Issues

Browse our previous issues below, or browse and search for specific features or analysis & opinion.

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April/May 2023

Automation is the only way for e-commerce and logistics firms to fulfil orders since the dramatic uptick in online shopping brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic

Feature

Why logistics firms want flexible machine vision

12 April 2023

Facing new pressures and demands, logistics operations are calling for adaptable machine vision solutions to drive efficiency, discovers Benjamin Skuse

Left: A semiconductor wafer shown to be opaque to white visible light. Right: the wafer is mostly transparent to SWIR light at a wavelength of 1,200nm, making it a suitable wavelength for semiconductor inspection.

Feature

The latest SWIR tech for inspecting semiconductor wafers

6 April 2023

Hunting defects in the soon-to-be trillion-dollar semiconductor industry is big business. Anita Chandran explores the latest wafer inspection technology

February/March 2023

Imaging aids forensic findings

14 February 2023

A new automated approach is helping engineers in vision technology and forensics to identify rare traces, which can be essential in solving a crime

The inspection engineer is able to see on the tablet that the structure is free of defects (Credit: Fraunhofer)

Feature

Bringing AI and AR to automated manual inspection

14 February 2023

Integrating AI and augmented reality into imaging and machine vision for automated inspection tasks paves the way for faster, more efficient manufacturing, finds Abigail Williams

Compact hyperspectral imaging cameras have huge potential once integrated into stringent clinical workflows, writes Imec’s Wouter Charle

Analysis and opinion

Hyperspectral imaging: microsurgery’s next big thing

13 February 2023

Imec’s Wouter Charle on how compact hyperspectral imaging cameras have huge potential once integrated into stringent clinical workflows

December 2022/January 2023

Extending accessibility of deep learning

16 January 2023

Deep learning has helped to make great strides in machine vision technology, but there are additional data-centric tools that can help new applications come to life. Find out more...

CCD374 for Sentinel-4 Earth observation satellite. Credit: ESA

Feature

Where space and industrial worlds collide

7 December 2022

The different requirements of industrial and space imaging have led to distinct sensor development paths that diverge and intersect in interesting ways, as Benjamin Skuse finds out

Image: Caleb Foster/shutterstock.com

Feature

Microscopy sees the light

22 November 2022

Clever manipulation of light is allowing researchers to image deeper into tissue to ultimately further our understanding of the brain. Abigail Williams investigates

One of SweGreen's eight vertical farm units that it operates across Sweden. Credit: SweGreen

Feature

Spectral growth inside vertical farms

15 November 2022

Automation, lighting regimes, and hyperspectral imaging are unlocking vertical farming’s full potential, finds Benjamin Skuse

Image: atdigit/shutterstock.com

Feature

Quantum leap for SWIR imaging

14 November 2022

There’s a renaissance underway in shortwave infrared imaging as thin-film photodetectors come online. Tim Hayes reports

October/November 2022

Setup of combined hyperspectral and fundus camera at Peter Stalmans’ lab at KU Leuven. Credit: Imec/KU Leuven

Feature

Spectral cameras offer window into Alzheimer’s

1 November 2022

Investigations are underway into using hyperspectral imaging to screen for a host of medical conditions, as Abigail Williams finds out

Nerian Vision’s stereo vision cameras incorporate an FPGA for real-time 3D imaging. Credit: Nerian Vision

Feature

Fast processors advance 3D inspection

31 October 2022

High-speed 3D cameras were in full force at Vision Stuttgart. Alice Rolandini Jensen explores the technology

Image: klss/shutterstock.com

Feature

Programming choices: library or open source?

25 October 2022

Although open-source software is practically ubiquitous in the IT world, there will likely always be a place for proprietary machine vision offerings, finds Benjamin Skuse

August/September 2022

3D sensing: At full speed

6 October 2022

From cakes to cars, how the latest developments in 3D sensing are opening up a world of application possibilities where speed is of the essence

Chasing the interface race

5 October 2022

Integrators are faced with a fast-moving picture when it comes to choosing the correct interface for their vision system, finds Tim Gillett

Walk the line to simpler component selection

30 September 2022

An insight into some of the challenges faced by engineers, system integrators and anyone selecting components for a line scan camera system, and advice on how the process can be simplified

Microcracks can eventually cause an entire panel to shatter. Credit: Teledyne Dalsa

Feature

A bright future for solar power

21 September 2022

How companies are balancing the demands of increasing inspection speed while making the process more efficient. By Holly Cave

Inspecting tortillas on a high-speed packaging line. Credit: Scorpion Vision

Feature

How to inspect 45,000 tortillas an hour

20 September 2022

Packaging lines are becoming more automated thanks to vision, especially lines processing food and fresh produce, as Abigail Williams finds out

The panel discussion at Embedded World in June. Credit: VDMA and Framos

Analysis and opinion

Embedded vision: plug-and-smile!

