Abstract: A surface inspection apparatus includes an irradiating unit that has a plurality of light sources that respectively emit a plurality of illumination light beams having different wavelength ranges, and irradiates an inspection surface as a surface of a body to be inspected with the illumination light beams, in a condition where the light sources are located adjacent to each other and arranged in a given order along the inspection surface, an imaging unit that images reflected light when the illumination light beams are reflected by the inspection surface, so as to obtain a plurality of items of image data corresponding to the respective wavelength ranges, and a control unit that detects a detection object on the inspection surface, based on the items of image data corresponding to the respective wavelength ranges which are obtained by the imaging unit.

Abstract: An image processing method that differentiates image data using an image processing system that includes a processing unit and a storage unit includes: acquiring image data; sequentially picking up pixels one by one at a predetermined pitch from among the pixels that constitute the image data and setting the picked up pixels as reference pixels; setting a close region around each of the reference pixels; calculating an average value of densities of the picked up pixels for each of the close regions; setting a wide region larger than the close region around each of the reference pixels; calculating an average value of densities of the picked up pixels for each of the wide regions; and calculating a difference between the density of each of the reference pixels and a corresponding one of the average values of the densities of the pixels of the wide regions.

Abstract: A surface inspection apparatus includes an irradiating unit that has a plurality of light sources that respectively emit a plurality of illumination light beams having different wavelength ranges, and irradiates an inspection surface as a surface of a body to be inspected with the illumination light beams, in a condition where the light sources are located adjacent to each other and arranged in a given order along the inspection surface, an imaging unit that images reflected light when the illumination light beams are reflected by the inspection surface, so as to obtain a plurality of items of image data corresponding to the respective wavelength ranges, and a control unit that detects a detection object on the inspection surface, based on the items of image data corresponding to the respective wavelength ranges which are obtained by the imaging unit.

Abstract: An image processing method that differentiates image data using an image processing system that includes a processing unit and a storage unit includes: acquiring image data; sequentially picking up pixels one by one at a predetermined pitch from among the pixels that constitute the image data and setting the picked up pixels as reference pixels; setting a close region around each of the reference pixels; calculating an average value of densities of the picked up pixels for each of the close regions; setting a wide region larger than the close region around each of the reference pixels; calculating an average value of densities of the picked up pixels for each of the wide regions; and calculating a difference between the density of each of the reference pixels and a corresponding one of the average values of the densities of the pixels of the wide regions.