NEW DELHI/MUMBAI - Cognex(r) Corporation, the world’s leading supplier of machine vision systems, vision sensors and industrial ID readers, today conducted a seminar on ‘Automation in Solar Industry’ for Indian solar manufactures at Hyderabad.

Cognex showcased a wide array of vision products applicable to the solar industry, particularly in ensuring the fabrication of high-quality solar cells at a low cost with minimal wastage.

The seminar was well attended by eminent speakers, solar manufactures and delegates from the industry. Discussions revolved around how the solar industry growth in India can be enhanced with the help of automation, robotics and vision systems.

Growth in the solar cell industry is reported to be on the upsurge - the worldwide solar market was worth about 10.6 billion dollars in 2006 and expected to grow a projected 40 per cent year-on-year to reach 31.5 billion dollars by 2011. Machine vision spending in the solar industry is similarly thriving - it is predicted that the spend will increase several fold from the reported 15 million dollars in 2006 to about 100 million dollars by 2012, a clear testament to the industry’s critical need for machine vision.

Highlighting the importance of vision systems in the solar industry, Ettore Cucchetti, Cognex’s Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Support - Asia said, “In these difficult times, there is heightened demand for a low-cost energy source, with many organizations and individuals turning to solar energy to save costs. This heightened demand in the economic downturn has led to many solar manufactures looking to optimize their production processes by eliminating production errors and detecting defects early so as to decrease wastage and increase the yield of high-quality solar products in a shorter time span. This is where Cognex comes in with our machine vision technology which enables automated inspection of 100 per cent of the products, which means every part of every single product is inspected for quality as opposed to just a sample.”

Cucchetti added, “In India, we are honored to be working with Involute to bring to local solar manufactures a comprehensive range of leading-edge automated machine vision systems to help them tap into the market growth. As part of Cognex’s on-going commitment to the India market, we aim to create more platforms like today’s seminar to connect directly with the local producers and enable sharing of industry expertise to grow the industry together.” (ANI)