Machine vision comprises three integrated processes: acquisition, preprocessing, and image analysis. While many resources discuss application-specific image analysis, there has been no unified account of image acquisition hardware and preprocessing - until now. Image Acquisition and Preprocessing for Machine Vision Systems is a comprehensive, exhaustive reference text detailing every aspect of acquisition and preprocessing, from the illumination of a scene to the optics of image forming, from CCD and CMOS image capture to the transformation of the captured image. This book bridges the gaps between hardware and software on one hand and theory and applications on the other. With its detailed coverage of imaging hardware and derivations of preprocessing kernels, it is an invaluable design reference for students, researchers, application and product engineers, and systems integrators. Distinctive features of the book include: * Detailed theories of CCD and CMOS image sensors, image formation, scene illumination, and camera calibration. * Unique combination of operational details of imaging hardware (front-end electronics) and analytical theories of low-level image-processing functions. * Coverage of image-acquisition modules and preprocessing functions within a unified framework. * Derivation of 2D image-processing functions from first principles by extending 1D signal-processing concepts.