Cognex Insight Camera¶
What It Is¶
The Cognex Insight 8000 is an industrial vision camera that uses OCR (optical character recognition) to read text printed on product labels. Unlike the DataMan, which reads barcodes, the Insight reads printed text and also captures and transmits images. In GateKeeper, it is used to verify expiration dates on Cargill Salt products.
Which Sites Use It¶
- Cargill Hersey
Connection Details¶
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Protocol | TCP/IP |
| Default port | 8890 |
| Connection string format | 0.0.0.0:PORT or THIS_PC_IP:PORT (e.g., 0.0.0.0:8890) |
| GateKeeper role | Server -- the camera connects TO GateKeeper |
Important: The Insight camera architecture is the reverse of the DataMan. GateKeeper acts as a TCP server and the camera connects to it. The connection string must be a local IP address (the GateKeeper PC's IP or 0.0.0.0 for all interfaces), NOT the camera's IP.
How to Tell If It Is Working¶
- Diagnostics panel: Camera shows "Connected" with a green indicator.
- Log message on startup:
Insight camera TCP server started on 0.0.0.0:8890 - Image display: When operational, the application shows live images from the camera.
- Camera web interface: The Insight camera has a built-in web interface accessible via browser at its IP address.
How Triggering Works¶
The Insight camera triggers itself via a hardware photo-eye. GateKeeper does NOT send trigger commands. The camera: 1. Detects a case via its photo-eye input 2. Captures an image and performs OCR 3. Sends the barcode data and image to GateKeeper via the TCP connection
There is no Push/Poll mode concept for Insight cameras. The CameraDataMode setting does not affect Insight cameras.
Image Capture¶
The Insight camera sends a BMP image with each read. GateKeeper can: - Display the live image in the UI - Save images to disk with timestamp filenames - Allow operators to view historical images by clicking on past validation results
Image storage path is configured via SavePath in the camera configuration.
Common Problems and Solutions¶
| Problem | Symptoms | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Camera not connecting | Diagnostics shows no camera, no images displayed | Verify camera is configured to connect to GateKeeper's IP and port |
| SocketException 10049 | Application fails to start | Connection string has wrong IP -- must be THIS PC's IP, not camera's IP. Use 0.0.0.0 |
| OCR not reading text | Validation fails with "No barcode read from camera" | Check camera alignment, focus, lighting, label quality |
| Image not displaying | Application shows no image | Check InsightImageDisplayEnabled setting is true |
Error Messages¶
Insight cameras use the same underlying TCP protocol as Cognex DataMan, so the error patterns are similar:
| Error Message | What It Means |
|---|---|
Failed to connect to Cognex camera at {IP}:{Port} |
TCP server could not start on the specified address |
No barcode read from camera (validation error) |
Camera OCR returned NOREAD |
Key Differences from DataMan¶
| Aspect | DataMan | Insight |
|---|---|---|
| GateKeeper role | Client (connects to camera) | Server (camera connects to GateKeeper) |
| Connection string | Camera's IP address | GateKeeper PC's IP (or 0.0.0.0) |
| Trigger | Software, Hardware, or Manual | Hardware only (photo-eye on camera) |
| Output | Barcode data only | Barcode data + image |
| Reading method | Barcode decoding | OCR (text recognition) |
Configuration Pitfalls¶
The most common configuration mistake is putting the camera's IP address in the connection string. For Insight cameras:
- Correct: 0.0.0.0:8890 (listens on all network interfaces)
- Correct: 192.168.1.215:8890 (specific GateKeeper PC IP)
- Wrong: 10.191.0.92:8890 (this is the camera's IP -- will fail)
When to Escalate¶
- Camera web interface is not accessible (camera hardware issue)
- SocketException errors even with correct IP configuration
- OCR consistently returns garbled or incorrect text
- Images are captured but barcode data is empty