North American sales of machine vision components and systems that
provide vision intelligence to robots and other machines reached $2.874
billion in 2018, an increase of 9.2 percent over 2017 and a new record
for the market. According to statistics from the AIA,
the industry trade group and part of the Association
for Advancing Automation (A3), application-specific machine vision
(ASMV) systems led the growth with $1.998 billion in sales in 2018, an
increase of 7.8 percent over 2017, followed by smart cameras with $466
million, an increase of 14.2 percent.
Machine vision component markets also set new records in 2018 with $401
million in total sales representing 11.7 percent growth. This increase
was driven primarily by component camera sales, which increased 16.2
percent to $219 million, followed by software (8.9 percent to $21
million), optics (8.8 percent to $44 million), lighting (7.9 percent to
$77 million) and imaging boards (1.5 percent to $40 million).
“Vision technologies are becoming smarter and smaller to solve the
increasingly complex challenges associated with emerging automation
applications such as AI-driven bin picking, autonomous vehicles, and
advanced inspection technologies,” said Alex Shikany, vice president of
AIA and business intelligence at A3. “Vision components in everything
from cameras to lighting to software must work together seamlessly to
provide the visual intelligence that robots and other smart machines
require to do their jobs. We’re excited to see what new innovations are
created in the months and years ahead to make this data collection even
simpler and more intuitive.”
The Expected Future of Machine Vision
According to AIA’s latest survey of industry experts, 80 percent of
respondents believe that sales of machine vision components will remain
flat or decrease in the next six months. Similarly, 62 percent believe
machine vision systems markets will plateau or decrease in the next two
quarters. According to Shikany, this predicted stagnation might come
from a “slight softening of the manufacturing sector seen in the last
quarter of 2018, which showed the PMI dipping to the low 50s and the
semiconductor market decreasing.” The results are also a reflection of
experts’ belief that this market is due for a normalization of growth,
having posted six straight years of expansion.
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About AIA
AIA was established in 1984 to advance the
understanding and use of imaging and vision technologies and to drive
global expansion and growth through education and promotion. Today, AIA
continues its mission and represents some 380 vision suppliers, system
integrators, users, researchers, and consulting firms from 32 countries.
For more information, please visit www.visiononline.org
About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)
The
Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the
benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas
that transform the way business is done. A3 is the umbrella group for
Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA – Advancing Vision + Imaging,
Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA), and A3 Mexico. RIA, AIA, MCMA
and A3 Mexico combined represent more than 1,200 automation
manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users,
research groups, and consulting firms from throughout the world that
drive automation forward. For more information, visit: A3, RIA, AIA, MCMA, A3
Mexico.
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