MVTEC MERLIC 5.2.0 Tools for the Runtime version标准智能图像处理软件下载 非破解版 多国语言完整版和运动版扩展工具Linux x64-linux

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MVTEC MERLIC 5.2.0 Tools for the Runtime version标准智能图像处理软件下载 非破解版 多国语言完整版和运动版扩展工具Linux x64-linux

本帖版本为5.2.0正式版。包含多国语言包。发布日期2022年10月。

MERLIC为一款标准的智能软件，不需要太多编程知识，只需要拖动需要的功能模块，组成一定的工作流程，配置一下参数，完成配方配置，即可应用于机器视觉领域。同时MERLIC优化并行处理功能，可匹配多相机的工位应用。再加上其基于Halcon的底层，图像检测功能是非常优秀的。

MERLIC 5.2 - 有哪些新功能？
MERLIC 5.2 进一步推动深度学习技术，同时不断简化其界面并使其更易于使用。

全局上下文异常值检测
MERLIC 5.2促进了新开发的深度学习方法 "全局上下文异常值检测"。这种最先进的技术通过 “理解” 图像的逻辑内容来检测异常中的新变体。对于需要进行完整性检查、质量检查、缺陷检测或印刷检查的任何工业领域，这种功能都是很有用处的。借助全局上下文异常值检测，良好的图像是唯一需要训练的对象。也就是说，不需要进行任何标记。
在 MERLIC 5.2 中，可以使用 MVTec 提供的免费深度学习工具 (DLT) 对深度学习应用进行训练。可以将结果从 DLT 导入至 MERLIC，并在其中运行结果，而无需进行任何编程。

简便的参数设置
MERLIC 5.2 中提供的 MVTec EasyParams 使用户能够快速轻松地查找和设置相关相机参数。无论相机制造商是哪家公司，这款简化的配置工具都意味着，可以更快地将应用投入运行。此外，MERLIC 还可自动保存所有 EasyParams，这可增加 MERLIC 支持的兼容相机的数量。

扩展工具的功能范围
通过新的 "扩展工具插件"，可在 MERLIC 5.2 中实现更高级的机器视觉应用。这将使更多的用户能够在 MVTec HALCON 的基础上实现他们的自定义工具。
开发环境 HDevelop 直接连接到 MERLIC 。为您提供在 HDevelop 中跟踪自定义工具的执行情况所需的一切，使调试变得更加容易。

从 MERLIC 导出图像数据到其他接口
通过这个的功能，用户可以直接通过通信接口将图像用于可视化目的。更有现在也已包括在交付范围内的通信插件，允许用户单独保存图像，例如，用于质量保证目的。

概念工具: 预先体验 "SEGMENT IMAGE PIXEL-PRECISE" 的功能
MERLIC的 "概念工具" 为客户提供了对未来功能的初步体验。同时，他们可以利用这些工具对新应用进行初步评估。此外，客户的反馈也为开发做出了积极贡献。
在 MERLIC 5.2 中，基于深度学习的功能 "Segment Image Pixel-Precise" 可以作为概念工具-AI的一部分被测试。实现以像素精度定位训练过的缺陷类别成为可能。通过这种方式，用户可以解决检测任务，例如，以前根本不可能或只能通过大量的编程工作。

文件名: merlic-5.2.0-tools_all.tar.gz
文件大小: 1540757 字节 (1.47 MB)
修改日期: 2022-10-19 19:37
MD5: f0f3a54402b58050ca3bfd771d4d55e7
SHA1: 0b81aae7ff7bf6a77e31d09414a2744e9542c65d
SHA256: 1c5aee85a9e91f24bda50c20b842641db5247417b19ff1658fdedf4fe1a0e80b
CRC32: b775fdaf

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Release Notes for MERLIC 5.2.0This document provides the release notes for MVTec MERLIC 5.2.0, as released in October 2022.

Contents

• Supported Operating Systems
• Major New Features
• Compatibility
• Image Source Manager
• Process Integration
• Communicator
• Interfaces for Process Integration
• MERLIC Creator
• MERLIC Designer
• MERLIC Frontend
• Tools
• Examples
• Documentation
• Installation
• Tool Development
• Miscellaneous
• Known Issues
  

Supported Operating SystemsWindowsMERLIC 5.2.0 is available for Windows 10 (64-bit). During the installation of MERLIC via the MVTec Software Manager (SOM), no environment variable will be set.
Please refer to the "Readme" in the MERLIC manual for more information about the system requirements.
LinuxMERLIC provides a test version for evaluating MERLIC RTE (Runtime Environment) for Linux on PC (Linux x86_64) and for Arm-based platforms (AArch64). This means that both embedded devices based on the widely used Arm architecture and Linux alternatives to the typical Windows operating system can now be tested for image processing with MERLIC. This is a first step towards making MERLIC available on additional platforms in the future.
Developing the MVApp is still done on a Windows system with the MERLIC Creator. The application can then be tested on the "new" systems using MERLIC RTE for Arm-based platforms and Linux. Cameras can be set up remotely with the help of MERLIC RTE Setup. The test version requires a specific license. Please contact MVTec to get more information about how to obtain this license.
MVTec appreciates any feedback on the test version. The feedback can be submitted on the MERLIC feedback website which can be accessed from the MERLIC Creator either via the feedback icon on the top right or via the "Help" menu.

