Ofweek Exclusive | Dialogue with Sunny OIT: Enabling Robots to See the World Like Humans

Humans acquire over 80% of their information through their eyes, making vision critically important. Similarly, vision is a vital pathway for robots to obtain information. Therefore, to make robots smarter and more precise, the first step is to advance robotic vision technology.

At the recently concluded World Robot Conference in Beijing, Sunny OIT, a provider of robotic vision system solutions, showcased their latest products and technologies. OFweek Robotics had the opportunity to interview Luke Zhou, Marketing Director of Sunny OIT, for an in-depth discussion on various issues within the robotic vision industry.

According to the introduction, Sunny OIT originated from the Sunny Group, a leading enterprise in optics. With years of deep expertise in robotic vision system solutions, it primarily focuses on two categories of robotic vision products: "recognition" and "positioning." Its portfolio includes visual mapping and navigation solutions utilizing technologies like VSLAM and linear ToF sensing, as well as visual recognition and obstacle avoidance solutions that integrate sensing technologies such as binocular vision, structured light, wide-angle ToF, and RGBD. These solutions serve markets including robotic vacuum cleaners, service robots, and industrial robots. Sunny OIT maintains close collaborations with numerous renowned domestic and international companies.

Resolving Visual Interaction Pain Points is Key to Robot Development

For service robots, the ability to perform effective interaction is paramount, and visual interaction is a crucial component. Luke Zhou, Marketing Director of Sunny OIT, emphasized that interaction with robots must incorporate vision; otherwise, it remains incomplete. "While voice interaction is established, interaction from a visual perspective is still relatively lacking. This is a major pain point for service robots," he stated.

Sunny OIT specializes in robotic vision – systems that endow robots with visual perception capabilities. This involves the integration of camera hardware, software, and algorithms, enabling robots to process visual data from the real world. The goal is to provide robots with "intelligent eyes," facilitating more natural human-robot interaction and human-robot collaboration to better serve human production and daily life.

When asked about Sunny OIT's confidence in robotic vision, Luke Zhou highlighted two key factors:

"Firstly, Sunny OIT is part of the Sunny Group, which has over 37 years of deep expertise in optical technology. This gives Sunny OIT an inherent advantage in optical imaging. Based on a profound understanding of industry application requirements, we hold a commanding 60% market share in the vision module/components business for the robotic vacuum cleaner market."

"Secondly, Sunny OIT leverages strong manufacturing capabilities. We conduct comprehensive core technology and product development, spanning from the most fundamental optical design to software algorithms. This endows Sunny OIT with significant differentiated competitiveness compared to our rivals."

The Challenge of Robotic Vision Lies in Diverse Application Scenarios

The advancement of robotic vision requires solving the problem of adapting to diverse scenarios. Luke Zhou pointed out, "Current robotic vision application scenarios are highly complex. Even in the relatively mature robotic vacuum cleaner market, requirements vary significantly between different brands, making the situation quite challenging."

"Robotic vision currently lacks standardization. While the underlying fundamental technologies are universal, moving just one step further into specific technical applications reveals substantial differences between various scenarios and customers. This limits the expansion of robotic vision applications," he explained.

The human brain possesses immense computational power, enabling it to comprehend most of its surroundings relying primarily on vision. Robots, however, cannot replicate this. Even seemingly simple home environments appear highly complex to robots. Consequently, robots require numerous different sensors to gather as much detailed information as possible about their surroundings to improve decision-making accuracy.

Robotic vision systems consume significant computational resources for tasks like color discrimination, distance positioning, and shape identification. "How to reduce the computational load of robotic vision, enabling 3D vision technology to be applied in more scenarios, is a key R&D focus for Sunny OIT," Luke Zhou noted.

To address the complex scenarios in robotic vision applications, Sunny OIT provides customers with comprehensive robotic vision solutions. "For service robots," Luke Zhou explained, "customers only need to focus on how to best utilize the robot for service delivery. Sunny OIT handles all aspects related to the vision system." He emphasized, "Customers focus on their core competencies; we take care of the rest, so they don't need to worry about it."

Robotic Vision Enables Robots to See the World Like Humans

The potential of robotic vision is undeniable. It acts as the eyes of the robot, essential for tasks such as object or barcode recognition, product inspection, dimensional measurement, and positioning for robotic arms or conveyor systems. Therefore, the advancement of robotic vision technology is indispensable for the greater development of robots.

However, as robotic vision technology in China started relatively late, with only about a decade of development, many potential users remain unfamiliar with it and hesitant to adopt it. This has resulted in less-than-ideal market growth. Sunny OIT is actively working to increase market understanding of robotic vision technology, which is a key reason for their participation in the World Robot Conference.

Luke Zhou stated, "Our approach is not merely to tell customers what robotic vision can potentially bring. Instead, we directly demonstrate what robotic vision can already do today and what specific problems it can solve. We clearly show customers that robotic vision technology is highly worthwhile."

Regarding the future of robotic vision technology, Luke Zhou expressed, "Robots will inevitably evolve towards more human-like capabilities. The application of robotic vision technology will become increasingly widespread. Sunny OIT's mission is to solve the 'eyes' problem for robots – enabling them to see the world like humans."