Cognex Talks AI on the Factory Floor: Part 2

Ultra-Long-Range 4D LiDAR for Next-Gen Security

This episode explores SiLC Technologies' Ionic Vista, an ultra-long-range 4D LiDAR vision system built on silicon photonics that provides wide-area coverage beyond a kilometer with per-pixel distance, velocity, and polarization measurements. Host Jim Tatum speaks with Arlon Martin about the system's features, including dynamic region-of-interest scaling, object detection and identification capabilities, integration with radar and cameras, performance in fog and dust, and how the system supports high-end security and layered sensing solutions.

Embedded AI & Smart Cameras: The Next Decade of Machine Vision

Sharon Spielman interviews Johannes Zurin of Allied Vision about the future of machine vision, covering the rise of embedded AI and smart cameras, new sensor technologies like SWIR, and growth areas such as semiconductors and defense. The episode also discusses shifting supply chains, pricing pressure, faster development cycles, changing B2B buying behaviors, and the importance of partnerships and industry standards in accelerating adoption.

Vision Language Models in Manufacturing: Part 2

Here is the second installment of a two-part podcast on Vision Language Models. In this episode, host Jim Tatum speaks with Dijam Panigrahi, co-founder and COO of GridRaster, about VLMs and their expanding role in machine vision and robotics. The conversation covers real-world deployments in manufacturing and depot environments, how VLMs integrate with quality standards and digital twins to create living systems with traceability and audit logs, and offers practical guidance for plant managers on selecting use cases and measuring ROI. The episode also addresses misconceptions about job loss, emphasizes the human-in-the-loop approach, and highlights how VLMs can improve inspection safety, consistency, and worker productivity.

Vision-Language Models in Manufacturing

In this episode Jim Tatum interviews Dijam Panigrahi of GridRaster about Vision-Language Models (VLMs), a next-generation AI that blends visual data and natural language to enable reasoning, interpretation, and real-time decision-making in industrial settings. VLMs are shown to improve robotics and inspection by giving machines context-aware vision, active task guidance, and expert knowledge to augment human workers and automate complex tasks. The discussion also covers practical challenges, including domain-specific training, compute requirements, edge deployment, and the use of synthetic data to scale VLMs for real-world factory floors.

Visions Podcast: Inside Automate 2026 with Alex Shikany

In this episode, A3 Executive VP Alex Shikany joins Vision Systems Design's head of content Sharon Spielman to preview Automate 2026 in Chicago (June 22–25). They discuss the new Humanoid Robot Forum, the convergence of vision, AI, and robotics, and how standards, interoperability, and practical demos will shape real-world deployments. The conversation highlights key sessions and free expo events—certified vision tracks, innovation stages, demos in the NVIDIA-sponsored pavilion, daily keynotes, and networking opportunities—offering engineers and managers a one-stop view of the latest machine vision and automation trends.