Vision Spectra Preview for Winter 2025

Vision-Guided Robotics

The pursuit of flexible robotic automation is driving a significant shift in manufacturing, away from fixed-coordinate systems toward vision-guided robotics. This industrial evolution is reflected in substantial market growth, with the sector projected to expand from USD $6.7 billion in 2023 to USD $17.5 billion by 2033. This article explores the latest 3D vision systems in modern industries and the automation opportunities they open up. It delves into the evolution of core technologies that advance automation toward more autonomy and provides an in-depth analysis of pioneering applications, including multi-view bin picking, smart depalletization, conveyor picking, machine tending, and beyond. The narrative will run through challenges, solutions, and technologies that enable robots to see, think, and act. By examining these use cases, the article highlights how intelligent vision is unlocking new levels of efficiency and flexibility in manufacturing and logistics.

OCT and Material Analysis

Optical coherence tomography is increasingly being adopted in industrial imaging and quality control. While OCT is widely known in biomedical fields, its ability to provide high-resolution subsurface images and real-time measurement data makes it a potential game-changer for manufacturing applications. The article will explore how OCT can optimize process efficiency and enhance quality control, and how it is being used to solve previously intractable industrial imaging challenges. These include real-time laser weld monitoring; measuring thin film coatings with micron-level accuracy; and enabling defect detection and process adjustments without human intervention.

Embedded Vision

As deep learning capabilities integrate into a range of technology areas, engineers and designers must determine how-best to harness the potential of AI/DL for their systems, starting in the design and fabrication stages. Camera designers, as well as vision system integrators, must develop imagers and imaging systems capable of achieving optimal performance without compromising or restricting the AI/DL element. At the same time, cameras must support the AI element: Deep learning applications cannot achieve peak levels of functionality in poor lighting settings, or as part of a sub-optimally designed system, and require high-quality images for training and labeling via a data set. The considerations that camera designers and end-users give to system design in the budding AI age is explored. Considered questions include how designers are adapting camera designs to incorporate or pair with an AI/DL element; the relationship between AI/DL capabilities in image processing and the design of a camera; and the trade-off between the quality of camera optics and the sophistication of the AI element.

Automotive Manufacturing

Automobile makers face manufacturing challenges due to produce shifts and drivetrain changes. They are dealing with new regulations while having to boost productivity and cut costs. So, car makers want more from vision systems, such as improved defect detection, higher throughput, better performance, and more flexibility. Vision suppliers, in response, are deploying more robust and faster 3D vision, multi- and hyperspectral imaging, improved lighting and controls, along with AI-powered enhancements. These advances significantly boost vision performance. But, in looking to the future, the vision industry must continue innovation in sensors, lighting, software, and system integration to keep the auto industry rolling.

Infrared Imaging for Inspection

Infrared microscopy offers a unique advantage for semiconductor inspection: silicon is transparent at infrared wavelengths, enabling buried structures to be imaged without damage. While widely used, the technique has faced barriers in specific cases. Metal coatings were expected to block transmission, germanium substrates appeared opaque, and fine internal details often lay beyond the reach of earlier systems. Recent demonstrations using a new technology have shown that each of these obstacles can be overcome, with successful results on coated wafers, germanium substrates, and subsurface microscale structures. These capabilities broaden the range of applications where infrared microscopy can provide non-destructive insight.