Major New FeaturesIntegration of "Global Context Anomaly Detection"In MERLIC 5.2, the newly developed Deep Learning method "Global Context Anomaly Detection" will be available. The outstanding feature: The new technology "understands" the logical content of images and thus detects new variants of anomalies. The feature is useful for any industry in which, for example, completeness checks, quality inspections, defect detection or print inspections have to be carried out. A concrete example is the inspection of imprints and whether they are in the right place. For training, "Global Context Anomaly Detection" only requires good images. This means that no labeling is required. For the training of Deep Learning applications, it is possible to use the free Deep Learning Tool (DLT) from MVTec. The results can then be imported from the DLT into MERLIC and executed there without any programming effort.
MVTec EasyParamsThe introduction of MVTec EasyParams in MERLIC 5.2 allows users to quickly and easily find and set the relevant camera parameters. Regardless of the camera manufacturer, this simplified configuration tool means that the application can be put into operation more quickly. In addition, MERLIC automatically saves all EasyParams. This increases the number of compatible cameras supported by MERLIC.
Export Image Data from MERLICMERLIC 5.2 now also makes it possible to export image data from MERLIC to other interfaces. This is a handy feature for users, because now they can use the images for visualization purposes directly via the communication interface. A communication plug-in, now also included in the scope of delivery, makes it possible to save images separately, such as for quality assurance purposes.
Extension of the Functional Scope of Custom ToolsWith the "Extension Tool Add-On" in MERLIC 5.2, it is now much more convenient to implement even sophisticated machine vision applications. Experienced users in particular benefit from being able to develop their own custom tools based on MVTec HALCON. For example, the development environment HDevelop can now be connected to MERLIC. This makes debugging the custom tools much easier. The execution of a custom tool can be tracked directly in HDevelop.
Concept Tools: Foretaste of "Segment Image Pixel-Precise“"Concept Tools" in MERLIC offer customers a first taste of future functions. At the same time, they can use the tools to carry out initial evaluations of possible new applications. In addition, customer feedback actively contributes to development.
In MERLIC 5.2, the deep-learning-based feature "Segment Image Pixel-Precise" can be tested as part of the Concept Tools-AI. This makes it possible to localise trained defect classes with pixel precision. In this way, users can solve inspection tasks, for example, that were previously not possible at all or only with considerable programming effort.

CompatibilitySince the last MERLIC version we have been working hard to improve MERLIC in every way. This has, however, resulted in a few of incompatibilities. We apologize for the inconvenience.

• Communicator
  
  
  • The behavior of the API function MV_ActionInfo_GetParameter has been changed. Previously, it expected users to provide a pre-initialized MVValue_t to set its value. This is in contrast to all the other *_GetParameter functions which will initialize the MVValue_t and require the users to clear it afterward. The behavior of MV_ActionInfo_GetParameter has been aligned with the rest of the API in this regard. While this is technically a breaking change of the function's contract, it should not stop existing plug-ins from working but may cause a (slow) memory leak. More information.
    
  
  

• MERLIC Frontend
  
  
  • Existing applications that are using pipe connections are not compatible anymore because starting with this MERLIC version only TCP/IP-based inter-process communication is supported. Therefore, the configuration of existing applications based on pipe connections need to be updated to use TCP connections. More information.
    
  
  

• Installation
  
  
  • Previous MERLIC versions that were installed via the MERLIC installer cannot be updated to the new MERLIC 5.2.0 version via the "Check for Updates..." dialog in the MERLIC Creator because MERLIC now only supports the installation via the MVTec Software Installer (SOM). To use the new MERLIC version, the installation must be performed via the SOM which can be obtained via the MVTec download area. More information.
    
  
  

• Tool Development
  
  
  • Custom MERLIC tools that were created for a previous MERLIC version and that make use of any of the following procedures cannot be used in MERLIC 5.2.0 because the "ToolHandle" parameter has been removed from the procedures.
    • _Info
    • Me_add_roi_support_all
    • Me_add_roi_support_circle
    • Me_add_roi_support_paraxial_rect
    • Me_add_roi_support_point
    • Me_add_roi_support_rectangle
    • Me_add_roi_support_segment
      
    Existing custom tools that make use of these procedures need to be updated to remove the "ToolHandle" parameter from the respective procedures. In addition, some other interface procedures are not supported anymore for the tool development in MERLIC 5.2.0. Therefore, existing custom tools using unsupported interface procedures also need to be updated. This can be done with the Python script "ConvertTool.py" that is provided with the MERLIC installation. More information.
    
  
  

• Miscellaneous
  
  
  • MERLIC Frontends of a previous MERLIC version are not compatible with MERLIC Creator or MERLIC RTE of the new MERLIC 5.2.0 version and vice versa. When connecting the MERLIC Frontend of a MERLIC 5.2.0 installation remotely to an instance of the MERLIC Creator or MERLIC RTE of a MERLIC 5.1 installation (or older), the connection succeeds but the window of the MERLIC Frontend remains blank. Vice versa, the MERLIC Frontend of a MERLIC 5.1 (or older) installation fails to display the Frontend served up by an instance of MERLIC Creator or MERLIC RTE of a MERLIC 5.2.0 installation.
  • Due to the new underlying HALCON version, the behavior of existing custom tools might have changed since the last MERLIC version. Therefore, it is recommended to check the functionality of existing custom tools in this MERLIC version in addition to other required updates of the custom tools due to the revised interface for the tool developoment. More information.
  • Due to the changes of the system requirements regarding the fallback for OpenGL, the system configurations in which the environment variable for OpenGL was set to use DirectX, i.e., "QT_OPENGL=desktop", do not work anymore with the new MERLIC version. Instead, software-only OpenGL must be used as fallback. Therefore, the configuration of the environment variable needs to be adjusted to "QT_OPENGL=software", if required. More information.
    
