Chair in vision association.

Neil Sandhu (Product Manager for Imaging, Measurement, Ranging & Systems at Sick (GB) has formally been appointed chairman of UKIVA during the vision association’s on-line AGM on 29 January 2021. Sandhu takes over from Allan Anderson (Managing Director at ClearView Imaging) who had completed a two-year cycle as chairman.

Neil Sandhu

Anderson was elected at the same meeting to once again become Vice Chairman. Sandhu paid tribute to Anderson’s contribution, saying: “Allan has done a superb job in taking the Association forward. In particular, he has been hugely instrumental in establishing UKIVA’s Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition as a major event in the machine vision calendar. I am also delighted that Allan will continue to serve the Association and that we will be working together again during my period in office.”

 

Allan Anderson

Sandhu is a well-established member of the UKIVA committee and brings a wealth of experience to his new role. Looking ahead, he continued: “The UK vision industry faces many challenges going forward, both as we emerge from the constraints of the Coronavirus pandemic and as we adapt to the new trading arrangements with the EU. However, with these challenges come many opportunities. Throughout 2020, even in the most demanding economic conditions, the need for greater automation in manufacturing sectors and reductions in workforce availability have led to a surge of interest in machine vision. The extensive range of established and versatile vision technology already in use in a variety of different industries can be readily adapted to meet these emerging requirements.”

 

The other members of the UKIVA committee were also re-elected at the meeting. They comprise representatives from: Acrovision, Alrad Imaging, Bytronic Automation, FT System, IDS, JentonDimaco, Mettler-Toledo Safeline, Multipix Imaging, Scorpion Vision and Stemmer Imaging.

@ppmaltd #PAuto #Vision #Britain

Keynote speaker for vision conf.

The Keynote address at the 2020 UKIVA Machine Vision Conference & Exhibition will be given by Richard Love from NVIDIA. Richard is EMEA Marketing Manager for the NVIDIA's Jetson™ Embedded Processor Family.

Richard Love

The Keynote will be the first presentation of the Conference at 10 AM on 14th May 2020 at Milton Keynes (GB).

UKIVA Chairman, Allan Anderson, said: “With embedded vision currently one of the major development areas in machine vision, this will be an excellent opportunity for visitors to find out about the use of embedded platforms in a range of applications that include vision, robotics and more. This promises to be a really interesting presentation.”

Richard has over 25 years’ experience working with developers of 3D Graphics, Cloud Software and AI Hardware Technology Solutions, including Autodesk, Microsoft and of course NVIDIA. He manages the launch & marketing of AI-based solutions for Industrial Robotics, Autonomous Machines, UAVs, IVA, and Smart Cities.

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Machine vision on show!

The 2020 UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition will take place on 14 May 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes (GB). With year on year growth since its inception in 2017, the event is rapidly becoming a fixture in the industry’s calendar. While the event will follow a similar format to previous years, with a comprehensive program of technical seminars supported by an exhibition from leading companies in the industry, a new panel discussion session is being included for the first time.

UKIVA Chairman, Allan Anderson, explained: “This event has always been characterised by providing a platform where visitors can learn about many different facets of machine vision. In 2020 we plan to take this a stage further by opening the afternoon session with a discussion forum, where a panel of leading experts will answer questions about any aspect of machine vision.”

The previous events have attracted many who were keen to explore the latest developments in vision in addition to large numbers of people who wanted to learn more about the fundamentals of vision technology. The Conference will cover the key issues such as: Deep Learning & Embedded Vision, Vision & Robotics, 3D Vision, Optics & Illumination, Vision Innovation, Camera Technology and Systems & Applications, as well as Understanding Vision Technology.

Chris Valdes, UKIVA event organiser and business development manager for UKIVA and BARA (British Automation and Robotics Association), said: “Many visitors in previous years have commented on how much they like the format of this event. The Exhibition features a world-class cross section of manufacturers, vision component and system distributors and systems integrators. With the Conference theatres located around the exhibition there is plenty of opportunity both to see some of the latest vision products and to network with industry experts.”

