A NEW VIEW ON PRODUCT INSPECTION QUALITY CONTROL/QUALITY ASSURANCE
Michelle Lea sat down with Steve Sanderson, group product manager at Vision Engineering, to learn more about the ProteQ VISO microscope
Q
. What are the main features and benefits of the ProteQ VISO digital stereo microscope?
A. ProteQ VISO is a digital stereo microscope which uses an ‘autostereo’ display screen to project a different image to your right eye and to your left eye to give a three-dimensional view and full depth perspective, without the need for additional glasses or tools.
Q. What are the main application areas for this product? A. Primarily we're looking at manufacturing
environments, where there's assembly or production going on. The microscope is also suitable for quality control tasks, so it could be for goods inbound checks, checking components or for wider working with components during assembly procedures or for quality control of the final product. One of the big benefits of the VISO system is that the three-dimensional view can be shared between sites very easily, almost
instantaneously, so that you don't have to slow down production.
Q. You mentioned autostereo display. Can you give an overview of what that actually means? A. Autostereo is a very clever technology. Our left eye and our right eye have two slightly different views, and our brain combines these views to give us depth. We can have those different views at microscopic scale as well to help us understand the size and shape of three- dimensional subjects. With the autostereo display, viewers enjoy the immersive experience of 3D images with less visual fatigue. Twin cameras located in the monitor track the position of the user’s head and direct separate images to each eye, ensuring the user receives perfectly clear 3D images, whilst enabling freedom of head movement.
Q. How does this product complement other products in the Vision Engineering portfolio?
A. We're finding that quick, efficient, and accurate decision making is really important, and the ProteQ VISO adds that level of control to our range. The three-dimensional depth view and the communication tools with overlays and annotation, offers Industry 4.0 connectivity. Users are sharing information quickly, efficiently, and making well- informed decisions. One of the benefits of VISO is the
difference between a two-dimensional view and a three-dimensional view. With a two-dimensional view we can see the subject, and we think we understand it, but we don't understand it in the same way as a three-dimensional view. Things like texture and contamination are much more easy to see with a three-dimensional stereo view.
Q. The product was launched at the EMO show back in September. What was the visitor feedback and what's been customer
feedback so far since the launch? A. It's been really
good. VISO brings about a
change in working processes. Instead of having to send samples between sites, or conduct site visits to check on prototypes or first-piece samples, users can just send the image and they can understand enough from the three-dimensional view within a few seconds, which could have taken days before. These benefits save time, money and travelling.
Q. What about ergonomics? Is it a product development driver? Are your customers asking for ergonomically designed products? A. It’s really important. We have skilled operators that we want to look after, we want to use that skill and get the most from it. Firstly, ergonomically designed products are good for the user. It means they are more comfortable, and have less work-related pain. Secondly, if they have less pain and are more comfortable they can work more
24 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 | PROCESS & CONTROL
efficiently. Their concentration levels are higher, which means less mistakes are made, improving productivity.
All Vision Engineering systems are designed with ergonomics in mind, and ProteQ VISO is the same. You can sit with a neutral neck position looking comfortably at the screen. Anybody who wears spectacles can do so, just as they would using a normal screen and still get the benefit of that three-dimensional stereo view. Q. One final question. In terms of product development, what do you see as the key drivers in the future? A. I think connectivity will be important in the future, as will speed of communication. Downtime costs money and needs to be avoided. By helping users make informed decisions quickly and efficiently, ProteQ VISO is a step towards that.
ProteQ VISO features a two-dimensional digital camera, but also benefits from a different three-dimensional view and I think that's the way things are going. People want more visual information and a more visual understanding of subjects. After all, we live in a three-dimensional world.
A three-dimensional view gives us a real understanding so we can make well-informed decisions and move our processes forward without risk. We can be certain that the view we have is clear, is readable, shareable and recordable. You can view it in 3D, you can save it in 3D and play it back in 3D, so that at any point in the future you can be sure the decision made was the right one.
Vision Engineering
www.visioneng.com/proteqviso
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