  
  

Image Source Manager

• New Features
  
  
  • The Image Source Manager has been extended by the MVTec EasyParams. They represent a predefined set of new parameters which serve as a clear and easy interface to define the actual settings of the underlying camera parameters. The predefined set of MVTec EasyParams focuses on the configuration for the most important and most used camera features to enable a quick and simplified configuration for the most common use cases. For this, the MVTec EasyParams will always be displayed with the same name for all types of camera devices. In addition, the MVTec EasyParams combine the settings of several camera parameters into a single MVTec EasyParam to simplify the configuration, e.g., for the trigger settings. In contrast to the actual camera parameters, the parameter settings of the MVTec EasyParams are always saved persistently.
    In MERLIC, the MVTec EasyParams are available in the configuration area of the "Image Sources" tab in the MERLIC RTE Setup. The configuration area for camera parameters has been adjusted to provide two tabs. The parameter representing the MVTec EasyParams are available in the tab "EasyParams". The complete set of camera parameters that are available for the connected camera are listed in the tab "All parameters". The user may switch between both tabs for the configuration of the camera. In case the connected camera device does not provide all underlying camera parameters of the MVTec EasyParams, the respective configuration in the "EasyParams" tab will not be visible. This way, only the configurable settings are provided.
    
  
  

• Enhancements
  
  
  • The behavior when using certain features of the Image Source Manager (ISM) in the MERLIC RTE Setup while an MVApp is running continuously in the MERLIC Creator has been improved. Previously, ISM failed to grab an image and returned an error after another ISM configuration was activated or after an image source has been reconnected or newly been added. In such a situation, the execution of the MVApp had to be stopped and started again in order to enable a correct acquisition again. Now, the image acquisition works correctly for all newly added or reconnected image sources as well as for all image sources of a newly activated configuration without restarting the execution of the MVApp.
  • The behavior when starting acquiring live images in the "Image Sources" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup has been improved. Previously, the software trigger was temporarily activated on a camera when the live image was started to acquire images from the camera. Now, the trigger settings of the camera are not modified anymore when starting the live image.
  • The image acquisition interfaces that are used for the Image Source Manager (ISM) as well as for the tools "Acquire Image from Camera" and "Acquire Image from File", respectively, have been updated to a new revision. MERLIC now contains the following versions of the interfaces:
    • GigEVision2: Revision 18.11.15
    • GenICamGenTL: Revision 18.11.15
    • USB3Vision: Revision 18.11.18
      
    
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • In some cases, the "Image Source" tool returned an error and displayed the error image when the execution was stopped in the MERLIC Creator while the image acquisition in the Image Source Manager was still in progress. This problem has been fixed. Now, the "Image Source" tool always displays the latest executed image when stopping the execution. The latest executed image might not be the latest acquired image because the active configuration might contain other image sources for which the image acquisition is not finished. If the acquisition of the selected image source succeeded but the acquisition of any other image source in the active configuration is still in progress when the execution is stopped, the latest executed image that is shown in the "Image Source" tool is not the same as the latest acquired image because the next iteration of the MVApp has not started yet.
    In addition, the "Image Source" tool also returned an error when modifying the parameters of a camera in the MERLIC RTE Setup while an MVApp was running continuously in the MERLIC Creator. This problem has been fixed. Now, the execution of the MVApp might be suspended momentarily until the modified camera parameters have been applied.
  • When clicking the "New image source" button in the "Image Sources" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup, it took a while before the corresponding dialog was brought up. This problem has been fixed.
  • In the "Image Sources" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup, the live image mode could not be stopped and also blocked all other user actions to be applied before a new live image was acquired or the configured "grab timeout" (default 5 seconds) occurred. This problem has been fixed. Now the live image and also the snapshot can reliably be aborted at any time.
  • When editing and using camera configuration files for MERLIC, i.e., ".pers" files, the line endings in the files were not compatible with different operating systems. This problem has been fixed.
  • In some cases, the live image or snapshot that was displayed for an image source in the "Image Sources" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup was erroneously associated with a different image source. This problem occurred if the image source of the active configuration had exactly the same name as an image source of an inactive configuration and if this inactive configuration had been previously activated in the same instance of the MERLIC RTE Setup. If the live image was then started or a snapshot was taken for the image source of the active configuration, the respective images were still displayed when changing to the identically named image source of the inactive configuration.
    