#PAuto #Britain @UKIVAconfex @ppmaltd 

Vision event sees improvement.

The 3rd UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition was held recently in Milton Keynes. It has proved to be a great success, with visitor numbers up by 15% on last year with an outstanding exhibitor satisfaction rating. In a post-event exhibitor survey, 100% of the respondents recorded satisfaction levels of ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’.

UKIVA Chairman, Allan Anderson, said: “We were delighted to see so many people attending. I spoke to many of the exhibitors on the day who all commented that they had had some very positive discussions with many visitors with real world problems to solve. This was clearly endorsed by the results of our follow-up survey. There was a real ‘buzz’ about the event that was really pleasing to see.”

The Conference continues to be a powerful attraction, highlighting visitors’ desire to learn. Average attendance at the seminars has grown by over 30% since the inaugural event in 2017. This year’s Conference offered more seminars than ever before across 8 presentation theatres, with the additional theme covering vision and robotics attracting a lot of interest.

Once again, however, the presentations about deep learning and embedded vision proved to be the most popular, as these exciting technologies continue their rapid development. There was also a strong emphasis on practical usage of vision. Over 20% of the presentations featured actual solutions and there was plenty of opportunity after the talks for attendees to discuss application opportunities in more detail with the presenters.

Event organiser, Chris Valdes, said: “Our thanks go to our Keynote speakers, Dr Luca Benedetti from Kudan and Minh-Tri Pham from Winnow for their fascinating presentations, which got the morning and afternoon sessions off to a great start. We had more international exhibitors than ever before who helped to create our biggest show of vision technology to date and there was a strong media presence. Many visitors commented that they liked the proximity of the presentation theatres to the exhibition stands and the fact that all of the booths were the same size, making it easy to see everything. Now we begin planning next year’s event!”

@UKIVAconfex @ppmaltd #PAuto

Reducing food waste.

The UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition, scheduled for Milton Keynes (GB), on Thursday 6th June 2019, will open at 10 AM with a keynote address by Minh-Tri Pham from Winnow. His talk is entitled: ‘Sustainability in the food industry: AI Vision tools reduce food waste at IKEA’ and is sure to attract a large audience.

Minh-Tri Pham

The keynote will focus on Winnow Vision, a new tool which uses computer vision to help chefs easily pinpoint food waste in the kitchen and in doing so cut costs and save time. The system takes images of waste food as it is thrown away. Using these images, the machine trains itself to recognise what has been thrown in the bin. Winnow’s test systems have reached and surpassed human levels of accuracy in identifying waste foods.

Over time, these systems enable food waste to be automatically registered without any human interaction. Food will be thrown in the bin and the data will be captured automatically. Winnow has been testing the system in the field since late 2017 with two of their pioneering launch partners - IKEA and Emaar Hospitality Group. At IKEA, they’re already live in every store across the Britain. Winnow Vision is set to make a big impact in the hospitality industry and the fight against food waste on a global scale.

The Machine Vision Conference program features around 60 technical seminars across eight different subject areas: Vision in Robotics, Understanding Vision Technology, Deep Learning & Embedded Vision, 3D Vision, Optics & Illumination, Camera Technology, Systems & Applications and Vision Innovation. The Exhibition features a world-class cross section of companies that serve the machine vision industry. It will provide visitors with the opportunity to see some of the latest vision products and talk to experts about any aspect of machine vision.

@UKIVAconfex #Food @IKEAUK

Machine Vision event!

Visitor registration for the UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition is now open. The one-day event will take place in Milton Keynes (GB) on Thursday 6th June 2019.

Event organiser, Chris Valdes, commented: “Attendance at the event held in 2018 was up by 17% compared to he previous year. Early indications are that visitor numbers will increase again in 2019, reflecting the larger Conference and Exhibition. The Conference program is beginning to take shape, and the full program, together with details of the two Keynote addresses, will be published on the event website as soon it is are finalised.”

