3D machine vision blog - Zivid

Better Eyes; Better Robot Outcomes

Written by Raman Sharma | 2018-06-13

With better eyes, we get better robot outcomes which lead to more trust in our automation systems

Customer visits provide an excellent learning possibility. Recently I met a company that makes robotic automation systems for a variety of industrial automation applications, including palletization and depalletization for the food and beverage industry. The primary challenge facing them was to automate the task of beverage palletization. I noted down some of their difficulties;

  • Identify cases, with and without labels or specific markings
  • Avoid tricks that cardboard bulges, overzealous flaps, and damaged corners play on less sophisticated robot vision systems
  • Reliably describe what to look for when carton sizes regularly change to marketing needs
  • Assure that beverage cases, once shrink wrapped, don't have "tails" that get snagged in machinery

The common denominator? The smart people in the R&D department at the customer realized all their automation problems were related to machine vision systems.

Everything is a vision situation. With better eyes, we get better robot outcomes which lead to more trust in our automation systems.

A well-designed vision system can alleviate many, if not all, of the problems outlined by the customer. An ideal machine vision solution allows;

  • SKUs to be verified by sight independent of markings and labels
  • Mitigates against object orientation issues
  • Deals with creative marketing departments that need to modify packaging

However, the customer had not yet found a solution that checked off everything on their list of requirements:

  • Human-like 3D imaging
  • High acquisition and data processing speed
  • Software APIs and tools
  • Ease of use
  • Robustness for use on factory floors

Enter the award-winning Zivid One, the world’s most accurate real-time 3D color camera.

Zivid One can be the eyes for industrial automation systems, ensure more robust performance and enable automation of tasks that were previously difficult or impossible to automate. 

It's safe to say that Zivid One checks all the boxes. With better eyes, we get better robot outcomes which lead to more trust in our automation systems.

Let me know if you have similar challenging objects, let's connect or feel free to schedule a demo of Zivid One - the world's most accurate real-time 3D color camera.