VITRONIC has gone from being a pioneer in the field of machine vision to one of the leading experts worldwide, represented on four continents. Its strong engineering team have been developing machine vision solutions tailored to customers’ needs for nearly three decades. Continuous development of their software and hardware components, as well as consistent investment in R&D, make VITRONIC one of the leading machine vision companies, with customers in logistics and also in manufacturing industry, speed enforcement, traffic control and toll collection and body scanning.
VITRONIC has a wide product portfolio, but its latest product for logistics operations is the VICAMsnap! – a multipurpose camera-based Auto-ID-system for capturing and processing
1-D and 2-D codes. A stationary code reader, VICAMsnap! offers the highest throughputs and accuracy and identifies all current barcodes and 2D-codes twice as fast as laser scanners.
VITRONIC has an impressive long term client list. In 1997 UPS used VITRONIC technology for its parcels identification in its largest European distribution centre in Frankfurt, Germany. VITRONIC’s solution included the first Videocoding systems for parcels weight and combined volume systems. Bringing the story up to date, UPS recently asked VITRONIC to carry out a new installation for their facility at Cologne-Bonn airport. In co-operation with an X-ray technology specialist, VITRONIC’s part of the solution was to combine a six-sided camera-based identification system with an X-ray inspection system.
And it doesn’t stop there. After nearly three successful decades VITRONIC continues to seek fresh challenges, and invite potential clients to discover their passion for solving problems and developing practicable machine vision solutions. Malcolm Smith, VITRONIC’s UK Sales Manager-Logistics, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
Warehouse & Logistics News – Malcolm, as UK Sales Manager-Logistics, what does your role include day to day? Do you personally get involved in developing tailored solutions for customers?
I’m responsible for all enquiries regarding data capture applications within the logistics field in the UK. We provide not only standard products but also customer-specific solutions, therefore I am of course involved in developing tailored solutions.
WLN – Where is your UK office?
The office is located in Nottingham.
WLN – How are you set up to service the needs of logistics customers for your solutions? Do you have a dedicated sales and projects team for the logistics sector?
We do have a dedicated team for logistics consisting of about 45 people, which includes sales engineers, project engineers, software developers and service technicians.
WLN – When was VITRONIC founded and who by?
Norbert Stein, who holds a doctorate in engineering, founded VITRONIC in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1984.
WLN – Is Dr Stein still involved in the business?
Yes, Dr Stein is the Managing Director and sole shareholder, and plays an active role in the running of the business.
WLN – Which countries do you operate in?
VITRONIC’s registered office and production base is in Wiesbaden. We have additional locations in the UK, France, Spain, Morocco, the USA, Australia, UAE, Malaysia and Singapore, and we recently opened an office in Shanghai.
WLN – How big is Vitronic now?
We have 535 employees worldwide, and our turnover in 2012 was 78 million Euros.
WLN – In non-technical language, what do you mean by ‘machine vision solutions’?
In the logistics field this means primarily camera-based identification systems for data capture of 1-D and 2-D codes, as well as hand- and machine-written addresses (OCR) on parcels and packages and on express mail.
WLN – What proportion of your UK business is logistics?
I’m dedicating 95% of my time for logistics projects in the UK – the rest is towards our other products, traffic technology and industrial applications.
WLN – Can you talk us through your logistics offering? What size of operations would benefit from your systems? What are the signs that they need to call you?
From an operations point of view, we cover projects for everyone from SME’s through to global market players in the logistics field. We offer solutions for manual as well as semi- and fully automatic applications.
The signs that people need to call us include the following; if OCR is required with high read rates; they are working with poor quality labels, including damaged or poorly printed codes; they are processing 2-D codes; they have high speeds of transport; they require image capture for archiving or Videocoding.
WLN – As mentioned in the introduction, your latest product for the logistics sector is the VICAMsnap! multipurpose camera-based Auto-ID-system. Can you tell us about this in more detail?
VICAMsnap! is THE solution for fast and efficient data capture for manual and semi-automatic applications. Objects can be passed through the reading field at high speeds because of the fast image processing without a trigger. This allows an uninterrupted flow of items under the scanning device without the need to pick up a hand scanner.
The camera-based Auto-ID system VICAMsnap! decodes all industry standard 1-D and 2-D barcode symbologies. It works independent of speed: objects can be passed through the reading field at high speeds. VICAMsnap! uses an integrated loudspeaker for user instructions and audible signal, and provides the largest depth of field and width of field in the market in this product category. It has a 12” x 10” capture window and a minimum depth of field of 12”, and provides images for OCR.
WLN – What different items of equipment does the VICAMsnap! system consist of?
The VICAMsnap! system includes a high-performance matrix camera; a long-life white LED illumination; an aiming device, which shows the centre of the reading field of selectable design; and visual feedback in green and red on the object, which is configurable. It also includes a powerful barcode / 2-D code decoder unit; a loudspeaker for configurable spoken instructions and audible signal feedback; Status-LEDs; and a Gigabit Ethernet interface for image and result data.
