For years, electronics manufacturers have relied on machine vision to process semiconductor wafers, build and inspect printed circuit boards, and assemble consumer electronics modules. Semiconductor lithography and wafer probing would be impossible without precise, visual alignment. Component presence/absence and gauging checks are critical to PCB assembly.
Meanwhile, traceability—tracking products from wafer to final modules—would be impossible without robust OCR and 2D code-reading. Where machine vision has struggled is in the more subjective task of quality inspection, as conventional rules-based tools cope poorly with unpredictable visual features such as scratches or stains.