Spotlight on our experts: Delivering innovative frame grabbers

Craig joined Active Silicon in the summer as Frame Grabber Product Manager to focus on delivering our next generation of acquisition cards. We spoke to him about his role in the company and reflections on the wider industry.

Can you tell us a bit more about your role?

I came into Active Silicon to take ownership of the frame grabber product group, adding a dedicated resource that hadn’t been available previously. It’s my job to understand the products in detail at every level as well as grasp the bigger picture of the solutions they provide. Then to decide what the market needs in order for us to stay at the forefront of frame grabber design and manufacture, and ensure we can deliver on this.

What are the most important considerations for you to be successful?

The role is a fascinating mix of engineering know-how and commercial astuteness. I have to be able to understand and act upon customer and market requirements while leveraging the software, firmware and hardware skills within the business. I have to be a bit of a jack-of-all-trades!

How does your previous experience help with this?

Coming from roots in FPGA design I then spent over 20 years working for Altera/Intel in Product Marketing roles which was a great way to strengthen my commercial skills. Regular customer contact and negotiation meant I had to stay on top of industry trends, from customer requirements to supply chain issues. Active Silicon is a more streamlined team which means I have constant contact with internal stakeholders and that helps me to know which areas of R&D and Engineering can assist with current and future projects.

What’s your proudest achievement so far?

You mean other than designing and 3D-printing over 60 product stands for our showcase at VISION?! Since joining, I’ve brought several new products to market, including our FireBird CoaXPress over Fiber Frame Grabber and Oncilla Machine Vision Computers.

These machine vision computers involved collaboration with our sister company, Steatite, to deliver a first for Active Silicon – a rugged industrial imaging PC built around a FireBird frame grabber with a choice of sizes and interfaces. We have plans to grow the Oncilla range to offer a variety of machine vision computers which can be easily configured and integrated quickly into new and existing vision systems.

I’m also looking forward to future products, I have some great ideas and I’m excited to bring them to market.

Sounds like you’ve been pretty busy! What do you do to relax?

I have a couple of great kids that keep me busy, but when I get a chance, I love to sail or can be found making and tinkering in my workshop.