GLASS INSPECTION g


because the standards we work to can only be met with the right techniques, the right hardware and the right algorithms,’ Mercier added. ‘Te market is very difficult to enter for this reason.’


AI-spy Te glass inspection sector, like several others in manufacturing, has found continual performance improvements lead directly to these data processing challenges: how to crunch the numbers more effectively. It might even be said that the focus of attention has now shifted away from the purely optical aspects, and towards these computational and decision- making ones. Artificial intelligence could be a route


forward, not least since companies with interests in AI, such as Google and Amazon, are pushing hard for it to enter new markets and penetrate deeper into existing ones. ‘My feeling is that the optical side is now


relatively stable, and has been for a few years,’ commented Michael Stelzl, founder of MSTVision. ‘Te basic principles behind collection of


scattered light from glass, or seeing where absorption or distortion takes place, are well established,’ he continued. ‘Te interesting questions today are how much data you can process, how the defects are sorted or classified, and how much the process of doing so will cost. Tat is where the fight is going on now.’ But Stelzl said it can be a mistake to think


AI will automatically lead to glass inspection becoming more straightforward, or allow the use of just a simple imaging camera with AI then able to do the rest of the job. Training AI successfully is vital to success,


but not an easy task, while the complexity of glass inspection adds to the challenges of creating reliable AI systems. And if the defects of interest are not encoded in some way within the original data, then no amount of investment in AI will reveal them.


Glass of the future All these challenges now go hand-in-hand with the development of specialised glass materials targeted at new applications, bringing with them fresh obligations for inspection and quality control. Manufacturing the conductive substrates


Pilkington supplies for active electronic products, such as solar cells, requires automatic inspection of coatings with highly uniform optical and functional properties, explained Duncan. Elsewhere, the glass associated with automotive head-up displays and autonomous driving systems must be checked against demanding customer – and sometimes also legal – specifications.


Inspection system at glass manufacturer, Pilkington


‘Te interesting questions today are how much data you can process, how the defects are sorted or classified’


In consumer products, ultra-thin glass


represents another growth sector, a market projected to reach $16.6bn by 2027. Although in principle the kinds of flexible folding glass envisaged by smartphone developers, such as Samsung, can be achieved by driving the glass thickness down to ever smaller values, the practical consequences for inspection of that glass become considerable. Mercier said that Isra Vision is


currently working on ways to inspect glass thicknesses measured in a few tens


14 IMAGING AND MACHINE VISION EUROPE APRII/MAY 2022


of microns – glass intended to bend like paper for next-generation smartphones and foldable displays. ‘Tis is certainly challenging,’ he commented. ‘If you are inspecting a 10µm material then the depth of focus is extremely narrow, and the material is very delicate. Tackling this challenge involves working with our customers, sharing knowledge alongside an investment of time and finance.’


Money matters Glass production is characteristically, perhaps understandably, conservative when it comes to adopting new approaches to inspection, or moving away from systems with which the industry is comfortable, not least because of the costs involved. A full-width, four-metre defect scanner


for a float glass line typically costs around £250,000, according to Duncan of


@imveurope | www.imveurope.com


Pilkington Technology Management Limited


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36