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A generic approach to the development and integration of machine vision, within surface-mount electronics manufacturing, has been proceeding based on the concept of a standard vision framework. A framework is a collection of system components, the connection of which can be configured with appropriate support tools. This is facilitated using object-oriented analysis and design techniques to identify and describe those elements, or modules, that are crucial to all vision systems within the domain.Analysis of surface-mount manufacturing has identified fifteen potential tasks in which machine vision inspection and control is beneficial. The essential functionality which spans these tasks has been identified and incorporated in a set of approximately twenty visual components implemented using the KAPPA programming environment. A practical exploration has been made into using the framework to develop a method of classifying insufficient solder deposits based on the distinct light reflection characteristics of solder fillets when illuminated from different angles. Classification has been reliably achieved by calculating the variation in mean luminance of specific fillet regions between images obtained with high and low angles of lighting using a custom light source. The resulting system architecture has illustrated the potential of object-oriented software and specification techniques, producing an elegant structure based on code reuse and 'design by extension'.

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Dr. BAHAWODIN BAHA has been teaching at University of Brighton since 1989. He received his BS from Kabul University and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Universities of Salford and Brighton respectively. He has conducted a survey for the Afghan government and UNDP about the current state of Technical, Vocational Education (TVE) and Engineering Institutions in Afghanistan in 2004. In addition, he has been actively involved to help engineering education in Afghanistan, especially at Kabul University (KU) and Kabul Polytechnic University (KPU) since 2005. Since December 2006, Dr. B. Baha has been helping Engineering Educational Institutions in Afghanistan under a DFID funded project, which is called Developing Partnership on Higher Education (DelPHE); this programme is managed by the British Council. The details about various activities of this project can be found at the following website: http://www.uobkupartnership.talktalk.net. The University of Brighton has recently signed a major partnership contract with Kabul Polytechnic University (KPU) and the Ministry of Higher Education in Afghanistan under the World Bank sponsored programme, which is called Strengthening Higher Education Programme (SHEP). The project is aimed at improving Engineering Education in subjects related to electrical, electronics, communication and computer engineering at KPU. Dr. B. Baha is the principle investigator of this project. He has published many papers at well known journals and international conferences on electronics and engineering education in Afghanistan. Tim Katz, University of Brighton Dr Tim Katz obtained a Doctorate in Solid-state Physics at Brighton Polytechnic in 1985. Instead of further specialisation in the subject area, he has diversified and now delivers product design courses as a Principal Lecturer for undergraduate and MSc levels, as well as supervising PhD students in the domain. However, a definitive thread through this has been a commitment to education that has resulted in many course validations and accreditations, conference and journal papers and a joint editorship of a book. At an operational level, he has trained colleagues when seconded to the Centre for Learning and Teaching, and focuses on facilitation and empowerment of students to become independent, lifelong learners. He also practices project-based learning in context, following many partnerships with industrial collaborators.