Dear Mr. Wilson:
I read your column inVision Systems DesignMay 2011 issue and enjoyed it (again) for two reasons.
The first reason is that we both have knowledge about concepts from SF-series from the past, going from Tardis to the magic “scanner” that Mr. Spock uses on the Enterprise... Our (at least, my) younger colleagues lack this knowledge and resulting fun.
Second, I recognize your statement. I started my company in 1986 and we are a vision systems integrator. Our market is quite local (“Europe” at most) and we visit only limited shows. Stuttgart and a local show in Veldhoven (NL) (Vision and Robotics) are about it.
Being there the vision world looks smaller from the inside indeed, or is it a optical illusion?
I think it is an illusion but indeed many companies are quite closed in communication to the outside. Business would benefit from generating still more awareness of vision applications that are actually feasible.
Regards,
Leon Bemelmans
Beltech B.V.
Lodewijkstraat 11
5652 AC Eindhoven