  
  

Process Integration

• New Features
  
  
  • MERLIC RTE now supports the transmission of image results that have been added to the MVApp results of the respective MVApp. Thus, they will be stored in memory along with the other results when executing the respective MVApp via an associated recipe in the MERLIC RTE mode. As with regular results, the image results are deleted from memory when the ring buffer that stores the results exceeds its capacity and starts dropping results, beginning with the oldest one. It might be required to adjust the respective setting in the .ini file, i.e., "ResultBufferSize", depending on the amount and size of the images, the frequency of the recipes' execution, the delay between the generation of the result and its processing by the Communicator plug-ins, and the system resources available to MERLIC.
  • The MERLIC RTE application, i.e., "merlic_rte.exe", has been extended by the following new command line options:
    • "-r", "--recipe": This option overrides the default recipe and specifies a different recipe for the startup.
    • "-R", "--no_recipe": This option overrides the default recipe and specifies that no recipe is loaded on startup.
    • "-x", "--execute": This option starts a continuous execution of the startup recipe immediately after it is prepared.
      
    
    
  
  

• Improved Usability
  
  
  • In the "Image Sources" and "Communication" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup, the contrast on disabled parameters has been improved. Previously, the contrast was very low which made it sometimes difficult to read the parameters. Now, the contrast has been increased to ensure better readability.
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • When the MERLIC RTE Setup was connected to a remote system on which MERLIC RTE was currently running and the "Recipes" tab was selected, a wrong message with misleading information was displayed. This problem has been fixed. Now, the "Recipes" tab correctly states that recipes cannot be managed remotely when the MERLIC RTE Setup is connected to a remote system.
  • On Linux systems, the parameters defined in a recipe were not set in the same order as on Windows systems when using MERLIC RTE. This problem has been fixed. Now, the recipe parameters will be set in the same order as on Windows systems.
  • In the "Image Sources" and "Communication" tabs of the MERLIC RTE Setup, the values of some parameters were clipped on the left-hand side in the respective GUI controls if not enough horizontal space was available. This problem has been fixed. Now, the content of the GUI controls will be elided on the right-hand side if necessary unless the cursor is placed in the control for editing.
  • If a new MERLIC RTE Setup was opened with a forced connection after a previous instance of the MERLIC RTE Setup had ended unexpectedly, the configuration on the "Image Sources" tab was still locked. This problem has been fixed. Now, the "Image Sources" tab is available even if the previously connected MERLIC RTE Setup had ended unexpectedly.
  • When scrolling the parameter list in the "Image Sources" and "Communication" tabs of the MERLIC RTE Setup, the list was scrolled down/up too fast which made it difficult to look through the parameters. This problem has been fixed.
  • When using the up and down arrow keys to change the selected plug-in instance in the "Communication" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup, the view in the configuration area on the right did not change to the currently selected plug-in instance. This problem has been fixed.
  • The names of camera parameters in the "Image Sources" tab and the names of plug-in parameters in the "Communication" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup were not correctly elided with an ellipsis (...) if the name did not fit within the available space in the respective configuration area. This problem has been fixed. Now, also a tooltip is displayed when hovering the mouse pointer over an elided parameter name.
  • On Windows systems, MERLIC RTE did not shut down immediately if the terminate signal, e.g., CTRL+C, was received while the startup was still in progress. In addition, MERLIC RTE could never be terminated gracefully again afterwards. This problem has been fixed.
    
  
  

Communicator

• New Features
  
  
  • The Communicator API now supports the transmission of image results that have been added to the MVApp results of the respective MVApp. For this, the results and the "ResultReady" event now include so-called "data component descriptors" that reference the individual images as a "data container descriptor". These can then be used to fetch a "data container" containing the actual binary "data components", i.e., the image results, from the vision system. The resolution and binary format of the images can be customized by setting the corresponding properties of the data component descriptors before fetching them.
  • The C++ plug-in support library has been extended to also support the transfer and retrieval of image results analogously to the underlying C API.
  • The Communicator API and accompanying support C++ library have been extended to allow plug-ins to specify a preferred control widget for a plug-in configuration parameter. Several (new) widgets are available:
    • A file chooser and a directory chooser to allow specifying a path by browsing the (local) filesystem as an alternative to a plain text field.
    • A password entry text field that allows toggling between obfuscated and plain text entry, also as an alternative to a plain text field.
    • A button group which can be used as an alternative to a combo box to let the user choose between a few options.
      
    The MQTT plug-in, the OPC UA server plug-in, and the new "save-images" example plug-in all make use of this ability.
  • The Communicator API has been extended by a new property eMVPluginProperty_RapidValidation which may be specified in the MVDetails API function. Setting this Boolean to "true" allows a Communicator plug-in to opt into a new "rapid validation" behavior which will trigger the validation of the tentative plug-in configuration in the MERLIC RTE Setup upon every modification. Plug-ins that do not set this property maintain the existing behavior, i.e., a validation only takes place when the user saves the plug-in configuration. The MQTT and OPC UA server plug-ins support this rapid validation.
    
  
  

• Enhancements
  
  
  • The "Config::Builder" class of the C++ plug-in support library has been extended by the functions WithPrefix and WithSuffix. These functions can be used to set prefixes and suffixes for the user parameters that are available the MERLIC RTE Setup.
  • The MERLIC Communicator now also supports building a Communicator plug-in using the C++ support library in C++20 mode. Previously, some warnings related to the deprecation of bitwise operations on enumerators of different enumeration types might have occurred when using the C++ plug-in support library in  C++20 mode. Now, C++20 is fully compatible with building Communicator plug-ins using the C++ plug-in support library and no warnings are returned regarding any deprecations.
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • When using the C++ plug-in support library, some MVValue_t objects were not cleared correctly when querying information of the underlying C API data types. This led to a (slow) memory leak in all plug-ins that were using these objects. This problem has been fixed. Note that this change affects the compatibility. Read more.
    
  
  

Interfaces for Process Integration

• New Features
  
  
  • The MQTT plug-in has been extended by the ability to publish result image data. The plug-in now also provides a new set of user parameters for the configuration of the image data, i.e., to define how the image data should be published. They can be accessed in the user parameter section "Image Results" which is displayed in the configuration area of the plug-in within the "Communication" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup. By default, the image data are not published and this feature has to be enabled in the configuration of the plug-in.
  • The OPC UA server plug-in has been extended by the ability to retrieve result image data. The plug-in now also provides a new set of user parameters for the configuration of the image data, i.e., to define how the image data should be provided. They can be accessed in the user parameter section "Image Results" which is displayed in the configuration area of the plug-in within the "Communication" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup. By default, the image data are not provided and this feature has to be enabled in the configuration of the plug-in.
  • MERLIC has been extended by a new Communicator example plug-in "save-images". It demonstrates the use of the new "data container descriptors" and "data component descriptors" of the image API. When running, the plug-in automatically saves the image data contained in MVApp results to a configurable directory on disk. The plug-in offers a rich set of configuration options to customize the image format, output directory structure, and conditions upon which to output an image. The source code for this plug-in is available at "examples/communicator_plugins/save-images" inside the MERLIC installation directory.
    
  
  

• Enhancements
  
  
  • The "event-logger" example plug-in has been improved. It now also logs the data information of image results that have been added to the MVApp results for the process integration, i.e, MERLIC RTE. In addition, the new "data component descriptors" that are included in each "ResultReady" event are logged.
  • The MQTT plug-in is now capable of connecting to MQTT brokers which require authentication via username and password. Authentication can be enabled via newly added parameters in the plug-in's configuration on the "Communication" tab of MERLIC RTE Setup. Please note that these credentials are stored and transferred in plain text.
  • The OPC UA server plug-in has been extended by a new optional add-in, i.e., the "VisionCompanion" object. It facilitates the integration with OPC UA clients that are not able to handle the complexities of the information model specified by the "OPC UA for Machine Vision - Part 1" companion specification, e.g., simple OPC UA clients such as PLCs. It enables the user to operate the OPC UA server in an easier way by providing an alternative approach to start the execution and get the results.
    
  
  

MERLIC Creator

• New Features
  
  
  • MERLIC now supports adding image results of a MERLIC tool to the MVApp results for the process integration, i.e., for MERLIC RTE. The connector of the respective tool results representing an image now also provides the button for adding the result to the MVApp result. The required data type is automatically selected when adding an image result to the MVApp result. They will then appear in the panel "MVApp Parameters and Results" and they will be available to Communicator plug-ins through the new "data container descriptors" of the Communicator API.
  • The update mechanism of MERLIC has been improved. Previously, the user had to check for available updates manually via the "Help > Check for Updates" menu. Now, the MERLIC Creator automatically checks for new updates at every startup, and if a newer version is available, the user will be notified via a dialog.
  • MERLIC now supports a preview of all types of graphical data in MERLIC tools, i.e., images, contours, or regions. When hovering the mouse pointer over a tool parameter or tool result that contains graphical data, the respective graphical data will be displayed in the graphics window of the MERLIC tool. Tool parameters and results that enable such a preview can now be recognized by a new icon that appears on mouse hover. MERLIC also enables to display the graphical data permanently by clicking on the connector of the respective tool parameter or tool result. This functionality is especially helpful if a MERLIC tool has multiple tool parameters or results with graphical data, or if you would like to check the graphical data of a tool result without connecting it to a subsequent tool.
    
  
  

• Enhancements
  
  
  • If an MVApp with user management of a previous MERLIC version was converted while loading the MVApp in the MERLIC Creator, the back-up of the MVApp did not contain a back-up of the user management database. Instead, the original user management database was overwritten with the new database schema and the original database was lost. Therefore, the back-up of the MVApp no longer worked correctly in the MERLIC version in which it was originally created because the older MERLIC version did not work with the new database schema of the user management. This problem has been fixed. Now, also a back-up for the user management database is created when converting MVApps of previous MERLIC versions.
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • If a reserved keyword that is not allowed has been entered while renaming a tool parameter or tool result, the displayed error message was not clear and did not mention the actual cause for the error. This problem has been fixed.
  • If an MVApp contained a large amount of MERLIC tools, the context menu with the list of available tools for connecting was not completely visible in some cases. This problem has been fixed.
  • In rare cases, MERLIC Creator could crash on shutdown if the Tool Flow of the MVApp contained crossing points. This problem has been fixed.
  • A wrong tooltip was shown at a MERLIC tool when hovering the mouse pointer over the arrow icon of an MVApp result. The tooltip mentioned "MVApp Parameter" instead of "MVApp Result" which might have led to confusion. This problem has been fixed.
  • In some cases, deleting a MERLIC tool could take very long if the MVApp contained a large number of "Branch on Condition" tools. This problem has been fixed.
  • After resolving a race condition in an MVApp, the respective tool parameter has been set to its default value even though a tool result of a previous tool was connected to the parameter. This problem has been fixed. Now, the value of the connected tool result is correctly propagated.
  • When switching between the processing image and a training image of a MERLIC tool with training mode, the MVApp was incorrectly marked as modified even though this has no effect on the program state. This problem has been fixed.
  • After selecting the connector of a tool parameter for editing and deleting the current value, some problems occurred when trying to edit the value again. This problem has been fixed.
  • In the "About MERLIC" dialog in the MERLIC Creator, the translation of some texts were missing when using MERLIC in German. This problem has been fixed.
  • If an error was returned at a MERLIC tool and the respective error message dialog was opened in detailed view, the information provided under "Details" vanished when changing the focus to a different tool, e.g., by clicking on a different tool in the Tool Flow panel. This problem has been fixed.
    
