The Automate Show brought thousands of robots to Chicago this week. The robots were serving ice cream and beer, playing music, and in one case, boxing. They were wowing attendees with their speed and service, musical skills (the KUKA ones wore bows for their performance), and fight demos. Machine vision and image analysis was also on display.

Designed to meet the cleanliness requirements of modern industry, the OLYMPUS CIX100 cleanliness inspector is a turnkey system for counting, analyzing and classifying micron-sized contaminants down to 2.5 µm.

The new model 1110 Lightmeter from AEMC is designed to record light intensity of incandescent, fluorescent and LED sources. It is battery powered, compact, lightweight, and simple-to-use with direct access to all functions. 

Peratech launched its QTC®-based EDGE force-sensing solution that delivers User Experience (UX) differentiation and functionality for smartphones, wearables, and tablets.

The Marposs Grindline laser measuring system for on-line gauging of parts produced by centerless grinding machines such as pins, shock rods, steering racks or other parts needing a single diameter check prevents machining of out-of-tolerance pieces to reduce scrap, save time and help companies achieve zero-defect production.

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division launched a brand-new laser tracker line, the Leica Absolute Tracker ATS600. This new product introduces a new concept in metrology-grade laser trackers, with targetless 3D scanning possible for the first time directly from the laser tracker.

Exact Metrology announced the availability of its Artec LEO 3D scanner, the first scanner to offer onboard automatic processing with an integrated touch panel viewer. This frees users from being tied to a computer for data capture.

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division launched DPA Industrial, featuring the new C1 Camera in combination with the well-established AICON DPA Series photogrammetry measurement system.

In the early 17th century, Galileo Galilei discovered that he could focus his telescope to examine small objects up close. Around 1620, it is believed that Cornelius Drebbel invented the compound microscope. In the 1670s, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek began experimenting with very high-magnification, single-lensed microscopes that he designed himself.