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Unfortunately , much of the software to date has given machine vision , and automation in general , the reputation of being complicated , expensive , and frustrating . Many people assume that using hardware from different vendors is the major challenge when building a vision system , but hardware is not the problem .

What is tricky is getting the mix of software packages from different vendors to work well and with one another . should be at the forefront , as it is the one that will help quality inspection teams decide whether the money they are about to spend will finally fix , or help avoid , the most common pitfall of traditional machine vision system designs .

Marc Voskeritchian , Senior Machine Vision Account Manager , Zebra Technologies

So what is machine vision ? According to Wikipedia , machine vision is the technology and methods used to provide imaging-based automatic inspection and analysis for such applications as process control , and robot guidance , usually in industry . Machine vision refers to many technologies , software and hardware products , integrated systems , actions , methods and expertise .

Machine vision as a systems engineering discipline can be considered distinct from computer vision , a form of computer science . It attempts to integrate existing technologies in new ways and apply them to solve real world problems .

Visual inspection teams need to make sure they fully explore and understand the software underpinning machine vision systems . This is especially important for automotive OEMs and suppliers gearing up for increased demand for electric , hybrid , and autonomous vehicles .

When it comes to purchasing a new machine vision solution , there are usually two key questions that get asked : how much will the software license cost me to run the hardware , and what is it going take to integrate , manage , and train users on the new component ?

These are important considerations , but there is a third question that should also be asked : is there a way to run an entire system from the same vision software suite by a single vendor , even if I need vision hardware from different vendors ?

In fact , this third question is the most crucial to ask when deploying machine vision systems . This question

This is having to deal with the hodgepodge of software platforms from different vendors and the challenges that setup poses when they want to add or update hardware components .

Software is the glue that underpins these machine vision systems . It either enables or prevents the different hardware components from coming together in the way engineers need to automate quality inspections .

Whether they are trying to improve quality control or conduct compliance audits , software is what connects the visual inspection technology with other business systems to support automated data capture and analysis .

This interoperability is key , as operations and IT teams will have to interact with the software constantly to engineer inspection processes , train deep learning models , decide what passes or fails inspection , meet service level agreements , and protect their brand ’ s reputation for quality and safety .

There are user friendly , scalable , and secure singlevendor software suites that can run different types of hardware components such as cameras , barcode scanners , sensors , and robotic arms for visual inspection , process automation , and track and trace . These vision software suites can run cameras , sensors , and scanners , from different vendors into the system without operators needing to configure , learn or manage different software packages or pay licensing fees to multiple vendors . They can also interface with the systems that run robots to help guide them in automated workflows .

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