EFFICIENT DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS THE BACKBONE OF 4.0

Cognex Corp. is an American manufacturer of machine vision systems, software and sensors used in automated manufacturing to inspect and identify parts, detect defects, verify product assembly, and guide assembly robots. Major components of a machine vision system include lighting, lens, image sensor, vision processing, and communications. MI apps include GIGI, or guidance, identification, gauging, and inspection. Here, Lalit Kumar Mishra, Regional Sales Head, India Subcontinent, Cognex, tells us more. Excerpts from an interview:

- Pradeep Chakraborty

How are you laying the foundation-connectivity and a unified IT/OT digital platform-for Industry 4.0 use cases?

Our business is about machine vision. At Cognex, we apply machine vision to some of the most complex in-line applications performed by the world's most sophisticated manufacturers of discrete products.

Our technology is used to help customers in four general areas: guiding (to guide equipment, examples include aligning a screen on a smartphone, or guiding a robot to put a windshield on a car)., identifying (we read alphanumeric codes and barcodes in production.

We specialize in reading the most difficult-to-read barcodes at the highest speed and accuracy), gauging (we perform high-speed, in-line, precise, non-contact measurement in production). and inspecting (looking for defects, missing pieces, and irregularities on components and finished products).

Every company wants to get more production out of its lines and increase the number of different products they make on each line. There is an ever-increasing emphasis on quality. The cost of quality is being measured more actively, and vision is increasingly used to measure, understand and improve it.

We offer a set of vision devices with its patented software and algorithms. Our camera devices would be able to read defects at the micron level. The Data generated can be used for running business analytics and making more accurate decisions. Each device may come with its own range of communication options, such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

Elaborate on the role of Edge intelligence in manufacturing.