Difficult-to-image black-on-black characters can be easily recognized as a result of laser-based imaging.
Recently, a German manufacturer of tire-mounting systems asked the Comovia Group, a 50-person project-management company that focuses on developing industrial-automation systems, to develop a system to automatically capture and analyze alphanumeric information, such as name of the manufacturer, type of tire, and US Department of Transportation date codes, engraved on a tire by multiple mold inserts during manufacture. "In the manufacturing process," says Tobias Berlin, managing director of Comovia, "molding systems create distinct markings on a designated position of the tire sidewall so that tire makers and their customers can trace the individual product years after the date of manufacture." As well as providing information about the manufacturer, tire size, and type, the code also shows the date of manufacture.
