Whenever I get close to the end of the year, I find myself looking back toward January to see where we were and where we are now.
Back in January, I attended the A3 Business Forum in Orlando, Florida. Although I had visited Stuttgart, Germany for VISION 2021, the A3 event was the first one that approached a more normal event where there were networking opportunities, and although we were still masked for the most part, we were all able to interact with fewer than six feet between us. Vice President, Membership & Business Intelligence Alex Shikany presented “The Latest Automation Statistics, Trends, & Key Market Drivers” during the Forum, the crux of which was that automation was in a growth phase.
Fast forward to June 2022, and another A3 event took the spotlight: Automate 2022. The show was a success, attracting more than 24,000 registrants and 600 exhibitors to Detroit, Michigan. Talk about a growth phase! No doubt, there was pent up demand for live events for this sector, and although vision is one component of automation, Automate proved that the growth Shikany reported was genuine. We were also able to announce our Innovators Awards honorees live for the first time since the COVID-19 Pandemic started.
In October, VISION 2022 took place in Stuttgart, Germany. It was a much smoother trip to and from Stuttgart vs. 2021. There were no mandatory negative test results to produce within 48 hours of departure from Germany, and there were no mandatory mask requirements this year except on the trains. The show attracted 6,505 visitors and 378 exhibitors—many of which were first time exhibitors and also part of the show’s VISION Startup World. Attendees and exhibitors increased from VISION 2021, and now the show is back on its cycle, with the next event to take place in 2024.
Finally, The Vision Show took place in Boston, Massachusetts. Another A3 event, it featured a robust conference program as well as an exhibition. This show is the largest North American trade show focused specifically on vision/imaging technologies.
Along the way, we also completed our 2022 Solutions in Vision Report. We took a look at a variety of application areas and evaluated how five emerging technologies are being used by those designing vision/imaging systems for these applications. The full report is available for download at bit.ly/3KzYYXm.
So, we’ve looked back, we’ve gotten to the present (as of this writing), so where are we going? At Vision 2022, one statement that stuck with me was, “The only way to be a successful company is to have successful customers." So, where are we going? Given the machine vision market’s recent growth projected growth, data from the Solutions in Vision Report, and the presence of many brand new companies as well as established companies just now getting into the vision/imaging market, I would say we are well on our way toward making our customers successful in 2023—whether those customers be readers, end users, systems integrators, or industry suppliers.
Before I sign off for 2022, I extend my thanks to all those who have supported Vision Systems Design during 2022 and my best wishes to all our readers for a happy and healthy 2023.
