Issues

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

All our articles, news, product announcements and more are available from the navigation at the top of the site (accessible via the menu button for smartphone or tablet).

Access is free when subscribed and logged in.

August/September 2022

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

Image: agsandrew/Shutterstock.com

Product focus

Focus on lenses

22 December 2021

A look at the current market for lens technology and some of the latest products available

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

October/November 2021

Image: asharkyu/shutterstock.com

Feature

GigE gives 3D lease of life

9 November 2021

Greg Blackman speaks to Pleora’s James Falconer about the latest versions of GigE Vision

Image: Sonpichit Salangsing/shutterstock.com

Feature

Sun rises on quality control

9 November 2021

As solar power becomes an increasingly important energy source, Abigail Williams looks at how infrared imaging is used to assess solar panels

August/September 2021

Image: Nordroden/shutterstock.com

Feature

Trash talk

28 September 2021

Greg Blackman reports on a presentation Eric Camirand of Waste Robotics gave about hyperspectral imaging and robotics used in recycling plants

Both Saccade Vision and Tridimeo are targeting the automotive sector with their 3D vision cameras. Credit: Supergenijalac/Shutterstock.com

Feature

Spectral and MEMS take 3D in new directions

28 September 2021

Greg Blackman speaks to two young companies with some novel 3D imaging approaches

A 3D point cloud of a coin, which has metallic, glossy surfaces and a really fine surface structure. Credit: AIT

Feature

Advancing inline inspection

28 September 2021

Matthew Dale investigates the technology behind inline computational imaging

Intergro Technologies has several patents in machine vision. Credit: Intergro Technologies

Feature

Building towards Industry 4.0

28 September 2021

Keely Portway finds out how vision systems can be more tightly integrated within factory machinery

Credit: Messe Stuttgart

Feature

The return of Vision!

27 September 2021

Here’s some of what to expect when the trade fair opens its doors

The Austrian Institute of Technology's 3D surface scanner. Credit: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology

Analysis and opinion

Four firms make Vision Award shortlist

6 September 2021

The Austrian Institute of Technology, HD Vision Systems, Prophesee and Zeiss have been recognised by the judges, with the award to be presented at Vision in Stuttgart

Vision Yearbook 2021/2022

Analysis and opinion

Smart yet simple 3D

17 August 2021

Earlier this year, Terry Arden stepped down as chief executive of LMI Technologies. We caught up with him to see what has changed during his 18 years with the company

Image: BigPixel Photo/shutterstock.com

Feature

Sourcing skills for next-gen factories

10 August 2021

Manufacturing firms must help inspire young engineers as production plants embrace digital technologies, Matthew Dale finds

June/July 2021

Isotronic’s VialChecker multi-camera quality control machine. Credit: Isotronic and IDS

Feature

Vial statistics

8 June 2021

Greg Blackman explores quality control measures taken to make the glass bottles filled with vaccines

Using drones could enable visual aircraft inspections in under an hour. Credit: Mainblades

Feature

Final call for digital flight maintenance

8 June 2021

Matthew Dale takes a bird’s eye view of aircraft inspection, where drones equipped with vision are replacing manual checks

A tunable LED light source offers spectral reproduction. Credit: Pro-Lite Technology

Feature

Calibration across the spectrum

8 June 2021

Leslie Lyons, business development manager for light metrology at Pro-Lite Technology, says spectral camera calibration needs a spectrally tunable light source

Pages