengineering.com
Outside The
United States:
Click here (www.bannerengineering.com/contact-us) to find contact information for the Banner Engineering representative nearest you.


Media Package: PresencePLUS Vision Sensors www.bannerengineering.com