Inspection
From intelligent machine to collective intelligence � Evolution NEO machines are able to identify the defect with precision, repeatability and at a high speed.
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ver the past 10 years, new technologies have revolutionised the glass industry. And even if today we no longer speak of Industry but of Industry 4.0 to recall this 4th industrial revolution, we are still far from having exhausted the range of possibilities. While connected objects have already influenced and changed consumer dayto-day behaviour, they become essential in industrial processes, constituting one of the pillars of Industry 4.0. By giving life to ‘intelligent factories’, where tools and operators are now interconnected, intelligent machines are shaping Industry 4.0 and providing solutions in terms of productivity, quality and safety. Iris Inspection machines, one of the main players in glass inspection, is a pioneer in the field of intelligent glassware inspection. Based in Lyon, France, Iris dedicates a third of its workforce to Research and Innovation in the field of glass containers inspection. At the 2018 glasstec trade fair Iris launched the Evolution NEO range, the first generation of inspection machines equipped with artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Reliable data Where a standard inspection machine relies heavily on the knowledge and skills of the operators pursuing to define what is and is not acceptable, the NEO machines learn automatically from production, increasing the precision and the repeatability. “Glass inspection is a real optical challenge: the defect types are various, container shapes are complex. Glass is a ‘living’ material which makes the inspection even more challenging. “An operator, thanks to his professional experience, will be able to describe and detect a defect, to distinguish its shape, size, opacity. The full complexity of NEO development was to give machines this smart ability to recognise the defect. Now, Evolution NEO machine is not only able to identify the defect, and its characteristics as the operator would know, but also to do it with more precision, repeatability and at a high speed,” explains Mr. Philippe Volay CTO of the Group in charge of Optical R&D. Evolution NEO machines are equipped with the latest technologies in terms of software (image processing) and CPU, which can reach a very high level of accuracy in the gathering of production
data. “This is a crucial step in a process based on artificial intelligence. To secure machine learning, it is first necessary to ensure the accuracy and veracity of the data,” comments Mr. Majd Rahmani Iris Technical Director. Iris is thus developing a technology that breaks with the traditional inspection market, no longer relying on human know-how, but on the defect recognition and its classification. This first step was the successful launch of the Evolution NEO range in 2018. The Evolution Neo range, brings together the Evolution 12 NEO sidewall inspection machine, the Evolution Neo 5 Neo base and finish inspection machine, as well as solutions for perfume and pharmacy inspection. The Neo machine has been quickly adopted by an increasing number of glass groups internationally including Verallia, Vetropack, Gerresheimer, Bormioli, Vidrala and SGD Pharma.
From individual to collective intelligence If the concept of digital transformation leading to ‘smart factory’ remains Continued>>
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A new generation of Industry 4.0-focused inspection machines can learn automatically from production, which increases precision and repeatability, reports Jean-Luc Logel*.
55 Glass International May 2021
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17/05/2021 06:53:28
