LASER WORLD OF PHOTONICS
systematically elsewhere. Bachmaier said implementers of industry automation facilities lack the resources to dive deeply into the wide variety of methods and tools available. In addition, while conventional inspection
systems are typically delivered ready-to- use with minimal adjustment effort after integration, Vision AI systems tend to require continuous attention after initial deployment. Te subsequent requirement for in-house experts or ongoing external support inevitably adds significant cost. Senswork believes the answer to many of
these issues lies in software that offers a low- entry threshold and is as versatile as possible. Bachmaier said Vision AI for everyone was dependent on: • Pre-selected, proven models – neural networks that have been successfully implemented in 24/7 industrial applications
• Smarter labelling – an accelerated and facilitated annotation process helps to obtain a consistently high data quality
• High-quality documentation • Continuous external UX supervision. Bachmaier said Senswork aims to offer
a pathway to the democratisation of the technology via its Neuralyze deep learning software for complex inspection tasks. Te software learns to recognise even
the smallest errors in any form with high precision, making it suited to a wide range of scenarios across the automotive, sheet metal,
white goods, pharmaceutical, food, packaging and medical device markets.
AI and automation to guide future robotic surgeries Attendees also heard that robotic surgeries could soon be guided using photonics- assisted automation technology. So said Dr Severin Rodler, resident at the
Urological Clinic at the University of Munich, whose team has been using robotics for urology research. He said there are usually three components
to robotic surgeries: “Firstly, we have the robotic arms that are placed on top of the patient to insert the instrument. Secondly, we have a console, where the surgeon sits and directs the instruments to the patient. It’s like a car: you have a wheel, you have pedals and you have blinkers to guide your surgical treatment. Te third is the connection between the other two things where all the integration has been done, where the images are generated.” None of this is automated currently,
according to Rodler, with everything still being done by the surgeons themselves. However, this is likely to change in the foreseeable future, he said. Rodler likened this transition to that of autonomous vehicles, but with a difference: “Instead of autonomous driving, we are going to use the term ‘assisted driving’, so we’re going to do assisted surgery. Te surgeon will be there, but they will be enhanced by these technologies. Currently,
‘Since AI can solve many imaging issues, the slow growth in applications remains a problem’
surgical robots are completely controlled by surgeons, which is the paradigm that will be challenged in the future, as robots can enhance the physical capabilities of surgeons and improve certain patient outcomes.” However, to enable an automated surgical
future, there are challenges that must first be overcome, said Rodler. One of these is trust: “Te underlying question that always comes to us as physicians when we talk to our patients is that they trust the human physician that treats them, but do we trust the machine? When it comes to robotics, it’s all about trust.” He said Germany in particular had fewer adoptions of robotics for surgery than other nations. Another challenge is the matter of how this
will all be scaled, said Rodler: “To come from this non-automated surgery towards at least half of surgeries being automated for patients, another limiting factor right now is cost.” However, he is optimistic that each of these challenges are addressable with the help of photonic technologies: “In the future, optics and especially imaging applications are going to help us to move this field forward, driving medical treatment for patients.” O
Castor Optics wins Imaging Innovation Award at Laser Munich
A Two-Mode Selective Photonic Lantern developed by Castor Optics, in partnership with Thorlabs, won the Sensors, test and measurement/Optical measuring systems/Imaging Innovation Award category at Laser World of Photonics this year. The announcement was made at an awards ceremony
that took place on the opening night of the show. The new photonic lantern
is an efficient all-fibre device that enables accurate modal multiplexing and demultiplexing of optical signals between single-mode and multimode fibres. It provides a one-to-one
correspondence between single-mode input and multimode output fibres, ensuring near-lossless transmission across a wide wavelength range and with exceptional modal separation (e.g., <0.1dB insertion loss and >30dB isolation). The design offers coupling lengths up to 10 times shorter than alternative designs, allowing it to fit within a standard fibre connector. Its compactness also enables easy integration into optical systems and offers
www.imveurope.com | @imveurope
adaptability in network design, leading to cost savings by reducing the need for multiple components. Castor said the new Two-
Mode Selective Photonic Lantern has already delivered promising results for early prototype users in lidar and non-invasive 3D flow
measurements. While the current version of the device supports two modes, Castor says its design can scale up to a larger number of modes, which could enable even more advanced applications in fields such as communications, sensing and imaging.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 IMAGING AND MACHINE VISION EUROPE 5
Castor Optics
Castor Optics
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