Machine Vision & Industrial Inspection AI worked example

Min Detectable Defect with horizontal field of view of 550 mm: a worked example

Push horizontal field of view up to 550 mm and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when writing or validating a machine vision specification to confirm that the camera and lens combination can detect the smallest defect in the inspection requirement.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Horizontal field of view (FOV width): 550 mm (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 220)
  • Camera horizontal pixel count: 2,448 pixels (unchanged)
  • Minimum pixels required to detect a defect: 3 pixels (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Inspection resolution = FOV width / horizontal pixel count) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.67 mm for minimum detectable defect size, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.22 value for inspection resolution (mm per pixel).
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3 x for minimum pixels required per defect.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2,448 value for camera horizontal pixel count.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where horizontal field of view sits at 220 mm and the headline result is 0.27 mm, this scenario comes in 150% above the baseline at 0.67 mm.
  • It computes the smallest reliably detectable defect size in mm by multiplying spatial resolution (FOV / pixels) by the minimum pixels needed to register a defect. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Minimum detectable defect size: 0.67 mm (headline result)
  • Inspection resolution (mm per pixel): 0.22 value
  • Minimum pixels required per defect: 3 x
  • Camera horizontal pixel count: 2,448 value

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Min Detectable Defect calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.