Inspecting potentially interfering features in a machine vision system

A machine vision inspection system operable to inspect potentially interfering features on a workpiece, the machine vision inspection system comprising:

• a control system comprising a memory element and an excluded region generator;
• an imaging system operable to provide workpiece images;
• a display usable to display workpiece images and user interface elements;
• a user interface usable to define a sequence of workpiece inspection operations including video tool operations which analyze workpiece images, detect edge points of a workpiece feature, and characterize at least the location of the workpiece feature;
• and
• a plurality of video tools including a robust video tool that performs edge detection, the robust video tool comprising:
• a region of interest;
• a robust video tool interface included in the user interface;
• operations that detect edge points in the region of interest;
• and
• excluded region operations that analyze a workpiece image and determine a set of current-feature edge points such that the set of current-feature edge points includes edge points detected in the region of interest and does not include edge points located within an excluded region that is determined based on at least one previously characterized feature,
• wherein:
• the at least one previously characterized feature is a feature characterized by using one of the plurality of video tools to analyze a workpiece image to detect edge points of the previously characterized feature and characterize a dimensional parameter of the previously characterized feature based on the detected edge points, and
• the excluded region generator is configured to determine the excluded region based on the at least one previously characterized feature.