WLN – What applications can VICAMsnap! be used for? Can you talk us through some typical logistics tasks for which VICAMsnap! would be an ideal solution?
Typical logistics tasks for which VICAMsnap! is ideal include efficient order picking/confirmation for warehouse and distribution; flat, small and flyer sortation for post and parcel operators; handling of returns for mail order companies; incoming and outgoing goods; and in-line data capture during production processes.
WLN – What benefits does VICAMsnap! offer to end users?
VICAMsnap! offers a compact and lightweight solution for ease of installation; the white LED illumination provides consistent lighting and the ability to read red and coloured barcodes; it works in continuous reading mode with an automatic trigger; it has a high resolution camera with excellent image quality; it gives fast image processing for redundancy and precision accuracy; and the fast decoder allows for more complex application expansion. VICAMsnap! is competitively priced and universally designed for manual and automated systems integration. It features built-in diagnostics and external status indicator LEDs. VICAMsnap! has flexible interface options. It needs virtually no maintenance and operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Designed to work in an industrial environment, it generates OCR ready images, grayscale or binarized, and command codes for configuration.
WLN – What are the advantages of VICAMsnap! over conventional laser scanning solutions?
VICAMsnap!’s camera technology provides much higher read rates than conventional laser scanning solutions. It reads 2-D symbologies including high density modulated codes, and red barcode labels and other barcode colours that conflict with laser diode wavelength limitations. VICAMsnap! also reads poorly printed and partly damaged codes. It archives images automatically or on demand, such as OCR applications and proof of scanning on an external system (FTP).
VICAMsnap! helps improve read rates by optimising label quality and the end user’s internal and external processes. It increases throughput in manual applications without looking for a “sweet spot”.
VICAMsnap! provides real-time or offline image processing routines. It is less susceptible to outside ambient light interferences, has a longer life cycle and is virtually maintenance free.
WLN – What materials handling systems is VICAMsnap! designed to work with? Can it interface with current warehouse management systems?
It is designed for manual workstations but can be used at the end of conveyor systems. It can interface with SAP or ERP systems.
WLN – Briefly, what other machine vision solutions do you offer for the logistics sector?
We offer the line-scan camera VICAMssi2 for fully automatic data capture over conveyor and sortation systems. Although this is not a camera-based solution, we also offer MID-certified volume measurement over conveyors and sorters.
WLN – How quickly can you come to see a customer and analyse their requirements, and then develop and install a machine vision solution?
Depending on our workload, we can respond to an enquiry immediately by e-mail or phone and then follow that up with a site visit at a mutually agreeable time. The time base for a project to be developed and installed is based on the size of the project.
WLN – What sets VITRONIC apart as a supplier – why buy a machine vision system from you?
Since our foundation in 1984, VITRONIC has stood for innovation in machine vision systems. Our engineers develop high-end and low-end technical solutions, and combined with our constant investment of over 10% of our total out-put in R&D, VITRONIC is always a step ahead in this rapidly developing, futuristic market.
WLN – Do you work on your own or with materials handling systems integrators?
Both! We welcome approaches from integrators. In the process of developing and optimising customer-orientated solutions, we often work in close cooperation with OEMs and the end customer as a development partner.
WLN – Do you sell VICAMsnap! and your other products “off the shelf” to major companies with in-house auto-ID teams?
No, we sell complete solutions. We are more a solution provider who works with customers and integrators, rather than “just” selling products.
WLN – What industry standards do you work to?
Our quality management system has recently been re-certified to DIN EN ISO 9001:2000. VITRONIC supports energy efficient and resource-saving production and automation processes as a partner company in the German Engineering Federation (VDMA)’s Blue Competence sustainability initiative.
WLN – How can potential customers find out more about your company and your solutions?
They can phone us and talk to our experts. The simplest way is to visit our website http://www.vitronic.com and look at the video of VICAMsnap! on our Youtube channel. www.youtube.com/ user/machinevisionpeople
WLN – Do you publish customer case studies?
Yes we do, where approved by the customer.
WLN – Do you take part in any logistics industry exhibitions?
Yes. In the UK, we exhibited at IMHX this year. Additionally we are exhibiting all over the world, including at Post-Expo, CeMAT and LogiMAT.
WLN – What do you see as the major factors which will drive adoption of machine vision systems in the UK logistics industry?
In our experience the major factors are the need for high read rates due to the increase in throughputs of larger parcel carriers; image capture for archiving; the drive to introduce 2-D codes to give more data capability; the increasing need for Optical Character Recognition (OCR); and image capture for complaint management.
WLN – Finally, where do you see Vitronic’s logistics business going from here?
With the ever increasing need for reliable and accurate data capture we see VITRONIC with its flexibility and experience leading the drive to provide better and more cost-effective solutions in an ever more competitive field.
Vitronic gmbh
Malcolm Smith
Tel: 0115 8408244
EMail: malcolm.smith@vitronic.com
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