Since the beginning of modern industrial robots in the early 1980s, robots have been guided by machine vision. Originally there were only a few robots with vision, but today it is over 5,000 robots annually in the North American market and significantly more globally.

A look into some of the latest trends in machine vision, in terms of both technologies and applications.

The days when only large companies could adopt automation are long past. Collaborative robots (cobots), lightweight industrial robot arms (LIRAs) and affordable peripherals such as vision systems and grippers have created a new paradigm by making low cost, easy to use automation solutions available to small-to-medium sized companies for the first time. 

Vision guided robotics (VGR) is an automation technology well-recognized for enabling greater flexibility and higher productivity in a diverse set of manufacturing tasks over a wide range of industries.

“What’s trending?” is a phrase that has become ubiquitous in our social and business consciousness. A trend is a prevailing tendency that might (or might not) have long-term implications. 

Rapidly evolving, high-quality imaging technology is ushering in a new world of vision guided robotics (VGR) for manufacturers in diverse industries. 

Machine vision technologies for Vision Guided Robotics (VGR) have greatly enhanced the flexibility and capability of robots in many industrial applications, expanding the value of robots in markets ranging from automotive to food to pharmaceutical to warehousing/distribution/order fulfillment. 

Machine vision has thrived on the manufacturing floor, and is bringing new levels of insight to medical, security, and transportation applications, thanks in part by adopting technologies perfected for other markets.

Practical implementation of a successful vision guided robotics (VGR) application requires an understanding of general architecture and design, lighting and imaging, 2D and 3D technologies, robots and calibration.