ANN ARBOR, MI —The Vision Show and Conference broke all previous records with over 2,500 people in attendance, which is a 12% increase over the previous record set in 2016, according to AIA.

The Vision Show, a North American event devoted to machine vision and imaging, featured over 150 exhibitors and 23,000 square feet of floor space displaying the latest machine vision systems, imaging components, deep learning vision software, embedded vision solutions, collaborative robots and more.

The Vision Conference, which runs in parallel to the exhibition, featured five in-depth tracks exploring vision integration, embedded vision, IIOT and AI, AIA’s Certified Vision Professional (CVP) Basic level training program, and CVP Advanced. Over 275 people attended the five day conference, which is a 10% increase over 2016.

Photius Wins Startup Competition

The Vision Show Startup Competition provided five upstart vision companies with an opportunity to generate awareness of their technology and find new sources of funding. On April 13, a panel of judges comprised of venture capitalists and industry leaders announced that Photius, a 3D measurement technology company using drones, was the winner of the $5,000 grand prize.

Photius’ technology combines photogrammetry, laser scanning, and structured light measurements and promises the range, accuracy, and speed of a laser scanner, but 10 times cheaper than current devices. Photius plans to target infrastructure and construction management applications during the initial rollout of their technology, and the $5,000 prize will allow them to accelerate their technology and business development activities.

A Record Time for the Vision Industry

The record attendance at The Vision Show and Conference mirrors the overall growth the vision industry has recently experienced. According to AIA’s latest statistics, more imaging components and systems were sold than ever before last year in North America, as sales for machine vision solutions grew 15% over 2016 to $2.6 billion.

“Interest and enthusiasm about vision technology is building, as we saw first-hand at The Vision Show. This is an exciting time for our industry,” said Alex Shikany, vice president of AIA. “The companies who exhibited at The Vision Show are leading the way with tomorrow’s innovations in this space. Be it embedded vision technology, smart cameras, AI, machine learning, or 3D imaging, there is a solution to nearly every challenge customers will face.”

Upcoming Industry Events

AIA and its sister association, the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) are looking ahead to the second iteration of their new fall conference in Silicon Valley, the Collaborative Robots, Advanced Vision & AI Conference. The event will take place October 24-25 at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, and will feature leading edge presentations, exhibits, and networking in the areas of collaborative robotics, advanced vision, and AI. For more information, visit the CRAV.ai event page.

AIA and RIA’s parent group, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) is also preparing for its flagship trade show, Automate, which will take place April 8-11, 2019 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The show is expected to feature over 450 exhibitors and 160,000 square feet of exhibition space devoted to the latest solutions in automation, robotics, vision, motion control, and AI technology. The accompanying educational conference will feature in depth tracks on growing areas of interest in automation. For more information, visit the Automate Show website.