  
  

MERLIC Designer

• Improved Usability
  
  
  • The usability of the Frontend Designer has been improved. Previously, the color of the grid in the workspace was too dark which made it hard to focus on the actual Designer widgets. Now, the default color for the grid has been changed to a lighter color to keep the focus on the Designer widgets.
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • The grid properties within the Frontend Designer were not saved persistently. This problem has been fixed.
  • In the Frontend Designer, a white border was visible on the right and bottom of the workspace. This problem has been fixed.
  • When adding, deleting, and removing groups within the user management settings in the MERLIC Designer, some issues related to the display of the list of user groups could occur. This problem has been fixed.
    
  
  

MERLIC Frontend

• Enhancements
  
  
  • Starting with this version, only TCP/IP-based inter-process communication is supported. The inter-process communication using Microsoft pipes has been removed for the MERLIC Frontend. Note that this change affects the compatibility. Read more.
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • When using the MERLIC Frontend in one of the MERLIC languages other than English, the error messages in the login dialog of the MERLIC Frontend were not translated. This problem has been fixed.
  • When using the MERLIC Frontend in one of the MERLIC languages other than English and closing the MERLIC Frontend with pending changes, the buttons in the dialog asking the user whether changes should be saved were not translated. This problem has been fixed.
  • The MERLIC Frontend leaked memory at a rate of about 0.7 MB/h. This problem has been fixed.
    
  
  

Tools

• New Features
  
  
  • MERLIC now makes it easier to recognize if a MERLIC tool has mutually exclusive parameters, e.g., parameters that are not applied during computation depending on the value of some other parameters. In case such a parameter is not applied, the corresponding connector is now visually grayed out and its value cannot be changed manually anymore. Currently, the following tools are affected:
    • Check Presence With Matching
    • Count with Matching
    • Evaluate Contours
    • Evaluate Regions
    • Level Surface
    • Locate with Matching
    • Read Bar Code
    • Read ECC 200
    • Read QR Code
    • Read Text And Numbers With Deep Learning
    • Remove Outlier Pixels
    • Scale Gray Range To 8 Bit
      
  • MERLIC has been extended by the new concept tool "Segment Image Pixel Precise". It enables a pixel-precise segmentation of the image in pre-trained classes using a deep-learning-based approach. The tool requires a classifier, i.e., a trained deep learning model, as input which needs to be trained in MVTec HALCON. This concept tool can be used to evaluate the current stage of development for the deep-learning-based approach of pixel-precise segmentation in MERLIC. MVTec appreciates any feedback on desired changes or further feature requests. The feedback can be submitted on the MERLIC feedback website which can be accessed from the MERLIC Creator either via the feedback icon on the top right or via the "Help" menu.
  • MERLIC has been extended by a new tool "Detect Anomalies in the Global Context" in the tool category "Deep Learning - AI". It enables the user to detect structural and logical anomalies in images on a larger scale, e.g., structural anomalies including unknown features such as scratches, cracks, or contamination, as well as logical anomalies that violate constraints regarding the image content such as a wrong number or a wrong position of an object. In contrast to the tool "Detect Anomalies", a pre-trained deep learning model is required as input for the tool. The tool allows the user to select which data of the trained deep learning model should be used to detect anomalies. It also supports the use of Artificial Intelligence Acceleration Interfaces (AI2) for the NVIDIA® TensorRT™ SDK and the Intel® Distribution of OpenVINO™ toolkit.
    
  
  

• Enhancements
  
  
  • The tool "Write Image to File" has been extended by two new additional tool parameters "File Prefix" and "File Suffix". They allow the user to add a prefix and/or suffix to the respective file name under which the image is stored. In addition, the tool has been extended by the new tool result "Current File Name" which returns the complete path and file name of the last written image.
    
