Resolution Reduction

The image resolution is reduced by combining square "bins" of pixels into one pixel. For a reduction of 2X, every pixel in the reduced image is computed from a 2x2 bin of pixels in the original image, so the reduced image has one 1/4 as many pixels. Reduction levels of 3X and 4X use 3x3 and 4x4 bins and reduce the image size even more.

Resolution reduction can be used to reduce vision processing time at the expense of precision. Many vision applications can be done with acceptable accuracy with a reduction of 2X or more.

The FANUC coax cameras reduce the resolution by averaging the pixels in each bin after they are digitized. The reduced image has the same brightness and takes the same amount of time to snap as the full size image.

Other cameras reduce the resolution by electronically adding the pixels in each bin before they are digitized. The camera manufacturers call this process "binning". This has several effects: