Do you need a clearer picture of the activities on your warehouse or manufacturing floor?

Then machine vision technology, which uses cameras and software to inspect parts or read bar codes, might be the answer to your problems, especially in high-speed operations where parts accuracy or read rates are paramount.

Vision technology isn't new. What's different is that the technology is moving beyond traditional niche solutions, like the semi-conductor industry, into broader areas, like data collection in the distribution center, according to Sunderraju Ramachandran, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan (408-392-2000).

Ramachandran expects the market to more than double from $1.13 billion today to more than $2.62 billion by 2009.

Three factors are driving that growth.

First is the demand for high quality parts inspections and bar code read rates, especially where human inspection isn't feasible.

'In high-volume or high-speed operations, humans simply can't perform the type of inspection and alignment that's needed for those processes,' says Chuck Gillingham, senior manager, industry marketing, for Cognex Corp. (508-650-3000).

Next is the demand for heightened process control, especially in manufacturing systems. Vision systems provide real-time feedback of any variations as they occur in the process.

Finally, today's systems are more affordable, even for small manufacturers and distribution centers.

Machine vision is an enabling technology that combines a camera, a light source, controlling software, and a computer into a system for parts inspection, parts identification, or automatic identification and data collection.

'The best way to describe a vision system is to think of it as a camera-based, image processing system,' says Patrick Farnan, operations and marketing manager for Vitronic Machine Vision (502-964-0701). 'Whether you're talking about factory automation, quality control, or materials handling, the applications are all software-based solutions based on a captured image.'

Vision technology cameras can capture still images with a flash lighting source or in-motion images with line-scan technology. What's more, those images can be stored for recall at a later date, or accessed over a Web browser or through e-mail.

Since the basic components are common to all systems, it's the software that differentiates one application from another. For example, a vision system used to inspect the spacing of threads in a twist-off bottlecap on a manufacturing line might be programmed differently to make certain a bar code label is in the right place on a carton in a distribution center.

In fact, while vision technology is more common in manufacturing facilities, distribution centers are also putting the technology to use.

'Over the last 18 months, we've been getting more requests for warehousing applications,' says Mario Mancini, president, Applied Machine Vision (412-963-7800).

Today, vision systems still cost 20-30% more than traditional bar code systems.

Still, there are several benefits to vision systems over traditional bar codes, particularly in high-volume environments.

For starts, a vision system can read a smaller bar code than traditional systems. That can save on label costs. 'You're still using a traditional bar code,' explains Ron Wurz, president, Accu-Sort Systems, Inc. (800-227-2633). 'But the height of the bar code can be cut in half, and that can lead to a 50% reduction in the cost of labels.'

Vision systems can read 2D bar codes, which can store more information than a traditional bar code.

What's more, a vision system can read a torn or damaged bar code that might not be readable by traditional scanning systems. The vision software can match up two tears, for instance, to get a full read of the bar code.

'A vision system can decrease your no-read rate by 40 to 50%,' says Wurz of Accu-Sort Systems. 'In a retail distribution system moving 200,000 cartons a day, that can add up to big savings.'

Vision systems also enable more efficient processing of no reads. When the system can't read a bar code, it can prompt an operator monitoring the system to key in more information, like a zip code. Or, it can forward a saved image of the package to the screen of an operator who can make a decision about that package without manual intervention.

'We can take no reads (on parcels) from a bar code reading perspective and turn them into usable, sortable parcels,' says Vitronic's Farnan. 'That decreases the number of parcels that need manual intervention.'

Finally, a vision system can do something else that a traditional bar code system can't-capture dimensions of a package as well as reading the bar code. That allows distributors to verify the size of the packages being handled, which is especially important for shippers who charge different rates based on the size of a package.

'With a stored image, you can verify orders you've actually filled and shipped, and verify the dimensions of those packages,' says Wurz. 'That can be important for customer service and revenue generation.'

Meanwhile several key innovations have made vision systems more attractive to users today.

While older systems stood alone, today's vision systems integrate with the rest of the factory or warehouse. 'Vendors are focusing on the distribution of information and networking with other devices,' says Geraghty of ipd. 'That means the information collected by a vision system can be distributed to other machines on the floor or to other systems in the enterprise.'

Older systems were also proprietary systems, which means that one vendor's cameras could not be interchanged with those from another vendor. Camera Link, a high-speed serial data interface standard developed by a consortium of camera and frame grabber companies, has changed all that.

The technology provides a universal, high-speed, serial-cable interconnection standard for both digital cameras and image acquisition boards.

The benefit to users is that any camera designed around the Camera Link standard can be easily connected to a network using the same cable. That means users are no longer tied to proprietary products from one vendor, but can change their systems as their requirements or needs change going forward.

But the most important development, might be lower price. 'As the systems roll out, we've been able to pull together high-level functionality that used to cost $50,000 into a small compact package that costs under $5,000,' says Gillingham of Cognex.

One area where that is expanding is 'vision sensors.' This is a new class of low-cost, high-performance machine vision products. In effect, it's an out-of-the-box solution that includes all the elements of a vision system with the exception of the lighting in a form factor that users are used to seeing on the floor.

Going forward, these kinds of innovations and lower prices present a picture of clear growth, says Ramachandran from Frost & Sullivan.

'There are simply more processes that can benefit from this technology,' he says. 'And lower price points mean more companies can afford to implement the systems. That's going to impact the industry going forward.'

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