B&R is adding potent deep learning technology to its line-up of smart cameras. The B&R camera is a potent and effective edge device thanks to a three-way collaboration with machine vision software specialist MVTec and AI processor specialist Hailo. The companies celebrated the first function from their collaborative initiative at the SPS trade show in Nuremberg.
Deep learning-based machine vision algorithms are providing manufacturers with innovative new ways to increase quality, productivity, and efficiency while reducing waste. According to Andreas Waldl, a machine vision specialist at B&R, “our partnership with MVTec gives machine builders access to the best variety of the highest performing vision functions around.” They are a market leader in both deep learning and traditional rule-based algorithms, which are complementary strategies that are both crucial to machine automation.
Quick reader
A deep-learning-based optical character recognition (OCR) function is the project’s initial output. Deep OCR achieves astonishingly quick read rates, especially on fonts that are typically challenging to identify. According to Thomas Hopfner, product manager for licencing and interfaces at MVTec, “we have been working together with B&R for many years to produce machine vision solutions for customers that establish technological benchmarks, notably for embedded systems.” “This objective is likewise being pursued by our most recent collaboration. Customers gain from the benefits of deep learning technology Deep OCR as a result, without having to give up performance.
A strong CPU is needed for deep learning algorithms that work well. Power consumption, however, became a crucial concern due its installation as an edge device. Today’s machine builders require not just computational speed but also power efficiency, which is where Hailo comes in. The company’s inference accelerators not only offer world-class performance of 26 tera-operations per second (TOPS), but also extremely low power consumption. For the fastest and most adaptable manufacturing solutions, Waldl explains, “Hailo allows us deliver truly unprecedented speed and intelligence right where our customers need it.”
Orr Danon, CEO of Hailo, states that “this kind of partnership is exactly what we had in mind when we launched Hailo.” We are creating new performance standards that will increase productivity and improve quality in industrial applications with the new B&R camera, which combines Hailo’s top-performing AI accelerator with their cutting-edge edge devices and MVTec’s cutting-edge machine learning algorithms.
