Modern inspection systems increasingly need to capture more than conventional colour information. Whether sorting food, inspecting electronics, analyzing recyclable materials, or monitoring fast-moving webs, manufacturers need imaging systems that can combine high throughput with reliable color and spectral information.
JAI’s new SW-4000Q-CXP2A and SW-8000Q-CXP2A extend the Sweep+ Series with high-speed, prism-based RGB+NIR line scan imaging and a CoaXPress 2.0 CXP-12 interface.
Using four precisely aligned CMOS sensors, the cameras capture red, green, blue, and near-infrared information simultaneously, enabling inspection systems to evaluate both visible appearance and characteristics that may be difficult to detect using RGB imaging alone.
The Challenge of High-Speed Multispectral Inspection
Industrial inspection environments are rarely perfectly controlled.
Products may roll, vibrate, change speed, move independently on conveyor belts, or present uneven and curved surfaces. At the same time, the inspection system may need to evaluate color, defects, foreign material, print quality, or material composition — all without slowing down production.
Traditional multi-line sensor architectures capture spectral channels at slightly different positions. When the inspected object changes position or orientation between those captures, maintaining accurate registration between channels can become difficult.
In applications where RGB and NIR information must be compared at exactly the same physical location, even small registration errors can affect classification and inspection accuracy.
Prism-Based RGB+NIR Imaging
The new Sweep+ cameras use a beam-splitting prism to separate incoming light into red, green, blue, and NIR wavelengths.
Each wavelength is directed to its own CMOS sensor, while all four sensors share the same optical path. This allows the camera to capture RGB and NIR information from the same object position at the same moment.
Because the spectral channels are inherently aligned, the system does not need to compensate for the physical spacing between separate sensor lines.
This makes prism technology particularly valuable when inspecting products with unpredictable motion, free-falling objects, curved surfaces, or continuously moving materials where vibration and speed variations are common.
More Information from a Single Inspection
Adding NIR to conventional RGB imaging provides an additional layer of information.
Visible channels can be used to evaluate color, appearance, print, or surface defects, while NIR imaging can reveal differences that may not be obvious in visible light.
This can help inspection systems identify foreign materials, distinguish between visually similar products, or evaluate characteristics related to material composition.
Capturing RGB and NIR simultaneously also allows multiple inspection tasks to be performed at a single inspection point, helping system designers create more capable vision systems without necessarily adding separate cameras or inspection stations.
Designed for High-Throughput Applications
The SW-4000Q-CXP2A provides 4096-pixel resolution with line rates up to 146 kHz, while the SW-8000Q-CXP2Aprovides 8192-pixel resolution with line rates up to 73 kHz.
Both cameras use a CoaXPress 2.0 CXP-12 interface, providing the bandwidth needed to handle four simultaneous spectral channels at high line rates.
The interface can also support power and triggering through the CoaXPress connection, while direct rotary encoder connectivity makes it easier to synchronize acquisition with conveyor belts and other moving systems.
CXP-12, CXP-6, and CXP-3 operation gives system designers additional flexibility when balancing throughput, cabling, and system requirements.
Flexible Imaging for Different Inspection Needs
Every inspection environment is different, so the cameras provide individual gain and exposure control for the red, green, blue, and NIR channels.
This allows each spectral channel to be optimized according to the illumination conditions and the characteristics of the inspected material.
Region-of-Interest operation can be used when the full sensor width is not required, while binning provides additional flexibility when increased light sensitivity is more important than maximum spatial resolution.
Built-in correction and color-processing functions also help provide consistent image data while reducing the amount of processing required elsewhere in the vision system.
Applications Across Multiple Industries
The combination of RGB+NIR imaging, high line rates, and precise spectral alignment makes the new Sweep+ cameras suitable for a wide range of applications.
In food sorting, visible imaging can help evaluate color and quality while NIR supports foreign-material detection and additional product classification.
In recycling and waste management, the added spectral information can help distinguish between materials that may appear similar in visible light.
For electronics, battery, semiconductor, and display inspection, the cameras provide high-resolution imaging for applications where both surface appearance and additional spectral information are important.
They are also well suited to print, security, roll-to-roll, and web inspection, where speed variations, vibration, and surface movement can make accurate alignment between spectral channels especially valuable.
Reliable Performance for Industrial Vision Systems
High-speed inspection equipment must operate reliably in demanding production environments.
Both new models are designed for industrial use with 3G vibration and 50G shock ratings, and are available with either F-mount or M52 lens mounts.
Their combination of multispectral imaging, high-speed connectivity, and prism-based spatial precision provides system designers with a flexible platform for building advanced inspection systems.
Get More from Every Line
The SW-4000Q-CXP2A and SW-8000Q-CXP2A bring together RGB+NIR imaging, precise spectral registration, high line rates, and CoaXPress 2.0 connectivity in a single camera.
For applications where speed matters, objects do not always move predictably, and RGB alone cannot provide all the information required, the new Sweep+ models offer a powerful way to expand what an inspection system can see.
Learn more about how the new Sweep+ RGB+NIR line scan cameras can support your next high-speed inspection application!
https://news.jai.com/high-speed-r-g-b-nir-line-scan-imaging-now-with-coaxpress-cxp-12
