Human beings will always be crucial in terms of creativity and innovation, but when it comes to the nitty-gritty, machines have outpaced us by far. Technological advances have progressed to a degree where microscopic precision is required to achieve the best quality product and output volumes are so staggeringly high, that it’s just not feasible for humans to conduct adequate quality control or keep up with the demand.
Even the most careful and detailed driven individual simply cannot match the accuracy and speed of a machine. Since the invention of the wheel, machinery has played an integral role in most life processes and while many are reluctant to embrace automation, either because they don’t understand it or don’t want real people to lose their jobs, the fact of the matter is that any business that deals with highly technical, large volume products simply can’t exist without the help of automation and there’s one particular area where this technology is of vital importance – machine vision.
Consider automotive vision systems as just one example. Do you remember the GM recall scandal of 2014? A defective ignition switch led to a huge car recall and even resulted in the deaths of over a dozen people. Arguably such a simple component and yet look at the ramifications that come about as a result of flawed manufacturing! For that matter, have a quick search online of your vehicle brand and see how many recalls it’s been through over the past 30 years. Machine vision systems implement analysis of every component on such a high level that no amount of human scrutiny could even come close.
This kind of inspection minimizes the risk of recalls since it can detect any defective components with great accuracy and speed. And where is that of more importance than the automotive industry. It’s one thing if a product line fails because customers were unhappy with a camera or toothbrush – it’s quite another when substandard parts can actually put lives at risk.
Automotive vision systems can not only help you produce a higher quality product, but this level of automation is actually extremely cost-effective, from longer operational hours to efficient facility space utilization, the incorporation of these systems into your production line will inevitably lead to higher accuracy and increased output.
One of the issues businesses currently face is that the average consumer is bombarded with choices. Even something as simple as kitchen scissors comes in thousands of varieties, and it’s a legitimate struggle to attract new customers specifically to your brand. However, this is where first impressions really are everything. If a new customer gives your product a chance and it isn’t up to the standards promised, or what they’ve come to expect, those thousands of other choices are just waiting to snap them up and they won’t consider your product, or any of your future products, again.
Retaining customers is just as important as getting them in the first place, and the best way to do that, first and foremost, is to provide a product that they can trust – especially when it comes to a car. This is one of the most expensive assets a person will ever buy and they need it to be reliable. Not to mention – people talk. Disappoint one customer and the news will spread like wildfire before you even get the chance to do some damage control.
With such high stakes, there’s really no good reason NOT to implement these machine vision solutions in your production line. We’ve reached a point where technology is almost caught up with science fiction. We’re probably not going to be cruising around like the Jetsons any time soon, but self-parking, self-driving cars are just a few years away. The less manual control cars have, the more important it is for those vehicles to operate at surgical level precision and you can bet that machine vision will be at the heart of all those advancements.