In 1982, Mike Mertel, the Founder of Microscan Systems, marked a major breakthrough in AIDC technology by integrating a solid-state miniature laser diode into a barcode reader. This device became the first laser diode scanner and greatly reduced the size of common barcode scanners, which up to that point were built using helium-neon lasers encased within 6-inch tubes. “Since then, Microscan’s business quickly took off in embedded applications, especially in clinical instrumentation where integration space for barcode readers is at premium,” begins Scott Summerville, President of Microscan Systems.

Renton, WA-based Microscan Systems is an innovator of machine vision solutions, from ground-up hardware design to software development. “We read the needs of the market in order to invent solutions that improve the ease, speed, and power with which companies can acquire data through images and leverage this data to optimize automated processes,” says Summerville. “We manufacture, sell, and support solutions and custom applications in industries from packaging to electronics assembly and clinical instrumentation.”

With its legacy in miniature barcode readers, Microscan engineers the smallest-available fully-integrated solutions in machine vision, such as the AutoVISION® line of machine vision smart cameras, Vision MINI® and Vision HAWK®, with lens, lighting, processor, and communications on a single miniature device. AutoVISION introduced the concept of Auto ID+—a marriage of Microscan’s barcode and machine vision lineages. Auto ID+ technology leverages image capture and intuitive software to go beyond barcode reading with simplified machine vision tools to perform basic inspections like presence, location, measuring, counting, and more. This concept sparked a shift in the way Microscan has approached data acquisition through imaging.

AutoVISION further provides a simplified user interface for machine vision applications that is portable across Microscan machine vision cameras and scalable up to advanced, programmer-level vision tools available through Microscan’s Visionscape® software.

We manufacture, sell, and support solutions and custom applications in industries from packaging to electronics assembly and clinical instrumentation

AutoVISION’s graphical environment allows users to select and drop machine vision tools onto an image to take advantage of the underlying Visionscape capability without the need for programming.

In a branch of Continental Automotive Group in the Czech Republic, Microscan’s Vision MINI smart camera was selected as a single-solution device for barcode reading and inspection on part labels. By choosing a scalable smart camera platform like the Vision MINI, Continental not only ensured the accuracy of parts supplied to their customer, but also consolidated equipment for cost and integration efficiency in their operations. Instead of purchasing and integrating both a barcode reader and a machine vision camera into their equipment, Continental was able to take advantage of Auto ID+ capability with one simple, scalable camera solution. This enabled both barcode reading and label placement inspection through the AutoVISION machine vision toolset.

A key differentiator of the Microscan portfolio is the single, expansive library of machine vision software tools that provide the underlying capability for all Microscan machine vision cameras. This software enables complete scalability of Microscan platforms from basic barcode reading applications up to complex vision on a single camera, or the portability of software jobs across all Microscan cameras, including Microscan’s new MicroHAWK® platform–now the world’s smallest smart cameras on the market.

In the years ahead, Microscan will continue to develop and acquire products that exemplify the company’s expertise in machine vision, verification, and barcode reading. “At the end of the day, we are in the business of track, trace, and control,” remarks Summerville. “Our products should continue to meet customer-needs for ensuring the transparency and quality of manufacturing with the goal of optimizing products and operations.”