Zebra Technologies recently announced new solutions across its AI and 3D machine vision portfolio to meet growing demand from logistics organisations looking to improve middle-mile operations.
Advances in AI and 3D have accelerated machine vision adoption in the high-volume, fast-paced world of logistics. These organisations are leveraging solutions across use cases including conveyor belt blockage detection, parcel anomaly and defect inspection, space utilisation, label compliance and verification, and vision-guided robotic picking and sortation.
“Our manufacturing customers are solving their visual inspection challenges with 2D, 3D, and AI machine vision solutions by Zebra and its partners,” said Paul Eyre, Global Director, Machine Vision, Zebra Technologies. “Now we’re seeing a huge opportunity for logistics organisations to use AI and 3D to intelligently automate workflows and gain better asset and inventory visibility.”
NS42 Smart Vision Sensor with New AI Features
Zebra NS42 AI smart vision sensor comes with new deep learning classification and deep learning segmentation capabilities, alongside its current deep learning anomaly detection and deep learning optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities.
Engineered to meet the challenging needs of modern production and delivery processes, it includes a neural processing unit (NPU) optimised to accelerate AI and machine learning algorithms, plus the computational power and memory capacity to handle the most intensive AI tasks.
OCR reads date codes, lot codes, part numbers, and serial numbers running on a line using a pre-trained deep learning model. The NS42 can comfortably tackle the most challenging text-reading use cases, including embossed characters, laser marks, poor contrast, and inconsistent print.
Its anomaly detection capabilities deliver industrial-grade reliability, using heatmaps to show where an anomaly is and how severe it is, catching anomalies a rule-based check may miss. Automated image comparison flags deviations from reference samples, saving considerable time and resources on training and deployment.
CV70 Machine Vision Camera
The new CV70 CXP machine vision camera is a high-performance solution for high-speed, high-resolution applications, available in single- or dual-link models with ultra-high bandwidth and low latency.
As the smallest dual-link CXP camera on the market, it uses passive cooling and offers a broad operating temperature range in small enclosures, allowing installation in tight spaces without sacrificing speed or resolution.
AI Conveyor Blockage Detection
Zebra Iris GTX smart cameras have fast, high-resolution image sensing and can be positioned to monitor package movement and cover an entire conveyor area. Integrated with AI-powered Zebra Aurora software, this solution identifies true and false conveyor blockages as they happen.
When the system identifies a genuine blockage, it instantly triggers an alert and provides image confirmation, enabling operators to prevent false alarms, minimise downtime, and maximise operational throughput.
