Within the realm of industrial automation today, few standalone technologies exist. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a prime example, as AI does not represent a single technology, but rather a set of multiple technologies and techniques including machine learning, deep learning, and machine vision.
AI-enabled software has become increasingly popular — and an increasingly common buzzword — in industrial automation, but unlocking the true potential of its power involves integrating technologies such as traditional machine vision and robotics to work in synergy with AI algorithms to accomplish disparate tasks. For example, with technology today, it is possible for automated visual inspection systems to leverage a range of different technologies to optimize a plan for image acquisition and lighting parameters to ensure that critical defects are found by the system. When properly designed and implemented from application feasibility analysis to final system validation, such systems can add significant value on the plant floor.