  
  

• Improved Usability
  
  
  • The usability of the tool "Evaluate Expression" has been improved. Previously, it was not possible to see the complete name of an expression if the name was truncated due to its lengths. Now, the complete name is displayed in a tooltip when hovering the mouse over the respective name in the tool board.
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • The following MERLIC tools of the category "ROI Creation" did not report any error when an inappropriate ROI was connected to its ROI tool parameter. This problem has been fixed.
    • Create Circle
    • Create Paraxial Rectangle
    • Create Rectangle
    • Create Segment
      
  • After selecting a defect cluster in the tool "Evaluate Defect Clusters", the preview of further defect clusters via easyTouch was hard to distinguish from the previously selected defects because they were displayed in the same color. This problem has been fixed.
  • When adding a parameter to the MERLIC tools "Evaluate Expression" or "Branch on Condition" by connecting a result with the semantic type "condition" from a previous MERLIC tool, the new parameter was created with the wrong semantic type. Instead of the semantic type "long", the type "double" was set for the new parameter. This caused logical operators (e.g., "not", "and", "or") in the expression to fail as they can only handle integral values. This problem has been fixed.
  • If the tool results "Confidence", "Classes", "Angle", "X", or "Y" of the concept tool "Find Objects" have been connected to a tool parameter of the tool "Evaluate Expression", only the first tuple element of the results were transferred to the connected parameter of "Evaluate Expression". This problem has been fixed. The semantic type of these tool results has been changed to reflect the fact that they contain tuples with multiple values.
  • The tool "Locate with Matching" did not report any error if no object could be found within the processing image. This problem has been fixed.
  • MERLIC crashed when using a tool of the category "Deep Learning - AI" if the PATH environment variable contained a directory with an incompatible version of "libprotobuf.dll". This problem has been fixed.
    
  
  

Examples

• New Features
  
  
  • MERLIC has been extended by a new MVApp example "segment_pill_defects.mvapp".  It shows the use of the new concept tool "Segment Image Pixel Precise". The concept tool is meant for evaluation only and is not recommended to be used in production because it may be unstable, work-in-progress, or be changed or removed in future MERLIC releases.
  • MERLIC has been extended by the new MVApp example "detect_anomalies_of_bottles_in_the_global_context.mvapp". It shows the use of the new tool "Detect Anomalies in the Global Context".
    
  
  

Documentation

• New Features
  
  
  • The Communicator manual has been extended with new language versions. It is now available in the same languages as the MERLIC manual, i.e, in German, Japanese, and simplified Chinese.
  • MERLIC has been extended by the MERLIC Tool Development manual, a revised version of the manual that was provided in MERLIC 3. It provides documentation of the required development process for custom MERLIC tools including step-by-step instructions on how to develop a custom tool, and it contains a procedure reference with a description of all available procedures that can be used for the tool development. In addition, it also provides some further information that is relevant for the tool development such as the available tool template or debugging information.
  • The MERLIC manual has been extended by the topic "Parameter and Result Types". It offers an overview of the different types of parameters and result that are supported in MERLIC.
    
  
  

• Enhancements
  
  
  • The tool reference of the following tools of the category "Preprocessing > Filter" has been improved.
    • Adapt Brightness
    • Apply Gray Morphology
    • Correct Shading
    • Emphasize Edges
    • Merge Images
    • Reduce Image Noise
      
    The description of the tool result "Processed Region" now provides more detailed information.
  • The MERLIC documentation has been improved. Previously, the underlying HALCON version of the respective MERLIC version was only mentioned in the release notes. Now, the HALCON version is also mentioned in the "Readme" topic of the MERLIC manual and in the Tool Development manual.
  • The documentation of the I/O configuration in the MERLIC manual has been improved. It now describes in more detail which requirements and restrictions need to be taken into consideration when connecting an I/O device to the MERLIC RTE Setup.
  • The MERLIC documentation regarding the usage of multiple cameras has been improved. It now provides some more details on possible alternatives.
  • The print settings for the MERLIC manuals have been improved. Previously, it was possible that some content was not visible when printing a topic, e.g., in large tables. Now, the print settings have been revised and all contents of a topic are visible in the print output.
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • Previously, the MERLIC documentation used the term "run time environment" when speaking of the MERLIC Designer or the MERLIC Frontend. This could be confusing, as the term was not referring to the MERLIC Runtime Environment, i.e,. the MERLIC RTE mode. This problem has been fixed.
  • The topic "Checking the MERLIC State (Hilscher)" in the MERLIC manual contained wrong information that did not refer to the process integration with Hilscher cards. This problem has been fixed.
  • The MERLIC documentation mentioned a wrong installation path of MERLIC in several topics. This problem has been fixed.
  • In the MERLIC Communicator manual, the links to the EULA and the third-party license information in the "Legal Notices" were broken. This problem has been fixed.
  • In the topic "Protocols for the Data Exchange" within the MERLIC manual, the overview table with the description of the respective members of the protocol "FromMERLICProtocol" was missing. This problem has been fixed.
  • In the MERLIC manual, some example images in the overview topic for the MERLIC tools of the category "ROI Creation" were mixed up. The example image of a paraxial rectangle was displayed at the description for regular rectangles and vice versa. This problem has been fixed.
  • The topic "Keyboard Shortcuts" in the MERLIC manual did not mention all available shortcuts. This problem has been fixed.
    
  
  

Installation

• New Features
  
  
  • Starting with this MERLIC version, MERLIC can be installed only via the MVTec Software Manager (SOM). The new MERLIC version will be installed beside all previous MERLIC versions. Thus, previous MERLIC versions must be uninstalled manually. Note that this change affects the compatibility. Read more.
    
