Modernizing digital product identification in industrial automation with digital watermarks | 21-08-2024 |

OMRON, an AIPIA member and one of the leading global companies in industrial automation, has announced a major software update for its FH Vision System and FHV7 Smart Camera. This update introduces an optional Digimarc license to its’s customers in the consumer goods industry, enhancing the machine vision series’ capabilities and enabling digital product identification with digital watermarks, it says.

The collaboration between OMRON and Digimarc, also an AIPIA member, brings to the market an advanced industrial automation solution for digital watermark decoding, setting a new standard in the industry for ensuring the use of correct packaging at high speeds. With the ability to handle over 2,000 parts per minute, it supports efficiency in manufacturing processes, say the companies.

Key features and benefits include:

Enhanced detection accuracy: The integration of digital watermarks allows for excellent decoding efficiency, particularly on cylindrical or non-uniform products, where rotation varies. This technology ensures nearly perfect read rates of 99.9% across all types of packaging, including flexible materials and film, it is claimed.

High throughput: The entire decoding process, from trigger signal to output, is completed in approximately 30 milliseconds. This rapid processing capability enables integration into some of the fastest production lines in the world.

Flexible camera integration: The feature allows for multiple cameras to be connected to the FH Vision System with asynchronous triggering. This flexibility makes it possible to install the system across various production lines or stages.

Robust redundancy: Digital watermark information is redundantly encoded across the packaging surface, ensuring reliable decoding even if a part of the packaging is damaged or obscured.

Comprehensive inspection types: In addition to Digimarc decoding, the updated FH series supports a wide range of inspection types, including date code presence, lid concentricity, quality inspection and more.

The firmware update enhances the FH and FHV7 series’ capabilities, supporting 1D/2D barcode reading, OCR, pattern matching, and defect inspection. These tools can be used in combination or separately, tailored to specific application needs.

Consumer goods manufacturers looking to boost their quality assurance and efficiency will find the new features a valuable addition to their operations, OMRON believes.

AIPIA and AWA Smart Packaging World Congress Amsterdam