Implementation of Digital Camera Technology with Cobra Seal

Various methods for verifying a Cobra seal exist. Aquila produced the first version of AutoCobra in 1995, a system consisting of a digital camera and laptop computer. The laptop contained Aquila software designed to download the Cobra Seal images from the camera and perform seal verification by comparing a new image of a seal to a reference image taken when the seal was originally installed. The laptop also featured an onboard printer, allowing seal images to be printed at any time. However, the need for immediate image display and comparison prompted Aquila to develop a manual seal verification system, the Cobra Seal II. The Cobra II system used a Still Video Camera which recorded images on a video floppy disk and immediately displayed images on a viewfinder window (the Canon RC-250 camera) and Sony black-and-white video graphic printer, both of which are now obsolete. This year, Aquila released the Cobra III Seal Imaging System, which maintains the functionality of the Cobra II system and includes: 1) a Casio QV-30 digital camera, 2) Casio DP-8000 video color printer with 230-115VAC isolation transformer, 3) Aquila proprietary optics, 4) illumination and alignment accessory, and 5) a portable power pack. The Casio QV-30 camera has a built-in liquid crystal color monitor that can be used as a viewfinder when photographing seal images and can also be used to display stored images. The QV-30 can digitally store up to 96 seal images, which may be archived using the DP-8000 printer or transferred to a PC using a MS Windows based user interface program. Aquila proprietary optics, seal illumination, and seal receptacle are designed to provide a consistent image over a wide range of fiber optic length and seal construction. The real time video display provides the inspector the opportunity for manipulation of the seal in the camera body to optimize the image. Once the captured images are printed using the DP-8000 printer (at 297 x 446 dpi), the seal images can then be manually reviewed. This paper discusses the controversy regarding manual versus automatic seal verification and its impact on the design and production of verification systems.