  
  

Tool Development

• New Features
  
  
  • The support of the quick info for custom MERLIC tools has been revised. Previously, the quick info had to be added to the procedure settings of the respective HDevelop procedure library representing the custom tool. Therefore, it could only be provided in one language. Now, the quick info needs to be provided as an HTML file in a predefined structure at a predefined location next to the respective HDevelop procedure library. This way, the quick info can be provided in all languages that are available in MERLIC, i.e., English, German, Japanese, and simplified Chinese. In addition, it is now also possible to provide a tool tip that is shown when hovering over the custom tool in the Tool Library of the MERLIC Creator.
  • The interface for developing custom MERLIC tools has been extended with the new procedures to aid in the development of custom tools whose execution conveys side effects such as tools that communicate with the outside world or tools performing I/O.
    • Me_get_tool_execution_context
    • MeTest_set_execution_context_to_running
    • MeTest_set_execution_context_to_unknown
      
    The procedure Me_get_tool_execution_context allows the tool to detect whether it is being executed as part of a regular execution of the MVApp or due to (partial) executions of the tool flow, e.g., to propagate the effects of a parameter change. It is provided in the procedure library "MERLICDefinedOperators.hdpl" which can be found in the directory "examples\tool_development\procedures" within the MERLIC installation. The procedures MeTest_set_execution_context_to_running and MeTest_set_execution_context_to_unknown allow to set the respective execution context for testing purposes in HDevelop programs. They are provided in the auxiliary procedure library "ToolTestFramework.hdpl" which can be found in the directory "examples\tool_development\procedures" within the MERLIC installation.
  • MERLIC now supports remote debugging of custom MERLIC tools in HDevelop. This enables the user to attach to the process of a MERLIC application to debug custom tools "live" in the special debug mode of HDevelop.
  • MERLIC has been extended by the new tool template "Check_Wafer". It represents an example of a custom MERLIC tool and can be used as a basis for the development of a custom tool. The tool template is provided in the directory "examples\tool_development\tool_templates"" within the MERLIC installation.
  • The interface for developing custom MERLIC tools has been extended. It now supports logging of parsing error messages to help the user when developing new custom tools.
    
  
  

• Enhancements
  
  
  • The interface for developing custom MERLIC tools has been revised. Previously, the "_Info" procedure of a custom tool and all interface procedures, i.e., procedures with the prefix "Me_*", required the parameter "ToolHandle" even though the ToolHandle was not necessary for the actual processing in all procedures. Therefore, the "ToolHandle" parameter has been removed from the signature of the following procedures:
    • _Info
    • Me_add_roi_support_all
    • Me_add_roi_support_circle
    • Me_add_roi_support_paraxial_rect
    • Me_add_roi_support_point
    • Me_add_roi_support_rectangle
    • Me_add_roi_support_segment
      
    In addition, the following procedures are not supported anymore:
    • Me_convert_from_encoding_to_utf8
    • Me_quickinfo
    • Me_set_drawing_linestyle
    • Me_set_drawing_linewidth
    • Me_set_drawing_mode
    • Me_set_drawing_style
    • Me_set_font
    • Me_set_font_color
      
    Note that this change affects the compatibility. Read more.
    
  
  

• Fixed Problems
  
  
  • MERLIC could crash if an inappropriate value was assigned to a tool parameter of a custom tool, i.e., if the assigned value did not fit the respective semantic type of the parameter. This problem has been fixed.
    
  
  

Miscellaneous

• To profit from the improvements of the new HALCON version, the HALCON libraries used by MERLIC have been upgraded to the HALCON 22.05 Progress version.  Note that this change affects the compatibility. Read more.
• On AArch64 systems, the wrong CPU architecture has been reported in the log files. This problem has been fixed.
• The system requirements regarding the fallback of OpenGL have changed. Previously, DirectX or software-only OpenGL was automatically used as fallback if the required versions of OpenGL were not available. Now, software-only OpenGL will be automatically used as the only fallback. Note that this change affects the compatibility. Read more.
• If a setting in the preferences dialog of the MERLIC Creator had been changed, the default values of the other settings in the preference dialog were also written to the .ini file although they had not been changed. This problem has been fixed. Now, only the modified settings are written to the .ini file.
• The support for HiDPI scaling has been improved. Previously, only integer scaling factors such as 100% and 200% were supported. Now, also fractional window scaling factors such as 125% are supported.
  

Known IssuesThe following issue is already known and in development process. It will be fixed for upcoming releases.

• In frequent cases, when using TensorRT™ accelerated processing units in MERLIC tools with deep learning technology, MERLIC crashes if the required memory for the deep learning model exceeds the available memory on the GPU.
• When an instance of MERLIC Creator or MERLIC RTE of version 5.0 is remotely configured using a MERLIC RTE Setup 5.1 or newer, removing an image source from a configuration will cause the Creator or RTE application to crash. We recommend to upgrade Creator/RTE to the current version or, in lieu of that, to use RTE Setup 5.0 to configure Creator/RTE 5.0.
• When an instance of MERLIC Creator or MERLIC RTE of version 5.2 (or newer) is remotely configured using a MERLIC RTE Setup 5.1, it is not possible to rename image sources or configurations, despite the fact that this feature has been added in MERLIC 5.1. We recommend upgrading the MERLIC RTE Setup to version 5.2.
  

Legal Note: Intel, the Intel logo, OpenVINO, the OpenVINO logo, and Movidius are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.