The Conference program for 2019 will feature around 60 speakers, delivering the richest and most diverse program offered to date. A new ‘Vision in Robotics’ theme has been introduced making 8 different technology tracks running across the day. This reflects the ever-growing use of vision in combination with robotics, its use in a host of factory automation processes and integration into Industry 4.0 and the smart factories of the future. The program has been designed to provide interesting content for visitors with any level of vision knowledge and experience, from those new to the subject to experts.

In tandem with the Conference, the exhibition is also bigger than ever. Co-located with the presentation theatres for easy access throughout the day, the exhibition will include more than 10 new exhibitors compared to 2018. These new additions further broaden the range of countries represented at the event. These now include: Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Korea, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, People's Republic of China and the USA as well as Great Britain, highlighting the truly international flavour. The line-up represents an excellent cross-section of the industrial vision industry, including vision component manufacturers, vision component and system distributors and systems integrators.

@UKIVAconfex  #Britain

Vision on view!

The 2019 UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition is scheduled for 6th June at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes (GB). This will be the third year that the event has been run. It is becoming increasingly popular with attendance figures in 2018 up 17% compared to 2017.

The event will follow a similar format to previous years, with a comprehensive program of technical seminars supported by an exhibition featuring vision component manufacturers, vision component and system distributors and systems integrators from around the world. However, the 2019 Conference will feature an additional theme, covering applications of vision in automation and robotics.

Chris Valdes, UKIVA event organiser and business development manager for the PPMA (Processing & Packaging Machinery Association), said: “At the event in 2018, a number of exhibitors included robots and cobots in their displays, which provided a great deal of interest. There have also been recent developments in the communication standards for machine vision and robots for use in Industry 4.0, making technical seminars on vision, robotics and automation even more relevant.

“UKIVA has a natural affinity with the combined use of vision and robotics as BARA (British Automation & Robotics Association) is, like UKIVA, part of the umbrella PPMA (Processing & Packaging Machinery Association) and many of our members have an active interest in BARA as well."

While the Conference sets out to cover the key issues in machine vision, such as deep learning and embedded vision, as well as Industry 4.0, there are plenty of presentations that cover basic vision technology.

The previous events have attracted large numbers of people who wanted to learn more about the fundamentals of vision technology, coupled with those who were keen to explore the latest developments. Other key topics that will be covered in-depth at the Conference will include: 3D Vision, Optics and Illumination, Vision Innovation, Systems and Applications, and Camera technology.

Keynote speakers at the two previous events have also attracted large audiences, and details of the 2019 keynotes, together with the conference program and information about the exhibition, will be published on the Conference website when they have been finalised.

 @UKIVAconfex #Britain 

Making vision visible!

Over 50 of the leading machine vision companies from around the world will be exhibiting at the UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition which is taking place at Arena MK, Milton Keynes (GB) on Wednesday May 16th 2018. The Exhibition is co-located with the seven Conference Theatres, meaning that there will be plenty of opportunity for visitors to see all of the stands either during the official Conference breaks or if they have a vacant slot in their personal seminar itinerary.

It has a truly international flavour with exhibitors from Canada, France, Germany, People's Republic of China and the USA in addition to the many from within Britain. Event organiser, Chris Valdes, commented: “It is testament to the success of the inaugural event last year that this year we have attracted a larger proportion of exhibitors from overseas. Not only that, we are delighted to welcome twelve new exhibitors. The line-up represents an excellent cross-section of the industrial vision industry.”

A large number of vision component manufacturers will be showing products such as cameras, optics, illumination, controllers, frame grabbers, software, 3D systems, cables and components. Many of the Britain’s leading vision technology suppliers and distributors for these and other vision systems and components will also be exhibiting. A number of vision systems integrators will also be available on their stands to discuss how their specialist expertise can help integrate vision inspection systems in to existing or new production lines or OEM equipment.

