The vision solutions market is growing. FRAMOS® discovered just how much when they attended the recent All-over-IP tradeshow in Moscow. It connects the IP industry with companies in surveillance and security, the Internet of Things (IoT), embedded vision, biometrics, artificial intelligence, digital cities, and smart factories. FRAMOS Russian sales representative, Daria Scheel, provides an insight about the specific opportunities and challenges in the Russian market for vision.
How do you rate the Russian market for vision technology?
Despite the many sanctions and political tensions, the Russian economy is on a very good trajectory. Russian companies are extremely motivated to develop technical innovations and, above all, their own progressive solutions. Fortunately, the technical education is very good in Russia; there are many experienced and well-trained developers and engineers. In addition, the Russian urban infrastructure is comparatively far ahead in terms of digitisation. These conditions are optimal for the growth of imaging and vision technologies.
However, in Russia we see that the focus is less on pure components and more on the emphasis of solution packages that consist of hardware and open source systems. Usually, companies want to develop a primary hardware technology background first, and consequently their own software stacks. Therefore, project cycles sometimes proceed more slowly; Russia is at the edge of growth – we can see that the importance and intensity of image processing is increasing, significantly.
What strategy do you follow on the Russian market?
FRAMOS has been active in Russia since 1981, but we are only beginning to get a foothold on the market. I approach the market in a completely new way, both as a native speaker and as a FRAMOS sales representative. Inherently, this situation shows the potential and importance that image processing has in Russia from our point of view. My goal is to strengthen existing connections and to establish and expand new customers and partners in Russia. Embedded Vision is a very important and key sales driver, to provide customers with a platform and easy access to sensor technology. Then, we support customers with integration, customised software and firmware, with their own IP; for example, with the Cyrillic notation. Russian customers want to increase their competencies and rely on individual solutions and quality. The access to the market and technology for most companies is crucial, as is time-to-market, and we can help them to be self-sufficient.
What opportunities do you see, and which industries does FRAMOS target?
With Sony sensors and our proprietary sensor module ecosystem, our focus is primarily on camera developers and OEMs in the smart industry and production, life sciences and medical landscape, transportation, and infrastructure sectors. The modules in particular, that provide high-quality recognition systems for security and surveillance in the Smart City and ITS areas are in high demand. In addition, they are found in applications like facial recognition and people counting in public spaces or local traffic, and in traffic light control or parking management. Also, industrial end-customers for digital and smart production are very important. The potential in these areas is immense, whereby the focus is less on classic machine vision and more on digital automation workflows. The first customers of our 3D GigE camera D435e based on Intel® RealSense™ technology, come from the areas of robotics, drones, logistics, and warehouse management; and, smart farming and livestock. A southern German automobile manufacturer is using the new 3D cameras from FRAMOS in a pilot project to increase the level of automation in its production facilities, with precise pick & place robots. Customers in all industries benefit from the fact that we offer technical consulting, software, and custom solutions in addition to classic vision components. For example, we are currently working on a major security project in the Russian financial sector, where our software expertise is crucial. For our Russian customers, we can be a technical vision partner who supports them throughout the entire course of the project from a single source.
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