IEN: What are the major concerns facing providers of automation technology and related products and services in the next few years?
Blackwell: As production line speeds continue to rise, manual inspection has given way to automated inspection using machine vision sensors that can spot defects more quickly and accurately. Many companies have already installed these systems at the ends of their production lines. But companies are now moving toward full inspection at multiple points in the production process, letting them catch defects as soon as they occur.
While a couple of years ago, customers would typically purchase and install, at most, 10 In-Sight machine vision units in any single location, today we have customers with more than 100 In-Sight vision sensors networked at a single location. Running more than 100 vision sensors across 10 production lines is one thing; setting up applications on each, and then modifying them during product changeover, is another. So many manufacturers now need a centralized way to maintain and manage the ever-growing number of vision sensors running on the floor.
IEN: How can they be addressed?
Blackwell: Ethernet is becoming a key ingredient in the way people use vision on the factory floor. Today''s most advanced vision sensors, such as In-Sight, offer built-in Ethernet networking capabilities that enable users to link multiple vision sensors across the factory, manage vision activity remotely, and share vision results data with all levels of the organization.
IEN: What innovations are in store in automation systems, equipment & components, and software?
Blackwell: Vision sensor suppliers are doing a better job of integrating cameras, processors, and communications equipment into a single unit. By packing an entire vision system with network connectivity into the space of a typical video camera, vision sensors themselves are getting smaller and lighter. This means that they can be planted more deeply into machines or installed on moving equipment. Further, a camera with fewer components can be more reliable and comes with a lower price tag.
At the same time, suppliers are offering more robust vision tools such as PatFind™ part location software from Cognex. Unlike traditional part location technology, which finds objects by matching the grey values of the captured image with pre-trained reference image, PatFind recognizes each object by shape. This enables the In-Sight sensor to locate objects, even in situations where there is a wide variation in object orientation, optical scale, or appearance.
Looking ahead, new PC-based programs with point-and-click network management, will make vision area networks easier to install and maintain. Where, in the past, dedicated IT professionals were needed to install and manage machine vision networks, newer hardware and software will let users install their networks almost automatically.
Other improvements can be expected in the ruggedness of vision sensors. The next generation of devices will likely come equipped with industrial connectors, washdown enclosures for harsh production environments, and more flexible cables for networking, thus broadening the range of applications that can be addressed.
IEN: What are the sector''s R & D hot spots?
Blackwell: The key technologies driving machine vision advances include electronics, networking, and software. On the electronics side, as advances in processor speed and power increase, Cognex can run more robust vision algorithms and software to simplify vision system implementation. On the network front, cost-per-node reductions and proliferation on factory floors has propelled Ethernet to the forefront of industrial networking.
Suppliers will continue to leverage the performance increases and cost reduction in microprocessor technology so that vision sensors will be able to run more robust vision software tools and algorithms. Increasingly sensitive vision sensors will be developed to help users identify ever-smaller or detailed features, and more sophisticated processing software will be written to enable advanced applications, such as assessing multiple products on a single production line. The result will be advanced machine vision capabilities to handle faster line speeds, higher throughputs, and to error-proof more complex manufacturing systems.
IEN: Will wireless become more prevalent?
Blackwell: Wireless probably won''t play a significant role in machine vision other than for operator interface applications such as portable display technologies. While the need for wireless technology in handheld type code readers is obvious, whether or not wireless will be viable for point-to-point image data transmission on a moving robotic arm remains to be seen.
IEN: How about the Internet?
Blackwell: Though way ahead of its time, Cognex pioneered online vision development assistance and teleservice capability as far back as 1994.Today, our network-enabled products make it easy to uplink from the device level network to the control and enterprise networks, so it''s possible to connect to them remotely. While we have the capability to do remote setup and diagnostics on these systems, most customers are more concerned with the security of their corporate networks.
Generally, customers prefer to log onto our support network to take advantage of our searchable knowledge base, downloads, case submission, and other 24/7 services. Alternatively, customers may choose to work interactively with Cognex application engineers to solve their problems. In this instance, customers would typically capture the output image results from the Cognex vision system or sensor on any workstation with TCP/IP capability. Then the vision processor image and job can be sent via modem or e-mail to a Cognex application engineer''s PC. The Cognex application engineer then checks system setup, determines the best way to acquire the image for a particular job, optimizes parameters, and applies vision tools appropriately. Though it''s possible for us to do all of this via remote access, most customers prefer that we supply emailed or archived files for them to reload on their own.
Customers can use whatever method of service and support works best for them. However, our technical support department actively investigates new ways to improve our capabilities. For example, one scenario could be as simple as having the user log into an Internet portal or access point. There, a "firewall-friendly" client installed on the customer''s PC would handle the communications logistics for a desktop streaming package. This would allow the applications engineer to take charge of a customer''s PC, do remote diagnostics, and walk them through the solution to their problem.
Very few users are asking for this type of service, though. Most prefer that we email them files or archive files on our support network for them to reload into their own systems. In addition to direct service for our customers, we provide 24/7 online support and education. The support network also has a searchable knowledge base, downloads, and allows online case submissions.
People are skeptical across all industries. There are concerns with plant floor production networks. There''s an unwillingness to provide access to secure corporate networks for fear of increasing firewall vulnerability, risking corporate intellectual property, and losing competitive advantage
IEN: Will collaborative manufacturing play a role?
Blackwell: A unique capability of In-Sight is the built-in, peer-to-peer communications over Ethernet that enables sensor-to-sensor communication without any complicated cabling schemes to deal with. And, because a host manages the network of sensors, vision results data from all sensors can be collected at a central point, and viewed on a single VGA monitor. The host may also be used, for example, to archive failed images from all vision sensors to better determine why certain parts failed.
Another way of implementing networked vision is to uplink a vision area network to existing plant and enterprise networks. This can provide a number of benefits. First, it enables users to manage vision activity from remote locations. For example, one could set up and modify vision applications, share applications with other plant sites, and remotely troubleshoot problems with technicians, all without ever leaving the office.
Additionally, uplinking to plant and enterprise networks enables manufacturers to gain access to the data related to the quality of their products directly from the vision sensors from anywhere in the plant, the enterprise, or anywhere within their global organizations. Quality engineers may want to view SPC data, while management may want to keep an eye on production output. All it takes is a workstation with TCP/IP capability.
Our response to the last cutting edge machine vision editorial call highlighted the ability of Cognex machine vision systems to use CAD data imports from the engineering department to define inspection reference models on the factory floor, and how similarly for OCV (Optical Character Verification) applications serial numbers, lot codes, and other information can be brought in to define the character strings that need verification during production.
IEN: Have you seen much progress in integrating the front office, extended enterprise (logistics, etc.) and automation? Please explain.
Blackwell: Yes. (Click here for a recent application example of how vision is used with a JIT manufacturing process.) With Ethernet connectivity, the ability to centrally manage multiple vision sensors running on the floor, and make vision results data more accessible to all levels of the enterprise, is greatly improved.