Automatic and real-time inspection system for smart card module inspection

We present an automatic and real-time vision system to inspect the two sides of a smart card module using fuzzy logic. In the smart card industry, the module is the referential element supporting the chip. It is designed via successive microelectronic operations to be finally embedded in the plastic card. For the chip side the system can detect overflow of resin, integrity problems of the surface or of the resin protection, and misalignments. For the contact side, the system can detect all the defects affecting the module surface such as scratches, marks, or pollution. The vision system is flexible and real time. It is organized in dedicated layers and offers the necessary elements including controlled illumination systems to manage different films. A priori knowledge is introduced in the system, and fuzzy classifiers allow fast and reliable decisions. This industrial system has exhibited an efficiency comparable to that of experienced human observers but at much higher speed. (c) 2008 SPIE and IS&T.