How small can pixels on an image sensor become? We probably don’t know the answer except that they might become very, very small.

A wide range of single-purpose point sensors such as proximity sensors, lasers and photocells have long played a key role in virtually all factory automation systems by detecting the presence of parts or assemblies, performing measurements, and identifying colors.

Like all computer technology, the speed, power and affordability of image analysis software for automated vision systems has improved exponentially since its advent in the 1970s, when the first algorithms simply counted pixels.