Rand Voorhies, CTO and Co-founder of inVia Robotics talked to ZDNet about the rise of machine vision and why it replaces specialized sensor technologies such as LiDAR.

1. THE WAY
ROBOTS
SEE
IS CHANGING

2. Rand Voorhies, CTO
and Co-founder of inVia
Robotics talked to ZDNet
about the rise of machine
vision and why it replaces
specialized sensor
technologies such as
LiDAR.
Here are
key takeaways:

3. Groundbreaking research helped fuel the
popularity of LiDAR in the early 2000s,
along with its use in autonomous vehicles.
But LiDAR-directed robots work best
outdoor, where there are inconsistencies
in terrain and get confused and lost in the
aisles of big warehouses.

4. While there have been several sensor
improvements in the past decade as
well as significant advancements
along the software front with the
advent of deep learning, other factors
have contributed to the adoption of
even simpler machine vision
techniques.

5. Our inVia Picker robots use 2D machine
vision solutions paired with fiducial
markers so that robots can “see”
and differentiate landmarks with
ultra-precision.

6. By adding fiducial stickers all over a
warehouse, robots can easily localize
themselves and the products they need
to retrieve.

7. At inVia, we seek the most cost-effective
technologies and components for our
robots to make
2D machine vision in warehouse settings is
more affordable, easier, and more reliable
than LiDAR, and provides a robust solution
with less downtime and fewer errors.
automation accessible
to businesses of all sizes.

8. Machine vision makes robotic systems
affordable, driving greater adoption by
small- and medium-sized businesses that
used to be priced out of the market.
They can now realize the same benefits
as their larger competitors, helping
grow their business.

9. www.inviarobotics.com/blog