31 August 2022

Anne Wendel, VDMA Machine Vision, reports on what was said during a vision panel discussion at Embedded World earlier in the year

The Stemmer Imaging UK team celebrating the 35th anniversary, with Mark Williamson central on one knee. Credit: Stemmer Imaging

Feature

Stemmer building on solution expertise as it turns 35

22 August 2022

Stemmer Imaging celebrated its 35th anniversary this year. We spoke to Stemmer’s Mark Williamson about adapting to a maturing vision sector

Vision Yearbook 2022/2023

Credit: REDPIXEL.PL/shutterstock.com

Feature

Turning tech into business triumph

2 August 2022

Vision start-ups are proliferating, thanks to AI and embedded computing. But what makes young companies successful? Abigail Williams reports

Donato Montanari, Zebra Technologies’ vice president and general manager for machine vision

Feature

New kids on the vision block

20 July 2022

Zebra Technologies has made sizable purchases in machine vision over the last year. Donato Montanari reveals why the firm places so much value on vision

June/July 2022

Image: Blue Planet Studio/Shutterstock.com

Feature

Lights-out logistics

1 June 2022

Could computer vision be the key to fully autonomous warehouses? Benjamin Skuse investigates

Vision Components’ Power SoM is an FPGA-based hardware accelerator. Credit: Vision components

Feature

Spoilt for embedded choice

1 June 2022

Tim Reynolds asks what developers must consider when building an embedded vision system

Pharmaceutical packaging lines require a very thorough traceability solution. Credit: Cognex

Feature

Code reading made easy

1 June 2022

Abigail Williams finds that traceability systems used in pharma packaging are now becoming more common for consumer goods

Image: mr2853/shutterstock.com

Analysis and opinion

Vision gets piece of the Pi

16 May 2022

Scorpion Vision's Paul Wilson spoke at the UKIVA conference in April about how Raspberry Pi cameras are now more than just a device for hobbyists. Greg Blackman reports

Dr Alireza Rastegarpanah working with a cobot on the task of unbolting a lithium-ion battery. Credit: Dr Alireza Rastegarpanah

Feature

Recycling EV batteries: a pressing automation problem

25 April 2022

Greg Blackman speaks to the Faraday Institution’s Dr Alireza Rastegarpanah about work to automate disassembly of lithium-ion batteries

April/May 2022

Glass inspection normally involves different illumination methods. Credit: MSTVision

Feature

Heart of glass

24 March 2022

Tim Hayes provides a window into how to find defects in glass

Mathias Bochow, GFZ Helmholtz Centre, Potsdam, is working on the Trace project to track marine plastic. Credit: Frank Schweikert, Aldebaran Marine Research & Broadcast (www.aldebaran.org/en/)

Feature

The hyperspectral view from space

23 March 2022

Abigail Williams speaks to scientists tracking marine plastic using satellite spectral imagery

Image: jamesteohart/shutterstock.com

Feature

Predictive cities

23 March 2022

Tim Reynolds finds out how vision and AI algorithms are making cities safer

Anne Wendel, director of VDMA Machine Vision

Analysis and opinion

VDMA backs Russia sanctions

11 March 2022

Anne Wendel, director of VDMA Machine Vision, on how the mechanical engineering sector could be affected by the war in Ukraine

February/March 2022

Seaweed is grown on ropes, the moorings and position of which can be tracked by a vision system. Credit: PEBL

Feature

Fishful thinking

11 February 2022

Tim Reynolds on some of the ways imaging is used to farm fish

Image: shutterstock.com/PP77LSK

Feature

The charge for battery business

4 February 2022

David Stuart asks where the opportunities lie for vision firms selling into electric vehicle battery production

Jyrki Rosenberg (left) and Tapani Ryhänen, Emberion’s CEO and CTO respectively. Credit: Emberion

Analysis and opinion

Industry puts faith in quantum dot SWIR

24 January 2022

After raising €6m for its nanomaterial SWIR imagers, Emberion’s CEO and CTO, Jyrki Rosenberg and Tapani Ryhänen, speak about the technology and what the future holds

December 2021/January 2022

The HD-1500 from Omron can handle payloads of up to 1,500kg, making it possible to automate tasks that would normally need a forklift truck. Credit: Omron

Feature

Sensor fusion gets robots roving around factories

21 December 2021

Susan Curtis explores the burgeoning world of autonomous mobile robots

Leica Biosystems' Aperio GT 450 DX is designed for high-volume clinical labs to scale up digital pathology operations. Credit: Leica Biosystems

Feature

Turbocharging cell imaging

21 December 2021

From speeding up pathology scanning to event-based sensing, there’s plenty of new technology finding its way into life science labs. Rebecca Pool reports

The Matrox Meteor-II PCI frame grabbers, launched in 1997. Credit: Matrox

Feature

At the interface between microprocessors and video

14 December 2021

This year saw Matrox celebrate its 45th anniversary. Greg Blackman speaks to co-founder Lorne Trottier about the imaging firm’s history

Paul Brown of Fera Science operating the hyperspectral drone camera at Big Wood, Suffolk. Credit: Gary Battell

Feature

How healthy are our woodlands?

13 December 2021

Greg Blackman speaks to Dr Michelle Hamilton at STFC RAL Space about mapping trees with spectral imaging

Robot solutions at the Manufacturing Technology Centre. Credit: Manufacturing Technology Centre

Analysis and opinion

Enabling a new wave of automation

13 December 2021

Responding to a report on UK adoption of robots and automation, UKIVA’s Neil Sandhu and Allan Anderson argue vision brings similar benefits for productivity

One of the early 3D deflectometry scanners used security cameras, but still produced a high-quality 3D surface profile. Credit: Isak du Preez/Axiscan

Feature

Rethinking 3D scans of reflective surfaces

7 December 2021

Greg Blackman talks to Isak du Preez, who’s new approach to 3D deflectometry has attracted interest from BMW and other car makers

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