The introduction of low-cost computer vision systems like LiveScribe and Kinect are fueling their increased adoption in the manufacturing sector, improving efficiency and safety.
Underscoring his point about inexpensive vision systems, Bier points to now commonplace products such as LiveScribe and Kinect —which each retail for about $200 or less. “Vision systems are getting cheaper and smaller and operate with much lower power requirements and thus can be deployed in ways that were previously impossible for vision systems,” he says.
Bier acknowledges that these low-cost vision systems are not as capable as the more costly systems, “but their limitations can often be worked around” through the use of algorithms or the deployment of an array of multiple low-cost vision systems.
These lower-cost computer vision systems are not as robust as their more expensive, specialized counterparts, but the application of them, as well as an understanding of the algorithms used in them, are showing their usefulness and potential for vision systems to be implemented in places where the expense prohibited their use before.
As with Willow Garage, Bier says we should “expect to see innovative manufacturers adopt some of these new computer vision technologies to put vision in places where it has never been before. We’re going to see disruptions in how computer vision is used across industries with these cheaper systems.”
Read more at Automation World.