The prime objective for the event is to create an informative and educational environment. With 55 technical seminars being delivered at the Conference, including the 2 Keynote presentations, there will be an impressive array of very experienced and knowledgeable vision specialists gathered under one roof. This provides the perfect opportunity for attendees to network both with these specialists and with each other about any aspect of machine vision.

With seven presentation theatres hosting 55 technical seminars, the Conference offers a stimulating program, with content suitable for every type of visitor, ranging from those completely new to vision to highly experienced practitioners in the subject. The programme is generating a lot of interest, with almost twice as many people already registered for the event compared to the equivalent time in 2017.

@UKIVAconfex #PAuto

Vision conference announced!

The next Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition  is scheduled for Wednesday 16th May 2018 at Arena MK, Milton Keynes (GB) . It will follow a similar format to the highly successful inaugural event held in 2017, which attracted more than 300 visitors.

Designed to provide an educational experience, the Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition will once again feature a comprehensive program of technical seminars across multiple presentation theatres. This will be supported by an exhibition of the latest vision technology and services from the leading companies in the world of vision.

Paul Wilson, UKIVA Chairman, commented: “The date for the 2018 event was only announced at the recent PPMA Show, held right at the end of September. We already have 25 companies signed up for the exhibition, including several who are not UKIVA members. This year we had 57 exhibitors, so this early take up suggests that we are on track for an even bigger exhibition component in 2018.”

“Key to the success of this year’s event, however, was the educational seminar program, which ran throughout the day,” he continued. “Visitors could choose their own timetable from 56 presentations held in 7 themed presentation theatres. The program was carefully designed to cover a wide range of topics and provide interest both for newcomers to vision and for highly experienced vision users and engineers. By co-locating the exhibition with the presentation theatre area, it was easy for attendees to switch between the seminar sessions and exhibition according to their own personal schedule. This format also provided excellent opportunities for networking between presenters, exhibitors and other visitors.”

Keynote speakers for 2018 will be announced in due course, and the full seminar program will be published early in 2018

@UKIVAconfex #PAuto #Britain

Post BREXIT buoyancy to be highlighted at Vision show.

A new Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition for UKIVA is to be opened by on 27th April 2017 at Arena MK by Iain Stewart M.P. ,  the local Member of Parliament. His opening address will take place at 9.45 AM and will be followed by the first keynote presentation at 10.00 AM.

Iain Stewart M.P. 

Iain has represented his constituency since 2010. Following the appointment of the new Prime Minister, Theresa May, Iain was moved to the newly formed Department for International Trade as the PPS to Rt. Hon Dr Liam Fox MP. The UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition will provide an excellent vehicle for international trade and will highlight the buoyancy in the British vision market less than a year after the uncertainty that accompanied the ‘Brexit’ vote.

With keynote addresses from leading household brands Dyson Ltd and Ocado Technology, and a main program featuring 56 seminars across 7 different presentation theatres, the Conference will provide visitors with plenty of opportunity to explore the multitude of ways that vision technology has relevance to everyday life. The program has something for everyone with themes including ‘Understanding vision basics’ through to ‘Systems and applications’ and ‘Vision innovations’.

This comprehensive program is supported by an exhibition of the latest vision technology and services by 57 of the leading companies from the world of vision, co-located with the presentation theatre area. This convenient layout makes it easy for visitors to switch between the seminar sessions and exhibition according to their own personal schedule. This format also provides excellent opportunities for networking between presenters, exhibitors and other visitors.

@UKIVAconfex #PAuto #Vision #Brexit

Vision conference programme released.

The full Conference programme for the UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition has now been published. The event, which takes place at Milton Keynes (GB) on 27th April 2017, will provide many examples of how machine vision is used in, and benefits, the real world we live in. This is emphasized by the two keynote addresses which start the morning and afternoon sessions.

