The article explains machine vision and what benefits it provides to an industrial manufacturing, logistics, warehouse, or packaging environment.
According to the Automated Imaging Association (AIA), machine vision encompasses all
industrial applications in which a combination of hardware and software provide operational guidance to devices in the execution of their functions based on the capture and processing of images. Machine vision systems rely on digital sensors inside industrial cameras with specialized optics to acquire images, so that computer hardware and software can process, analyze, and measure various characteristics for decision making. Machine vision systems can also perform objective measurements, or provide location information that guides a robot to align parts in a manufacturing process
Where human vision is best for qualitative interpretation of a complex, unstructured scene,
machine vision excels at quantitative measurement of a structured scene because of its
speed, accuracy, and repeatability. For example, on a production line, a machine vision
system can inspect hundreds, or even thousands, of parts per minute. A machine vision
system built around the right camera resolution and optics can easily inspect object details
too small to be seen by the human eye.
Using machine vision and ID technologies in your manufacturing and logistic processes improves product quality, guides assembly robots, and tracks items through each stage of production and distribution.
Other Benefits include:
| Strategic Goal | Machine Vision Applications |
| Higher Quality | Inspection, measurement, gauging, and assembly verification |
| Increased productivity | Repetitive tasks formerly done manually are now done by Machine Vision System |
| Production flexibility | Measurement and gauging / Robot guidance / Prior operation verification |
| Less machine downtime and reduced setup time | Changeovers programmed in advance |
| More complete information and tighter process control | Manual tasks can now provide computer data feedback |
| Lower capital equipment costs | Adding vision to a machine improves its performance, avoids obsolescence |
| Lower production costs | One vision system vs. many people / Detection of flaws early in the process |
| Scrap rate reduction | Inspection, measurement, and gauging |
| Inventory control | Optical Character Recognition and identification |
| Reduced floorspace |
Vision system vs. operator |