SPRING IS HERE AND THAT MEANS LOTS OF
CAMERA NEWS This time of year usually means a crop of camera news and the team at MVPro asked some of the leading sector companies to send in their latest news and updates.
FRAMOS Industrial Cameras – Trends and the Market We kick off our feature with a study from FRAMOS entitled Industrial Cameras – Trends and the Market. It’s the 11th such study and answers come from 61 camera manufacturers and vision users from 22 countries, and provides insights into the vision camera market. Claudia Unterhuber, Head of Marketing at FRAMOS told us: “With greater competition from Asia and the trend toward embedded vision; some manufacturers see the risk that traditional camera solutions will become obsolete. A few also look skeptical at machines and devices that see in almost all industrial sectors and the consumer market, may resulting in a market fragmentation.” The report said: “Traditional machine vision and modular embedded vision will support the vision industry’s further grow. Users and manufacturers of industrial cameras rely on outstanding sensor performance; simple connectivity and integration; and, mass-market-ready technologies like 3D, polarization, and artificial intelligence. Where possible, this technology can be mounted on sensor board modules to allow smart devices, machines in industry and the consumer market to be visual. Automation can allow for 100% control, while embedded imaging technology in everyday devices can improve the quality of life. “In contrast, most manufacturers see embedded vision as one of the greatest opportunities to integrate image processing in all areas of life and work. 3D imaging and vision devices with artificial intelligence are factors boosting the industry. “Manufactures and users still predict falling camera prices. The significant shift from high to lower priced cameras can likely be explained with the increased competition, the
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technical development that allows greater performance for lower cost, and modularization through embedded vision. Consequently, the strongest growth is predicted for OEM camera modules and 3D cameras. This growth will continue to drive embedded vision and ensure greater accuracy of predictions based on 3D data. Autonomous devices like robots in industry; logistics and smart homes; along with drones, AR/VR/MR, autonomous cars; and, other intelligent machines in all areas of life will benefit. “For the image sensor as heart of every vision camera, there is a clear difference between traditional machine vision and advanced embedded vision in the industrial and consumer sectors. Embedded applications require mostly high resolution, sensitivity and analysis quality, to achieve the greatest possible level of reliability and accuracy. This level of reliability and accuracy is ideally true in 3D, for precise processing and control in real time. In contrast, measurement and testing tasks can be performed at lower resolutions and speeds.” Sensor Modules are the New Embedded Vision Cameras “Embedded vision requires high-performance sensor modules. NVIDIA Tegra, Intel’s Movidius and Qualcomm Snapdragon are the platforms of choice. Manufacturers value the uniqueness and differentiation of their own developed solutions, while users prefer off-the-shelf solutions to concentrate on their core activities. “The results of this year’s FRAMOS Market Study mirror the industry’s change towards embedded vision cameras. As vision technology enters the industrial and consumer mass-markets, camera systems which can be easily developed are needed - preferably on a modular approach, both powerful and highly standardized for scalability. Technological progress and miniaturization have given a decisive boost to the progressive modularization of embedded vision cameras and its growth.”
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