North American Machine Vision Market Grows 19% in First Quarter of 2018, Sets New Records

ANN ARBOR, MI — North American sales of machine vision components and systems increased 19% year over year to $709 million in the first quarter of 2018, setting a new all-time record for quarterly sales, according to new statistics issued by AIA, the industry’s trade group.

Total machine vision sales includes sales of components and systems. The machine vision components category grew 28% to a new record high of $107 million during the first quarter. The growth in components was primarily driven by camera sales, which increased 44% to $65 million. Optics (16% to $12 million) and software (9% to $5 million) markets also experienced growth in the first quarter.

The machine vision systems category increased 17% to $597 million in the first quarter of 2018. Within the systems category, sales of smart cameras climbed 26% to $109 million, while application specific machine vision (ASMV) systems grew 16% to $488 million.

“Our most recent poll of industry experts revealed that 45% of respondents expect the market to increase over the next two quarters, 42% predict stagnation, and 13% are bracing for a decline,” said Alex Shikany, vice president of AIA. “We continue to see demand for vision systems that are smaller, intuitive, cost effective, and complimentary to a more connected automation system. It’s an exciting time to be in this field with the innovation we’re seeing at every turn.”

“Vision technology is being integrated in a growing number of automation applications today because the technology is enabling new ways to solve complex challenges.” said AIA President Jeff Burnstein. “Growing global trends such as autonomous vehicles, AI, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) rely heavily on vision and imaging, which bodes well for the future of this industry.”

The Vision Show Breaks Attendance Records

AIA sees the impact of the growth in demand for vision and related automation at industry events such as The Vision Show, most recently held in Boston from April 10-12. This year’s show featured more than 150 exhibitors displaying their latest technologies and services, including global suppliers of vision systems, imaging components, embedded technologies, software, system integration services, and collaborative robots for enterprises large and small. Over 2,500 people attended The Vision Show 2018, including over 275 participants in the more than 50 conference sessions held at the event.

Silicon Valley’s Collaborative Robots & Advanced Vision Event Adds AI for 2018

AIA and its sister group, the Robotic Industries Association, are teaming up again to bring more content on robot, machine vision, and new for 2018 – AI. The Collaborative Robots, Advanced Vision & AI Conference (CRAV.ai) will take place October 24-25 at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara, CA. AIA and RIA recently announced that leading researchers Ken Goldberg (UC Berkeley) and Pieter Abbeel (covariant.ai and UC Berkeley), will be two of the several keynote sessions at the event. Breakout sessions at CRAV.ai will feature presentations from market leaders in robotics, vision, and AI, and the accompanying tabletop exhibition will showcase the technologies live during two full days of open exhibits. For more information, visit the crav.ai website.