Critical Thinking Exercise $11-1$: Automating with Vision Systems $($page $419)$

Elite Manufacturing $($fictional$)$ is a midsized textile manufacturing company. The company has been successful over the past forty years in producing high$-$end sports clothing for sporting goods stores and athletic teams. Part of the success for Elite Manufacturing has been a team that keeps the company up to date with the latest technology.

The executive leadership at Elite has decided to launch a new line of casual wear but wants this part of the manufacturing plant to be automated. The technology team$-$led by managers Giovanny Miele and Sarah Lunsford$-$has been tasked with researching the best solutions for this endeavor. Each team member has been given a different area to research and report back to the group.

Your area of responsibility is identifying the vision system and components needed for the production line. This new endeavor will ultimately move Elite from a midsized company to a large company. Your task is to find solutions that will manage the capture of images that have proven to be successful with automation. Your team is counting on you to have a viable solution to work with their area, such as software and infrastructure $($cameras$),$ but not the hardware $($robots$).$ The executive leadership at Elite is looking at the technology team to lead them into the future with the successful launch of a new manufacturing venture.

Review Questions

What advantages might be gained from moving to an Al system, such as a vision system, for a production line in place of a person$-$driven production line? Can you think of'any possible disadvantages to this approach?

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What software platforms, or vendors, would be recommended for this type of environment and why?

Critical Thinking Questions

What additional questions need to be answered before you can decide if the database as a service approach is right for your firm?