Dr. Mike Aldred from Dyson Ltd will deliver the first keynote at 10 AM. Entitled: ‘Bringing vision to the consumer’, this will show how the Dyson 360 Eye™ robot vacuum cleaner, which utilises images from a 360° Field Of View camera to locate itself within its environment, was brought to market.

The second keynote address, by Dr. Graham Deacon from Ocado Technology, will take place at 2 PM. This presentation, entitled: ‘3D vision guided robot picking’ will examine the use of 3D point cloud cameras in order to help robot manipulators to pick and pack groceries for shopping orders.

The main Conference program features 56 seminars across 7 different presentation theatres. For newcomers to vision, one theatre is devoted to ‘Understanding Vision Technology’. This provides some useful insights into some of the basics of machine vision, including sensors and optics and illumination, as well as offering information on thermal imaging and its uses, and the application of vision to code reading.

Practical applications of machine vision feature in several of the theatres. For example, applications of 3D vision in robotics and in the food and agriculture industries feature in the ‘3D Vision’ theatre. Further presentations on applications in the food industry can be found in the ‘Systems & Applications’ theatre, as well as coding in direct part marking applications, and a discussion of the role of vision in sustainability by reducing waste. In the ‘Vision Innovation’ theatre there is a case study examining the use of inspection and traceability system in the pharmaceutical industry.

These theatres, of course, also feature a number of presentations which cover the relevant technology. For those interested in concentrating on specific aspects of machine vision, there is plenty on offer in the ‘Camera Technology’, ‘Optics & Illumination’ and ‘Software & Embedded Vision’ theatres. These include the use of different wavelengths to solve vision problems; advances in super high resolution imaging; choosing the best optics for an application; LED lighting for machine vision; image processing for the factory floor; custom embedded systems development and much, much more.

@UKIVAconfex #PAuto #Britain

Speakers announced.

Dr Mike Aldred from Dyson Ltd and Dr Graham Deacon from Ocado Technology have been announced as the keynote speakers for the UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition to be held at Arena MK on 27th April 2017.

Both keynote addresses will illustrate how vision technology has relevance to everyday life such as household cleaning and shopping. Dr. Aldred’s presentation will cover the design journey that brought the Dyson 360 Eye™ robot vacuum cleaner to market. Dr.Deacon will look at the challenges in developing a 3D vision guided robot capable of picking and placing fruit and vegetables for shopping orders.

Dr. Aldred is ‘Electronics Category Lead - Robotics and Cordless’ at Dyson and manages the robotics team on the Dyson 360 Eye™ robot vacuum cleaner. The 360Eye utilises images from a 360° Field Of View camera to locate itself within its environment. Mike and his team developed bespoke algorithms for everything from exposure control to feature tracking to location recognition as part of the development cycle for the robot. Vision is the core enabler for the product and one of the keys to its success.

Dr. Deacon is ‘Robotics Research Team Leader’ at Ocado Technology. Ocado is the world’s largest on-line only grocer. The robotics research team at Ocado Technology, under Graham’s guidance, has been investigating the use of robot manipulators to pack shopping orders. Given the number, the diversity and the variability of the products that Ocado stocks the robots need to be sensor-guided. This talk will describe some of the work that the team has done using 3D point cloud cameras in order to pick and pack groceries with robots.

Dr. Aldred’s presentation will open the morning session of the Machine Vision Conference at 10 AM, and Dr. Deacon will begin the afternoon session.

The Conference itself will feature over 50 technical vision seminars across 6 separate presentation theatres offering a rich program of the latest developments, technologies and applications as well as machine vision basics. Visitors can therefore tailor their day according to their particular interests and level of knowledge. The 6 theatres will cover 3D vision, Camera technology, Optics & illumination, Systems and applications, Software and embedded vision and Understanding vision technology.

@UKIVAconfex #MVC17 #PAuto

New chairman with Vision.

