machinespeopleVision systems are one of the key components for achieving industrial automation and smart factories.machinespeopleVision systemsBased on embedded computer systems as the technical carrier, they use machines to replace human eyes for various measurement and judgment tasks. They involve multiple fields such as computing, image processing, intelligent recognition, artificial intelligence, and opto-mechanical-electrical integration, playing a significant role in improving manufacturing efficiency and automation levels, and promoting the development of China's "intelligent" manufacturing.People always hope that robots will have vision as close to humans as possible. In certain production and manufacturing processes, robots need to have the ability to see objects and make appropriate adjustments to them.How to enable industrial manipulators or robots to "open" a pair of eyes, giving them better control precision and flexibility, is the direction many robot manufacturers are striving for.

Intelligent sensors layout for the robot vision system industry

During the operation of industrial robots, they mainly perceive the surrounding environment through vision. Visual processors allow robots to collect object information, form digital image data, and perform data analysis and processing through computer system equipment. This achieves effective coordination between the robot and the system, as well as effective control of tasks such as handling and tracking targets, thereby improving industrial production efficiency.The technology of combining vision technology with individual industrial robots is relatively mature, but it cannot meet the needs of smart factories. Shenzhen Zhaowei Micro Drive Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhaowei") helps industrial manipulators or robots in smart factories to "open" a pair of eyes in the field of micro drive systems. Zhaowei's robot vision navigation system solution meets this demand through camera lifting or rotating modules. Through precise calculation and processing systems, it can simulate biological visual imaging and information processing methods, making robots more human-like. They can flexibly execute operations, identification, comparison, and processing schemes, generate execution instructions, and complete all operations at once. The camera components in visual navigation are relatively simple; gear motors have long service life and strong stability, with almost no concern for wear and tear.

Intelligent sensors layout for the robot vision system industry

Zhaowei robot vision systems are widely used in smart factories for condition monitoring, finished product inspection, and quality control. For example, machine vision is used for positioning during loading and unloading, guiding robotic arms to accurately grasp items. In the semiconductor packaging field, equipment needs to adjust the pickup head based on chip position information obtained through machine vision to accurately pick up chips and perform bonding. This is the most basic application of visual positioning in the machine vision industry. It also includes detecting product quality on production lines, such as dimensional inspection, bottle appearance defect detection, bottle shoulder defect detection, and bottle mouth inspection. Additionally, it involves identifying and inspecting highly integrated electronic circuit boards that can reach 0.010.02mm or even um level.

Intelligent sensors layout for the robot vision system industry

Robot vision systems have evolved far beyond single-application products. Hardware and software products for machine vision systems have gradually evolved into important components at various stages of production and manufacturing, thus placing higher demands on system integration. With the development of electronic control technology, robot vision control technology continues to innovate.

Traditionally, VSLAM for achieving visual navigation mainly acquires information through two types of visual sensors. One is depth cameras, which achieve three-dimensional spatial perception through distance measurement. These are also considered distance sensors, specifically active light source distance sensors, including structured light and phase TOF. The other type includes binocular, multi-eye, and fisheye navigation sensors, which are passive light source sensors. Their working mechanism is similar to human eyes; based on the principle of triangulation, they calculate distance information by analyzing the differences in images captured by two sensors. The advantage of visual navigation technology lies in its lower cost. The most basic function only requires a camera capable of capturing clear environmental image information, a computing unit for processing information, and a trained AI model. Lower material costs mean lower product prices, making them more acceptable to consumers. An increase in users allows for continuous training of the AI model, forming a virtuous cycle. Furthermore, passive light source distance sensors like binocular navigation sensors calculate distance by receiving ambient light, theoretically allowing for mapping over larger areas.

Intelligent sensors layout for the robot vision system industry

The drawbacks of visual navigation technology are equally prominent. Due to weak hardware conditions and reliance solely on cameras for information acquisition, active light source distance sensors have low power and are easily interfered with by ambient light. Passive light source distance sensors hardly work in poor lighting conditions and have high requirements for lighting. Secondly, like human eyes, passive light source distance sensors have greater errors at longer distances, and excessive light data can overwhelm the processing unit. Zhaowei addresses this need with camera lifting or rotating modules, which not only solve the cost issue but also improve product reliability and lifespan, showing great promise.

With the accelerated promotion of intelligent industrial manufacturing in China, the industrial vision market is expanding rapidly. According to statistics from the Automated Imaging Association (AIA), the compound annual growth rate of the global industrial machine vision market size over the past decade was 7.7%. Additionally, according to calculations by Zhiyan Consulting and Guangzheng Hengsheng, in 2018, the market size of China's industrial machine vision reached 44.4 billion yuan, with a ten-year compound annual growth rate of 21%. Although China's industrial machine vision industry started later, it is now in a period of rapid growth.

Intelligent sensors layout for the robot vision system industry

Emerging technologies such as algorithms, AI, 3D technology, IoT, and 5G have largely been applied in the field of machine vision. Mature visual products equipped with artificial intelligence technology and 3D visual products have emerged. Artificial intelligence technology in machine vision can screen packages, goods, etc., completely replacing some manual operations or primitive judgments made by human eyes, with good prospects for future development. As one of the core components of industrial robots, robot vision systems have a decisive impact on robot performance, with motion control being a branch of automation. Servo units are important components of service robots, mainly consisting of housings, electronic control boards, motors, reducers, and position detection elements, with the reducer being key. As the application scope of robot vision transmission systems expands, robot vision systems urgently need product upgrades, placing higher demands on robot vision gear motors. Existing robot vision gear motors generally suffer from issues such as diverse specifications, small batches, poor parts commonality, high costs, and unstable quality and reliability.

Intelligent sensors layout for the robot vision system industry

Zhaowei develops series of reducers (gearboxes) suitable for robot applications—efficient, lightweight, and long-term maintenance-free—through advancements in wear-resistant material technology, processing optimization, lubrication technology, assembly technology, reliability and lifespan testing, and exploration of transmission mechanisms. With strict requirements on structure and space design, Zhaowei improves reliability while reducing total cost. These reducers feature high torque rigidity, low vibration, strong shock resistance, high load capacity, and compact size, better meeting the transmission needs of six-degree-of-freedom robots and significantly improving the performance of intelligent robots in perception and recognition, mechanism and transmission, and control and interaction.

Intelligent sensors layout for the robot vision system industry

With the rapid development of industrial manufacturing technology, the automation and intelligence levels of production factories in various industries are increasing. Various types of industrial robots, such as robotic arms, collaborative robots, and mobile robots, are gradually becoming standard in smart factories. Robotic arms replace manual labor in most production automation links, significantly improving production efficiency and capacity. Mobile robots achieve automatic docking and circulation of logistics in various links, truly realizing unmanned production. It is foreseeable that the industrial robot industry will face accelerated reshuffling, making the upgrade path for differentiated products urgent. Focusing on the industrial intelligence market, Zhaowei provides high-precision, low-cost robot vision system solutions.

5G, big data, artificial intelligence, and other new-generation information technologies are developing rapidly and deeply integrating with the industrial sector, accelerating the transformation of traditional industrial support industries. According to Accenture's predictions, by 2030, the Industrial Internet will cumulatively drive global economic growth by 14.2 trillion US dollars. Integrating and interconnecting industrial equipment such as machine tools, robots, and processing machinery through the Industrial Internet, and effectively implementing condition monitoring, fault prediction, and optimized control, will generate considerable economic benefits.