Peering into the world of 3D vision

Before starting out as Support Engineer with Zivid, my knowledge in the fields of machine- and computer vision was limited, to say the least. The words "structured light" would have drawn a blank and "3D vision" would take me to aspects of gaming and/or 3D cinema.

Ever since I crossed paths with Zivid, I have been intrigued by three-dimensional vision, its applications within industrial automation and the fantastic team at Zivid who are set on changing the face of 3D vision. There was a whole world of technological advancement within 3D vision that Zivid was eagerly pushing towards and I was immersed right into it.

The first few weeks at Zivid were exciting for me, while my endless questions and unyielding curiosity could probably cause my colleagues to remember these days differently! My journey so far, as part of an outstanding team focused on designing exceptional vision for robots, has opened my own eyes to a world of unexplored possibilities and immense potential waiting to be harnessed.

The Zivid One 3D cameras use the principle of structured light to scan everything from everyday household objects to automotive parts. The whole imaging process is done in a few hundred milliseconds. Patterns of light are projected from within the camera onto the target objects, and the displacement of these patterns on the object surfaces is used to calculate the distance from the camera to the object. With millions of tiny points representing the distance to the object, an accurate 3D representation is produced.

This representation is called a point cloud and is what computers need to see our world. This is illustrated in the picture below, where the Zivid One camera generates a 3D representation of a colored object in a fraction of a second.

Zivid One is also capable of producing a 1-to-1 representation of depth- and color. Zivid was the first to launch a product with a level of accuracy this astounding, paired with the unique color feature. Objects with difficult profiles, such as dark and shiny objects, is no match for Zivid One. The camera renders good quality point cloud where other 3D cameras struggle.

Needless to say, the more I delve into the principles behind this amazing product- the more I am aware that I have only scratched the surface. As amazed and excited as I am now, I know that this is just the beginning of a truly remarkable adventure for the company and me.

We are now into the fourth industrial revolution and new business opportunities can be realised based on improved machine vision by allowing robots to see what humans see in real-time. Zivid aims to remove all limitations with robot vision in this regard and provide robots with human-like eyes to unleash their full potential across industries. This is a big dream, and the achievements will be disruptive. I truly believe that the passion and relentless enthusiasm at Zivid will continually push boundaries going forward in this arena. 

Another aspect that struck a chord with me at Zivid AS is the focus on our customers and as the primary contact point for support - I am humbled to be part of a team that regards prime customer experience as top priority. Feedback is welcomed and very highly valued. Areas for improvement are carefully considered and given much thought to in the design of future products. Positive feedback drives improvement and that imparts a sense of accomplishment along with a drive to be even better. I am proud to be a part of improving the Zivid experience for our customers.

Most of the time I deal with customers giving us unsolicited, positive feedback. Their enthusiasm and amazement when working with the Zivid One camera puts a smile on my face. I completely relate as I share their experience and feel a sense of pride and privilege to be part of this incredible journey.