ABB Robotics (abb.com) has introduced Integrated Vision, a powerful smart camera system that makes vision-guided robotics applications faster and easier to deploy than ever before. Using 2D vision guidance, ABB Integrated Vision allows manufacturers to: track products more accurately, improve supply chain management, improve quality, troubleshoot challenging lines and processes, and significantly expand their use of robotic automation. Taken together, the advantages of vision-guided robotics can significantly improve a company’s bottom line, saving time, money, and other valuable resources.

“Besides improving quality and flexibility, ABB Integrated Vision optimizes production quality, and maximizes inspection and control by giving robots the power to see,” says ABB product manager Klas Bengtsson. “Companies that effectively utilize vision-guided robotic systems can increase throughput and lower production costs, improve product quality and reduce rework and waste.”

ABB Integrated Vision, powered by Cognex, features sophisticated imaging technologies such as the patented PatMax^® algorithm for advanced part location. The result is robust inspection, defect detection, guidance, alignment, and measurement, all critical to ensuring that manufactured products meet the highest possible quality standards.

The new technology is also incredibly easy to setup, deploy and maintain. RobotStudio, ABB’s powerfully simple PC-based programming tool, provides the platform for creating vision tasks quickly and easily. Operators can select features, set parameters and operate under real world conditions from a library of common vision applications. The smart camera offers the widest range of built-in communication protocols that interface directly with the robot, helping complete programming and set-up in approximately 25% of the traditional time.

“The new vision system is seamlessly integrated with both the ABB IRC5 controller and RobotStudio, providing run-time efficiency, offline engineering and ease-of-use,” says Dr. Srinivas Nidamarthi, global technology manager, stationed at ABB Robotics North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI. “Operators simply plug the camera into the robot controller and they are ready to go.”