Support for Innovative Machine Vision Companies

Improving satellite imagery for farmers and cameras that capture slight changes and twitches in facial movements are examples of new machine vision ideas coming to life. Cost-effective cameras and related software are among the custom solutions in industries like medical imaging.

Time spent researching the marketplace and creating the solution requires constant dialogue among developers, integrators, and possible end users. Good ideas must be refined to become solid applications. No start-up company or established firm can be an "island" in the ever-changing world of machine vision.

Innovators Meet Needs

Creating products for the factory of the future or the home of the next couple of years is made easier in a company where innovation is as much a part of the culture as are everyday solutions. Advances in cloud computing have made communication easier in a global market where age-old problems for businesses and individuals need new ideas. A company doing advanced research and development in the U.S. can assist with engineering solutions in emerging markets.

Equipment is needed in telemedicine in places like India and Brazil to connect remote rural areas with doctors in urban areas, as noted in the article on visiononline.org Machine Vision Diagnoses Healthy Opportunities in Medical Imaging. Vision solutions and cloud computing are also being used to deliver high-resolution images and manage large amounts of data flow in work with cancer pathologies.

Innovators Need Support

Solutions don't just appear. Painstaking work needed to shape concepts and get noticed is part of the development process. Being active in a culture that recognizes start-ups is a competitive advantage. AIA, visiononline.org, the trade association for the vision and imaging industry and daughter organization of A3, meets this need with innovative approaches of their own. An example is the upcoming contest to showcase independent start-ups that are finding unique uses for machine vision.

Certified System Integrator Program

Set Yourself at the Forefront of the Global Vision Market

Vision system integrators certified by A3 are acknowledged globally throughout the industry as an elite group of accomplished, highly skilled and trusted professionals. You’ll be able to leverage your certification to enhance your competitiveness and expand your opportunities.

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It will be held at The Vision Show in Boston taking place May 3 to 5 to help the best ideas develop for use with consumer devices, the life sciences, industry and more.

The grand prize of $10,000 is being made available for companies that have been around for five years or less and have raised $2 million or less. It's not just the prize money that's the draw. A bigger impact may be that the contest will attract about 3,000 people who to see the latest developments. Getting noticed and connecting with the right partners to bring a product and company to its potential is crucial.

AIA brings together suppliers wanting to get out the word about their products, integrators who are looking for solutions, academic researchers, and end users of machine vision. There are over 340 members sharing the latest findings so that all benefit.

There are year round benefits since membership allows for free online posting of a company's news, featured articles, job opportunities, case studies, and products. Speaking opportunities are available as well.

Innovators Get Input

Machine vision, along with the world of robotics and all forms of automation, is an exciting and dynamic field. To simply say that innovators are the leaders in it, though, is misleading. New ideas and products have to reach a point of stability.

A June 2015 article in the Harvard Business Review, You Need an Innovation Strategy, describes how companies need a strategy that "helps you design a system to match your specific competitive needs."

The free resources that AIA offers to the public, along with its online and in person training and certification programs, allow vision industry professionals to distinguish themselves from their competitors. AIA also offers company level certification to system integrators to help them showcase their expertise by passing the highest industry standards and best practices. These resources will guide companies in developing their ideas and getting them to market.

Learn what other companies are doing with automation with free videos, articles, and webinars on A3.