Paul Wilson, Managing Director of Scorpion Vision Ltd has become the new Chairman of the UK Industrial Vision Association (UKIVA), taking over the reins from Ian Alderton. Wilson took up his new position at the recent UKIVA Annual Members’ meeting..

Paul Wilson

Wilson established Scorpion Vision in 2006 and has grown it from a component sales business to a machine vision specialist integrator. He had served 2 years as Vice-Chairman of the Association and will hold his new position for a further 2 years. Allan Anderson, Managing Director of Clearview Imaging, was elected as the new Vice-Chairman, again for a period of 2 years.

In taking up his new role, Wilson noted that the Association was going from strength to strength and paid tribute to outgoing Chairman, Ian Alderton for his tireless efforts and for his contribution towards bringing to fruition the UKIVA’s biggest undertaking to date, the forthcoming Machine Vision Conference. Wilson urged all UKIVA members to play their part in making the Conference a success.

“The UKIVA Machine Vision Conference, to be held on 27th April 2017 at Arena MK represents a milestone for industrial vision in the UK,” he said . “This is the first independent event of its kind. We are well on track to achieve our aim of 50 technical vision seminars across a broad range of vision topics and we already have over 40 of the industry’s leading companies signed up for the accompanying exhibition. Visitor registration is now open and we are looking to attract a broad cross section of delegates, from those who are completely new to vision through to experienced vision engineers. There will be something to interest everyone, and of course, a wonderful networking opportunity.”

Establishing an event such as this from scratch requires a concerted effort from many people. Wilson praised the efforts of the Conference organising committee, with a special mention for Allan Anderson who has driven the project forward. “Allan is to be congratulated”, he said. “His efforts, with the help of the committee and the experience of the team at the PPMA, have made the Conference a reality”.

@UKIVAconfex #Pauto #ScorpionVision #Britain

Changes at vison association in Britain!

At a recent UKIVA Members’ meeting, Ian Alderton from Alrad Imaging was elected Chairman, with Mark Williamson from Stemmer Imaging standing down after 13 years in the role and Paul Wilson from Scorpion Vision becoming Vice Chairman. This new structure establishes a succession plan for the committee, as the Chair and Vice-Chair are now both elected for a two-year tenure, with a view to the Vice-Chair succeeding the Chair, leading to a 4-year cycle.

Mark Williamson: Standing down as chair!

Alderton has been a longstanding member of the UKIVA committee and it is the second time a member of Alrad Imaging has been appointed chairman, Geoff Smith holding the office from 1997 - 1999.

Paying tribute to Williamson’s tenure as Chairman, Alderton said: “Mark has done a great job for the Association for many years and his experience and stature in the industry has ensured continuity through the many changes the UKIVA has experienced in recent years. These include transition from an independent organisation to be a Special Interest Group of the Processing & Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA) and the passing of founder member, Don Braggins.” Williamson will remain an active of the committee and he continues to be a member of the main PPMA board.

The UKIVA committee was also re-structured. Representatives from Acrovision, Bytronic Automation, Clearview Imaging and Scandinavian Machine Vision were elected to join current committee members from Alrad Imaging, Framos, Multipix Imaging, Scorpion Vision, and Stemmer Imaging. Outgoing Chairman, Mark Williamson, said: “With a number of new members joining the Association, we felt it was the right time to restructure the committee and to get some of the newer members involved.”

Seminar success

The UK Industrial Vision Association (UKIVA) reports a significant increase in attendance at its series of educational ‘Vision in Action’ seminars run at the October 2013 Photonex exhibition in Coventry (GB). Average seminar attendance figures were up by 20% over the two days of the show compared to 2012.

Their Chairman, Mark Williamson, said: “This was a great reflection on the quality of the subject matter on offer. Even though there were other seminar threads running at the same time, the percentage increase in attendance for the UKIVA seminars was even greater than the percentage increase in overall visitors to the show! The seminar program was varied, lively and informative and the open structure of the presentation area encouraged people to sit down to listen even if they arrived after the talk had started.”

