Greg Hollows, VP of product strategy and new product development at Edmund Optics, visits Manufacturing Matters to discuss the future of the optics and lighting markets. Machine vision component suppliers are capitalizing on COVID-era research and development to create solutions – everything from standard products to turnkey systems – that bring together new sensor and optics technologies. Hollows says that customers also are expecting cameras that offer lighter weight, larger sensor sizes, extended wavelengths, ruggedization, and repeatability. Meanwhile, autonomous technology will continue its refinement outside the warehouse, where restaurants are testing self-driving delivery systems, and agriculture is increasing its use of crop-monitoring drones and autonomous tractors that use multiple cameras for 360° obstacle detection.
