✨ End to Defects on Reflective Surfaces with AI-Powered Control System! ✨

[Ahmet Ö.]

🔍 Flawless Inspection on Challenging Surfaces​

In machine vision applications, metallic and highly reflective surfaces are among the most difficult objects to inspect. Reflections obscure details, defects are often only noticeable from certain angles, and the quality of manual visual inspections can vary throughout the day. The Austrian company Danube Dynamics, in collaboration with mechatronic access solutions manufacturer EVVA, demonstrates how these challenges can be overcome with an AI-powered testing system.

🚀 Solution: Enclosed Test Box and AI Integration​

To reliably solve these challenging inspection tasks, an AI-powered inspection system was developed in cooperation with Danube Dynamics. The system captures components neatly arranged in a Eurobox in a single step, automatically evaluates surface defects, and integrates quality control into the production process in a repeatable manner. Up to 126 components are arranged in the box and tested in one pass. To create stable conditions despite reflections, an enclosed test box with customized lighting is used. Four individually controllable RGBW bars allow for different colors and lighting angles to make various defect patterns visible. The coordinated interaction of lighting, image quality, and AI evaluation is critical.

📸 High-Resolution Camera Technology​

The system performs image acquisition with a monochrome industrial camera of type IDS uEye U3-36P0XCP-M-GL Rev. 1.2. Based on onsemi's 19.80 MP AR2020 sensor, this camera offers 5K UHD resolution with 5136 × 3856 pixels and is suitable for inspecting the finest surface details. The 1/1.8-inch rolling shutter sensor supports detailed imaging of even the smallest defects. The system is complemented by an IDS lens with an 8.5 mm focal length (Type 20M11-C08528).

⏱️ Measurable Benefits and Increased Efficiency​

• Speed: Manual visual inspection time, which was over 30 seconds per Eurobox, has been reduced to under 5 seconds.
  
• Accuracy: AI detected deviations that even experienced professionals found difficult to notice.
  
• Digitalization: The testing process is fully digitized, with results systematically documented and statistically evaluated.
  
• Flexibility: EVVA can integrate new product variants and error models into the system independently, increasing the future sustainability of the solution.
  

💡 Future Outlook​

As demands for automated quality control increase, so does the awareness of what is possible with coordinated image acquisition and AI-based evaluation. This project demonstrates the potential in inspecting challenging surfaces and reveals how even optically demanding, safety-critical components can be reliably inspected using lighting, high-resolution camera technology, and AI.