Zebra Technologies Corporation announced it has entered the fixed industrial scanning (FIS) and machine vision (MV) markets with a new portfolio of solutions that enable track and trace capabilities and quality inspection of manufacturing work in process. Zebra’s suite of machine vision smart cameras and fixed industrial scanners is unlocked by Zebra Aurora, a unified software platform that can easily set up, deploy and run both cameras and scanners, meeting businesses’ need for simplicity, speed, productivity and efficiency. Leveraging the same ultra-rugged stationary hardware, Zebra’s fixed industrial scanners and MV smart cameras can inspect production lines and product movement processes, helping improve quality in manufacturing, warehouse and logistics environments. Businesses can reduce complexity and costs by using Zebra Aurora which is designed to drive efficiency and productivity through advanced industrial automation processes. This technology also enables customers to accelerate their solution deployments and add functionality in the future as their needs evolve. As part of its move into the FIS and MV markets, Zebra has acquired Adaptive Vision, a leading provider of graphical MV software for manufacturing and other industries. Adaptive Vision’s comprehensive set of tools and algorithms help power-users easily create complex MV applications while assisting customers who are relatively new to MV produce full-featured applications without coding. The addition of Adaptive Vision’s MV software, deep learning expertise and team of machine vision engineers will provide manufacturers greater visibility into the status and condition of their goods and assets through visual-based sensing and analytics capabilities.
These new industrial automation solutions expand on Zebra’s Cortexica acquisition and Zebra’s portfolio of vertically oriented intelligent edge solutions including SmartPack and SmartSight that utilize computer vision hardware and software to improve workflows at the operational edge of business.
Zebra’s flexible new portfolio includes seven fixed data capture products featuring a unique set of FIS and/or MV capabilities. Businesses can choose the products that meet their needs and upgrade at any time to add support for new barcode symbologies, increased scanning speeds, or advanced machine vision tools via the simple purchase of a software license. The fixed industrial scanners improve track and trace capabilities throughout the supply chain with flawless decoding of every part and package moving through production, storage and fulfillment. Capable of reading 1D/2D barcodes, direct part marks (DPM) and optical character recognition (OCR) text, Zebra’s fixed industrial scanners help improve productivity and automate the movement of goods, enhancing the efficiency of warehouse, shipping and returns processes. Zebra’s MV smart cameras are ideal for automating quality inspections in a variety of discrete manufacturing processes, reducing defects as well as validating assembly and tracking information to improve productivity and quality.
Zebra Technologies Corporation specialises in the design, manufacture and marketing of automatic identification and data capture technology systems. The products are mainly intended for the distribution, e-commerce, transportation, logistics and healthcare sectors. Net sales break down by category of products as follows:
- visibility and mobility systems (70%): mobile terminals (ruggedized computers, tablets, mobile radio transceivers, RFID readers, point-of-sale systems, interactive kiosks, etc.);
- product information and traceability systems (30%): barcode printers and scanners, card printers, RFID label printers and encoders, printing consumables (thermal transfer labels, receipt paper, ribbons, plastic cards, RFID tags, etc.) and location solutions.
Net sales by source of income are divided between sales of products (85%) and sales of services and software (15%).
At the end of 2022, the group operates 117 production sites worldwide.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (31.8%), North America (18.7%), Germany (16.4%), Europe/Middle East/Africa (16.8%), Asia/Pacific (10.5%) and Latin America (5.8%).