Swiss giant ABB, known for its industrial robots, has introduced an update for the OmniCore controller with the funny name EyeMotion. The system allegedly allows robots to adapt to changing conditions in real time using "advanced computer vision." If you translate it into human language, robots can now notice that the part is not where it should be, and not throw a tantrum because of it.

The technology is being touted as revolutionary: cameras and machine learning algorithms allow the robot to recognize objects, assess their position, and make adjustments to their trajectory. Although, to be honest, any child can handle such tasks intuitively, but a child cannot lift 800 kg or work 24/7 without lunch breaks.

ABB engineers are particularly excited about the fact that the system works in real time. The robot can "see" changes in the environment and react to them in milliseconds. This is presented as an incredible achievement, even though most animals have been doing this on autopilot for millions of years — and no one writes press releases about it.

Curiously, EyeMotion is particularly effective for sorting and packaging tasks — that is, exactly where traditional robots most often fail. Apparently, the manufacturer has finally realized that in the real world, the parts are not always perfectly aligned, and the boxes can be of different sizes. Progress is evident!

Critics may wonder: wouldn't it have been easier to create more precise pipelines than to train robots to cope with chaos? But, apparently, Swiss engineers believe that it is better to teach machines to put up with the imperfection of the world than to try to eliminate this imperfection.

The cost of the upgrade is modestly kept silent, but considering that the OmniCore controllers themselves cost like a good car, it can be assumed that you will have to pay extra for the "vision" separately. Although, perhaps, this is a small thing for ABB — their customers are not ready for such expenses in order to increase efficiency by 1-2%.

The funniest aspect of this story is the name EyeMotion. It seems that the robot does not just see, but feels some kind of emotion from observing objects. I wish I could add a feature so that he would breathe a sigh of relief when all the details finally fall into place!

However, there's no denying that the technology is really useful — especially given the growing demand for flexible production lines. One can only hope that robots will not eventually start complaining about the quality of lighting in the workshop or criticize the design of the parts they have to process.