Copies of the presentations made by UKIVA members are now available on the Association’s website. These are: 

‘The Icing Robot - can a robot replace skilled decorators and be used to ice a cake?’ (Scorpion Vision), 

‘Extended wavelength Imaging – Seeing the invisible’ (STEMMER IMAGING), 

‘USB3.0 Vision, the NEW Vision Standard - Facts, Set-up & Migration explained’ (MultiPix Imaging) and ‘Lasers in 3d imaging’ (Alrad Imaging).

Contribution recognised

The UKIVA (UK Industrial Vision Association) and EMVA (European Machine Vision Association) have jointly recognised the contribution made to the vision industry by the late Don Braggins. They chose the occasion of the recent VISION Show in Stuttgart (D) to present Don’s widow, Anne, with a gift for her garden. The timing was particularly appropriate as Don had attended every VISION show up to and including 2009 and had been a regular member of the jury for the VISION Award.

Mark Williamson, Mrs Anne Braggins
and Patrick Schwarzkopf

UKIVA Chairman, Mark Williamson praised Don’s foresight in seeing the potential of industrial vision back in 1983 when he left Cambridge Instruments to set up his company, “Machine Vision Consultancy”. Mark said: “Don was absolutely passionate about the subject and resolute about promoting its capability and technologies throughout industry. It was no surprise that his company was one of the founder members of the UKIVA in 1992 and that he went on to champion the Association until 2009, before overseeing the transition to a special interest group of the PPMA. He probably did more for the vision industry than any other individual.”

Patrick Schwarzkopf, General Secretary of the EMVA, said: "I met Don around the year 2000 when he gave an inspiring talk about machine vision. I was completely new in the industry and Don already an icon. It was inspiring to see how brilliant a networker he was. He knew virtually everybody. That made him the ideal person to get the European Machine Vision Association started, and he did. From the beginning he was driving the idea forward and getting people on board. For six years he was a member of the Executive Committee and making sure the fledgling organisation would grow and progress fast”.

Thomas Walter of the Messe Stuttgart remembers Don “as a loyal companion, a friend, a mentor. As an industry guru, Don was always on hand to provide me with advice and support. For me, as a trade fair organiser, his ideas and thoughts were groundbreaking in the further development of the VISION trade fair. Don helped to carve out the path which VISION took to become a leading world trade fair.”

Vision in autumn!

The Autumn issue of the newsletter from the UK Industrial Vision Association (UKIVA) is now available for download. This 16 page newsletter, which includes a tribute to Don Braggins, the former UKIVA director who passed away earlier this year, has an even greater emphasis on practical applications of machine vision, with no less than seven application stories being featured. The newsletter also features the usual mix of members’ news and technical tips as well as a full UKIVA members’ directory.

UKIVA Technical Consultant and Director of Panther Vision, Dr. John Haddon, said: “Machine vision touches all of our lives in one way or another. It is likely that we have all purchased a product that has had some level of vision inspection as part of its manufacturing or packaging process, and most petrol stations now record and check number plates before turning on the fuel pumps! The Association is delighted to be able to highlight so many different practical applications in this issue of the newsletter.”

Cognex, Leuze Electronics, Multipix, Olmec UK, Omron, RNA Automation, and STEMMER IMAGING, all members of the association,  have contributed articles that cover topics ranging from checking the length width and thickness of a ‘sandwich biscuit’ to a system to help visually impaired people working on a packaging line. Other applications include on-board and trackside railway inspection; the inspection of promotional labels on packs of potatoes destined for the supermarket; inspection of codes on labels in the healthcare industry; the inspection of plastic moulding components and applications for 3D sensors.

Industrial vision pioneer passes

It is with great sadness that the UK Industrial Vision Association announces the death of former director Don Braggins, at the age of 70, following the diagnosis an inoperable brain tumour in October 2010. Don was a very popular and highly regarded figure in the world of industrial vision and made an outstanding contribution to the UKIVA.

