Zebra Technologies' New Fixed Scanning Solution Officially Debuts in China

March 25. 2022 - Zebra Technologies, a solutions provider dedicated to helping businesses gain a performance advantage on the front line, has officially launched a new portfolio of Fixed Industrial Scanners (FIS) and upcoming Machine Vision (MV) solutions designed to empower businesses to achieve track-and-trace capabilities and quality inspection in manufacturing processes.

Zebra Technologies has been innovating and pioneering since its inception 53 years ago,’ said Shao-Yi Xie, General Manager of Zebra Technologies Greater China. The new solutions launched in the Chinese market are a continuation of Zebra's tradition of excellence in the data collection and industrial automation markets. The Fixed Industrial Scanner (FIS) is now available and the Machine Vision (MV) solution will be available in China later this year. These solutions will provide an easy and fast to use experience and superior reliability to dramatically improve visibility, while also providing the ability to quickly transform image capture into actionable business information.’

Zebra Technologies' suite of fixed industrial scanners (FIS) and machine vision (MV) smart cameras can unlock their full performance potential with Zebra Aurora. As a unified software platform, Zebra Aurora enables easy setup, deployment and operation to meet organisations' needs for simplicity, speed, productivity and efficiency. One platform, two technologies, and the ability to switch between them as either a scanner or a smart camera.

Zebra Aurora software provides customers with the ability to continuously upgrade,’ said Ning Cheng, technical director of Zebra Technologies Greater China. The software platform enables customers to add new functionality to existing Fixed Industrial Scanners (FIS) at any time through a simple software licence, without the need to purchase new equipment. This approach reduces training and deployment time, and further reduces costs and improves time efficiency.’

Utilising ultra-rugged hardware, Zebra Technologies' Fixed Industrial Scanners (FIS) and Machine Vision (MV) smart cameras can inspect production lines and product transport processes and help improve quality levels in manufacturing, warehousing and logistics environments.Zebra Aurora is designed to drive efficiency and productivity gains through advanced industrial automation processes. With this software platform, organisations can reduce complexity and costs. In addition, the technology enables organisations to accelerate deployment of the solution and add functionality in the future as their needs evolve.

Fixed Industrial Scanner (FIS) models improve overall supply chain track and traceability and provide superior decoding of every part and package in the production, storage and fulfilment process. Zebra Technologies' FIS solutions read 1D/2D barcodes, Direct Part Marking (DPM) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) text to help increase productivity and automate the movement of goods, driving efficiencies in the warehousing, shipping and returns processes. Zebra Technologies' Machine Vision (MV) smart cameras are ideal for automating quality inspection in a variety of discrete manufacturing processes, reducing defects and verifying assembly and tracking information to improve productivity and quality levels.

Zebra Technologies' award-winning PartnerConnect programme also features a new category exclusively for experienced industrial automation business partners and system integrators. These selected partners all have deep expertise in fixed industrial scanners (FIS), machine vision (MV) and automation, helping to deliver outstanding solutions to organisations.

Since acquiring Adaptive Vision, a preeminent provider of graphical MV software for manufacturing and other industries, Zebra Technologies has entered the fixed industrial scanner (FIS) and machine vision (MV) markets. Its comprehensive suite of tools and algorithms makes it easy for advanced users to create complex MV applications, while also enabling customers new to MV to create fully functional applications without coding. With the addition of Adaptive Vision's MV software, deep learning expertise and a team of MV engineers, manufacturers will gain better visibility into the state and condition of their goods and assets through vision-based sensing and analysis capabilities.

Zebra Technologies' M&A initiatives and new product development directions are a clear indication of its big step towards AI transformation. With the current epidemic, customers are demanding higher levels of compliance as the business environment changes, duplicate labour employment declines, and labour costs rise. Whether in terms of compliance or the practicalities of manpower plus equipment, there is a need to respond through intelligent automation. The application of machine vision is also an inevitable trend. Zebra Technologies' new solution launched this time can collect data in different ways, integrating a variety of technologies, including positioning, image processing, wireless identification, etc. Compared with other intelligent cameras, the versatility is more obvious in application environments such as data decoding and remote upgrade. The function of one-button auto-adjustment allows customers to break through more barriers and even control the production line directly.

Therefore, this new solution can have a broad application prospect in various manufacturing fields such as automotive, packaging, electronics, logistics sorting and so on. It is learnt that the new product Zebra Technology has been tested with its partners and the customer feedback is excellent.