VISION 2022 Spotlights Startups, International Participation

The 30th iteration of the VISION Show hosted over 6500 visitors from 60 countries, as the machine vision industry convened in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 4-6. AI-based visual inspection company Kitov.ai earned the VISION Award 2022 for its CAD2SCAN software solution. Farmstead, Germany-based Visometry was named VISION Startup 2022 for its components detection and tracing solution based on 3D CAD files.

In addition to the classical client industries such as electrical engineering/electronics, mechanical engineering, plant construction, and automotive and automotive component supply, a significant share of visitors from nonindustrial sectors attended, according to show organizers. These included medical technology and pharmacology, agricultural industry, aerospace engineering, and transport and logistics. Organizers reported that the interest in offers of nonindustrial applications increased compared to the previous year, and that turnkey machine vision systems also recorded increased visitor attention. More than 375 exhibitors attended the show, with more than half coming from abroad.

The high attendance aligned with a demand for machine vision components and systems that grew more than expected in 2021. The business volume of the German machine vision industry increased by 16% in Germany to €3.1 billion. The European machine vision industry also recorded a growth of 17%.

More than 375 exhibitors from 60 countries attended VISION 2022. The next iteration of the show will be held in October 2024. Courtesy of Messe Stuttgart.

Mark Williamson, manager director of Stemmer Imaging and chairman of the VDMA Machine Vision Board, kicked off the event with a VDMA market report on the opening day of the show. Speaking after the report, Williamson said, “Despite the general economic insecurity, the sector’s continued growth prospects are promising. The specialized machine vision department of the VDMA is expecting a growth of 8% for the German and European machine vision industry in 2022.”

The VISION Startup World One offered one indication of the sector’s innovative power. Twenty startup companies presented, and a “Startup of the Day” was chosen on each day of the show before Visometry and its “Digital Twin” approach for the detection and tracing of components based on their 3D CAD files took top startup honors. The company’s technology allows quality engineers to carry out a target/actual analysis to detect production errors at an early stage of the assembly process.

The next VISION will take place from Oct. 8-10, 2024.