Business Spotlight

How Is Cognex Helping Manufacturers Get Smarter By Using AI Techniques

Cognex Corporation is the world’s leading provider of vision systems, software, sensors & Industrial barcode readers used in manufacturing automation.

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Mr Lalit Mishra, Cognex Corporation’s India Head
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Please find below the responses from Mr Lalit Mishra, Cognex Corporations India Head

1.    Kindly tell briefly about your role at Cognex Corporation. Also, a little bit about the company and its products.
 
I head the factory automation business at COGNEX for Indian Subcontinent. My role is to enable continuous and sustainable business growth, build a stronger team and ecosystem of partners supporting the same  and ensure COGNEX remains the number one choice of machine vision and ID solutions across the wide range of customers in this region.
 
Cognex Corporation is the world’s leading provider of vision systems, software, sensors & Industrial barcode readers used in manufacturing automation. Deployed by the world’s top manufacturers, suppliers, and machine builders, Cognex products ensure that manufactured items meet the stringent quality requirements of each industry. Cognex solutions help customers improve manufacturing quality and performance by eliminating defects, verifying assembly, and tracking information at every stage of the production process. Smarter automation using Cognex vision and barcode reading systems means fewer production errors, which equates to lower manufacturing costs and higher customer satisfaction. Cognex powers applications that use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to make decisions in factories and distribution centres all over the world to reduce manufacturing & shipping errors.
 
2.    Please tell us about the latest vision technology that is being used in the manufacturing sector for the purpose of automation – how is Cognex helping manufacturers get smarter?
 
Cognex pioneered some of the earliest commercial applications for machine vision with its vision and barcode reading technology. Today, companies around the world rely on Cognex technology to guide assembly, automate inspection, and speed production and distribution. Our patented algorithms produce solutions for diverse applications in virtually all manufacturing and logistics industry sectors.

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When it comes to running visual inspections, there are many approaches manufacturers can take including manual (human inspection), machine vision (rule-based algorithms), and edge learning (AI). The approaches are not exclusive of one another and may be used simultaneously, but each presents its own set of benefits and challenges. Cognex AI learns to spot patterns and anomalies from example images. It solves tasks that are too complicated and time-consuming to program with rule-based algorithms, while providing a consistency and speed that aren’t possible with manual inspection.
 
3.    What are the key industries in India which are driving the demand for automation and machine vision?
 
Machine vision encompasses all industrial and non-industrial applications in which a combination of hardware and software provide operational guidance to devices in the execution of their functions based on the capture and processing of images. The increasing demand for quality inspection and automation in different industrial verticals is likely to drive the market. Additionally, the need for vision-guided robotic systems across the automotive, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical, and packaging segments is expected to fuel the market growth. The surge in demand for application-oriented machine vision systems is also boosting the adoption of the technology over the forecast period.
 
4.    What is the most influential digital technology in implementing digital transformation? And how do you see technology evolving over the next ten years?

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There is rapid advancement sorts in all areas of technology. Technological development across blockchain, IoT, Communications, Cloud, Security and all other areas is happening quickly. Key is to come up with applications, faster adoption and implementations which returns the value on investment done, allows the corporations to bring in efficiency and effectiveness of running operations at scale, making it easier and safer for their employees and other stake holders and creating more value for their end customers.
 
In next ten years, I see a lot of work happening across various kinds of digital transformation and Industry 5.0, which is a relatively new one, will end up providing a vision of industry that aims beyond efficiency and productivity as the sole goals, and reinforces the role and the contribution of industry to society. It will place the wellbeing of the worker at the centre of the production process and will use new technologies to provide prosperity beyond jobs and growth while respecting the production limits of the planet.
 
5.    Cognex Edge Intelligence platform - How is it helping the Automotive, Packaging & logistic sector?
 
With simple setup and the ability to solve tasks of varying complexity, edge learning is a viable solution for deploying automation across a wide range of industries. This capable technology brings the power of AI to all, enabling users of varying experience and skill levels to run reliable inspections.
 
For example in Packaging: Edge learning technology simplifies automated inspections for packaging manufacturers. With unmatched ease of use, Cognex edge learning solutions are ideal for verifying proper assembly, detecting missing product from packaging, as well as classifying a variety of defects to assist with process optimization
 
Also in Automotive- Automakers and their suppliers are competing on a global scale, driving manufacturers to reduce costs, implement advanced features, and safeguard their products. As traditional automakers transition into the electric vehicle market, more companies are competing for a limited quantity of rare, expensive metals and personnel. Edge learning technology alleviates these burdens, reducing costs and optimizing workforce utilization by automating complex tasks such as inspection, part classification, as well as reading direct part markings (DPM) and label-based codes.
 
Logistics: Edge learning technology solves challenging vision applications, including difficult item detection and object sortation. With simple example-based training and AI algorithms, Cognex edge learning solutions enable logistics facilities to elevate the efficiency of sortation processes and handle a wide variation of item and packaging types.
 
6.    Any other important point related to machine vision technology that you might want to add?
 
Machine vision technology enabling robotics to become far more efficient and effective is here to stay and become more and more relevant. It brings in a host of possibilities to raise production levels, safety and accuracy at the production line is all set to continuously improve as the advancements happen.

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