Don Braggins RIP

Don’s ‘Machine Vision Consultancy’ was one of the founder members of the Association in 1992 and then in 1995 he took over its administration. This was a role he continued, as well as providing technical support, for the following 14 years, before overseeing the transition of the Association into a Special Interest Group of the Processing & Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA) in 2009. He continued as a consultant to the Association until December 2010.

In addition to the role he played for the Association, Don was active in many other areas of vision. He was elected a Fellow of SPIE in 1990. He was a member of the jury for the annual ‘Innovation’ prize at the Vision exhibition in Stuttgart from 2000 - 2009, and served on the Executive Committee of the European Machine Vision Association for six years.

Don was passionate about spreading the word on the uses of vision industry – the prime objective of the UKIVA, and he authored numerous articles on the subject. In addition, from 2005 to 2009 he acted as Associate Editor for Machine Vision for the peer-reviewed SPIE journal, Optical Engineering. There is no doubt that the high regard that the world of vision holds for Don has helped the UKIVA become the force that it is today and he will be sorely missed. He leaves a wife, 2 children and 5 grandchildren.

R.I.P.

Vision body has new consultant

Dr. John Haddon has been appointed as Technical Consultant for the UK Industrial Vision Association (UKIVA), following the retirement of Don Braggins. John is the founding director of Panther Vision Ltd, which joined the Association towards the end of 2009. John will be the first point of contact for anybody requesting technical advice from the Association, and will contribute articles to the trade and technical press as part of the Association’s continuing objective to raise and maintain awareness of the capabilities of vision technology in manufacturing industry.

Dr J F Haddon

John has over 27 years experience in the development and implementation of leading edge image processing and computer vision techniques and applications, and takes a keen interest in all things related to industrial vision. As an independent consultant and member of the Executive Board of the Vision and Imaging Network of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), he is ideally placed to take on this role.

He has been a visiting Professor at the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing at the University of Surrey and a Visiting Fellow at both Surrey University and the University of Exeter. He became a QinetiQ Fellow in 1999 in recognition of "Outstanding technical contributions in the field of image analyses". John has also been an active member of several international and inter-governmental research committees on behalf of the UK Government, has been a member of technical assessment teams for foreign governments and has worked with multinational businesses both in the UK and overseas. 

John has an excellent pedigree with the written word. He has produced over 100 publications and reports, has contributed to several technical books and has been a reviewer for several learned journals. 

Vision recovery in sight!

Vision industry shows strong indications of recovery

A number of recent indicators suggest that the vision industry has weathered the worst of the global recession and is poised to emerge with positive signs of growth. Recently published surveys for 2010 from the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA) and the Automated Imaging Association (AIA) in the US predict an 11 per cent increase in turnover and a 2.6-4.6 per cent increase in sales respectively in their particular regions. Similarly, an informal survey of UK Industrial Vision Association (UKIVA) members attending Britain’s Advanced Manufacturing exhibition earlier in 2010 revealed an upturn in enquiry levels and actual business since the beginning of 2010.

One of the reasons for these positive predictions may be the increased role of vision in industrial automation in manufacturing, where the two keys to competitiveness for manufacturing in the western economy in a world where labour costs are lower elsewhere are automation and quality. Vision can help to both reduce costs and ensure quality to a consistent and high standard, thus increasing competitiveness.

Investing in machine vision offers many benefits. Using data from a vision system to feed into a statistical control system can be the ultimate integration of vision into an automated manufacturing process. It can make sure that a factory never produces scrap material since corrections can be made before the product goes out of tolerance. Using vision systems to accurately measure what is delivered to a customer can have a direct effect on the profitability of the company. Using vision to work accurately to the minimum within-tolerance parameter, rather than the middle of a tolerance band, can save a huge amount annually in raw material costs. When vision is used to check that items have been correctly assembled, warranty costs are reduced.