Blog
Digitalisation of passenger info
From paper signs to LEDS: how digital passenger information displays are revolutionising public transport When public transport is unpredictable, information becomes its saving grace. An informed traveller is very often a happy traveller. The frustration felt over service disruptions and cancelled journeys is all too familiar, especially the moment when that little push notification appears on your phone to tell you your journey won’t be going as planned. But there was a time when we weren’t notified so quickly. When updates were done manually and locally, so you weren’t aware your journey had changed until you arrived at your bus stop or train station. Thanks to digitalisation, this is no longer the case. Passenger information systems have leapt from static displays and manual announcements to real-time updates and personalised information. Passenger information display systems (PIDS) were once mere paper signs … Continue reading
The Evolution of Glass Manufacturing
Glass is undoubtedly one of humanity’s most favoured materials. It’s everywhere. We use it to see, to drink from, to store food. It’s used in jewellery, in surgical equipment, in the screens of our devices. It magnifies, it traps heat, it transmits light… you get the picture. Humans have found ways to manipulate this material for all of these different uses. Even our earliest societies like the Ancient Egyptians, the Mesopotamians and the Phoenicians experimented with shaping glass into beads and ornaments. Today, technological advances have multiplied its uses. What began as trinkets and jewellery has transformed into an industrial material used in our windows, walls, doors, cars and more. Quite the journey! We have put together our very own timeline of the most impressive technological leaps in glass production from the last few hundred years. 1700 – 1800s: The … Continue reading
Getting to the Core of Brassica Preparation
Have you ever tried to remove the core of a lettuce or a cabbage? Or chop the stem off a broccoli so that you’re left with those lovely vibrant florets? Or even tried to neatly slice all those little brussels sprouts off the stalk? Maybe you have. But have you done it 100 times in a row? On your feet, in a cold factory? Unlikely. Now if you’ll have done even one of these things, you’ll know it’s not the easiest task. Just type it into YouTube and you’ll see pages and pages of kitchen whizzes showing you exactly how to do it with their very own home grown produce (and a very expensive and very intimidating knife in hand!). Even Google’s search engine is full of questions like: “How do you remove the core from lettuce?” “How do you … Continue reading
It’s great to be a winner!
This year’s PPMA Awards evening took place on Tuesday 26th September as usual at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham. We entered the category for the most Innovative Machine Vision Solution – and we won! Our entry was deemed to have made a significant improvement in process, safety, quality, efficiency and cost savings for our customer. Pictured are some of our team who ventured up to the stage to be presented with the award by James Causebrook, Managing Director of Grunwald UK and Chairman of the PPMA Group.
Addressing Challenges in Implementing Machine Vision Systems
As automation and AI technologies continue to advance, the demand for reliable and high-performance machine vision systems grows. Implementing these systems can be a complex process, requiring a thorough understanding of the challenges and potential solutions. Continue reading
The Advantages of Using 3D Cameras in Automation and Robotics
3D cameras have revolutionized the field of automation and robotics. These advanced imaging devices enable machines to perceive depth, creating a more accurate and efficient way to interact with their environment. In this article, we’ll explore the different types of 3D cameras used in automation and robotics, including 3D stereo, 3D pointcloud, and laser triangulation technologies. We’ll also introduce you to the Scorpion 3D Stinger and Mech-Mind cameras, which are leading the way in this rapidly evolving field. Continue reading
Go by the (millions) of book(s)
There is no denying that we are a society of book lovers, and after several fleeting affairs with ebooks, audiobooks and Kindles, our love of printed books has never wavered. That’s not to say that the new wave of technology didn’t change our reading habits at all, though. For many, E-readers are practical, they take up far less space than the ever-growing collections on our bookshelves, and they forged new paths in the way of accessibility with their adjustable font sizing and unique light technology. Despite all of this, printed books are still the more popular option among our nation of bookworms. According to research from Statista, the estimated share of the UK population that purchased an e-book in 2021 was a mere 20.3%, less than half of the 48.5% who purchased a printed book. Our devoted connection to paper … Continue reading
Apprentice Spotlight: Alex Charles
Ever wondered what being a vision systems engineer entails? Or whether theapprentice pathway is a good route to a career in engineering? In this two-minute interview, Alex Charles, machine vision engineer at vision-drivenautomation provider Scorpion Vision, reveals all about his apprenticeshipexperience. Q: What made you apply for an apprenticeship?A: After sixth form, I knew I wanted to go into a computer science related career,but I wasn’t convinced university was the right route for me. I think that if you areacademic at school, you are often pushed down the university route, but graduatesbuild up a lot of debt and it is not necessarily the best way to gain experience.Scorpion sent a letter to the sixth form college I was at, inviting students to applyfor a machine vision engineering apprenticeship. I applied and was invited in for aninterview. Q: What qualifications did … Continue reading
Scorpion Vision Sponsors The Bristol Robotics Laboratory
In March 2022, Scorpion Vision engineers installed some ‘Machine Vision Cells’ in the newly built engineering building, Z Block at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Scorpion Vision is very pleased to be sponsoring the Lab with dedicated machine vision equipment designed to allow students to experiment with specialist industrial cameras and LED light sources. Our contribution to the engineering department of UWE went alongside an un-built Cruden driving simulator, a flight simulator and the “Igloo Cave” which is a room with augmented reality and an extremely powerful computer to run it all. Our equipment included 3 cells each which demonstrated a different facet of machine vision, which were the importance of lighting, polarisation and a technique known as photometric stereo. The Lighting cell included various different types of lighting supplied by MBJ Imaging, including back-lighting, coaxial, and dome lighting … Continue reading
