The benefits of smart cameras have made them an ideal match for a manufacturing environment. Combining a camera, processor, software and communications in one small, low-power package, smart cameras are highly integrated optical inspection tools for controlling quality and increasing productivity—required tasks in manufacturing. Smart cameras were developed in the 1990s but only became practical in the last decade due to improvements from consumer electronics and the development of easy-to-use software.

Two levels of smart camera exist, based on capability and price: