Visual quality control system solino® RTI

Product overview
The solino RTI sensor is a BRDF-based computational imaging inspection system engineered to detect micro-defects and surface irregularities on coins, medals and reflective precious-metal finishes. It acquires a sequence of images under varied illumination angles and reconstructs reflectance information to reveal subtle anomalies.

Customer Task

• Inspect minted coin and medal surfaces for manufacturing defects
• Detect engraved structures, lettering and micro-details
• Analyze reflective precious metal finishes for inconsistencies
• Verify security and authenticity features
• Identify surface contamination, tiny scratches or mechanical damage

Inspection Challenges

• Highly reflective metal finishes (gold, silver) that produce strong directional reflections
• Complex engraved microstructures and fine radial textures
• Very small scratches, dents or particulate contamination hard to reveal under fixed lighting
• Inconsistent results from standard camera systems using static illumination

Technology Principle
The solino RTI sensor uses BRDF-based computational imaging with photometric-stereo capture to reconstruct surface reflectance and enhance micro-topography. Multiple illumination directions are used to compute reflectance maps and highlight anomalies not visible in single-shot images.

• 64 multi-directional LED dome illumination
• Photometric-stereo image acquisition
• Reflectance-based surface reconstruction (BRDF)
• Computational enhancement for defect detection

Application
The solino 50×50 sensor is intended for inline or offline inspection after minting and during final quality control. Typical targets include:

• Coin engravings, reliefs and micro-engraved features
• Fine radial textures and decorative patterns
• Lettering, microstructures and security elements
• Reflective precious metal finishes and plating uniformity
• Surface contamination, handling marks or tool damage

Technology Benefits
Controlled multi-directional illumination combined with computational processing increases visibility of surface anomalies and provides repeatable inspection metrics for production control.

• Reveals micro scratches, dents and particles
• Highlights irregularities in engraved details
• Improves detection on highly reflective finishes
• Enables consistent results compared with fixed-light imaging

Solution architecture & components
The inspection solution integrates hardware and software for easy integration into production lines and laboratory stations.

• solino RTI sensor (compact form factor)
• Integrated dome illumination with 64 multi-directional LEDs
• High-resolution 20 MP industrial camera
• solinoStudio inspection software for batch acquisition and processing

Inspection workflow

• Place component under the solino sensor (inline or benchtop)
• Capture a series of images under multiple illumination directions
• Algorithms reconstruct reflectance and surface topography
• solinoStudio performs acquisition, processing and batch reporting

Conclusion
The solino RTI sensor combines controlled multi-directional illumination with BRDF-based computational imaging to reveal surface structures that are difficult to detect with traditional fixed-light cameras, enabling reliable inspection of coins, engraved parts and precious-metal products.

Technical specifications

• Item number: 100-SO-50-MAN-001 (solino 50×50 - Viewer - Stand)
• Product family / series: solino® RTI sensor
• Illumination: integrated dome with 64 multi-directional LEDs
• Imaging: photometric-stereo capture, reflectance-based surface reconstruction (BRDF)
• Camera: high-resolution 20 MP industrial camera
• Software: solinoStudio for inspection, batch acquisition and processing
• Capture capability: series of images under 64 illumination directions
• Design: compact sensor for integration into production machines and test benches
• Primary applications: minted coins, medals, engraved microstructures, reflective precious-metal finishes, contamination detection
• Image processing: computational defect enhancement; additional image processing and AI options available on request