Today, we're excited to share how our partnership with ASRock Industrial enabled us to develop a breakthrough compact AI vision inspection system that delivers enterprise-grade performance in a fraction of the space and cost.
The Challenge: Right-Sizing AI Vision for Simpler Applications Our flagship vision inspection system was originally designed for complex, high-throughput scenarios involving up to eight GigE cameras. While this solution excels in demanding end-of-line inspection applications, it requires significant hardware infrastructure: a dual-slot PCIe NVIDIA GPU, two 4-port PoE PCIe cards, and a total of four PCIe slots. The result is a powerful but bulky system with a substantial physical footprint and high total cost of ownership.
As we listened to our customers, a clear pattern emerged. Many manufacturers needed AI-powered vision inspection for simpler applications—quality checks involving one or two cameras, inline inspection points, or installations in space-constrained environments. For these use cases, our full-scale system was overengineered and impractical.
We faced a critical product development challenge: how could we maintain our AI performance standards and low-latency inference while dramatically reducing system size, power consumption, and cost? The solution needed to fit seamlessly into existing industrial control cabinets without compromising the reliability and accuracy our customers depend on.
Our Solution: Partnering with ASRock Industrial for Compact Excellence After evaluating multiple hardware platforms, we selected ASRock Industrial's iEP-7020E Series Industrial IoT Controller as the foundation for our new compact vision inspection solution. This decision proved transformational for our product roadmap.
The iEP-7020E Series features Intel's 13th Gen Core Industrial Processor with integrated GPU capabilities that perfectly matched our performance requirements. Instead of relying on discrete graphics cards and multiple expansion slots, we could now run our proprietary AI anomaly detection models directly on the integrated GPU—achieving the same low-latency inference performance as our larger systems.
Why the iEP-7020E Series Was the Perfect Fit Integrated AI Performance : The Intel 13th Gen processor's iGPU provided sufficient compute power for our AI models, eliminating the need for discrete graphics cards while maintaining our stringent latency requirements.Built-in Connectivity : With dual PoE port support built directly into the system, we no longer needed separate PCIe PoE expansion cards, dramatically simplifying our system architecture.Industrial-Grade Design : The DIN-rail mountable form factor and 24V external power input made integration into existing factory control cabinets seamless, while fanless operation ensured reliable performance in demanding industrial environments.Compact Footprint : The dramatically smaller size opened up new deployment possibilities in space-constrained manufacturing environments where our original system simply wouldn't fit.The Results: Transforming Industrial Vision Inspection The collaboration with ASRock Industrial delivered results that exceeded our expectations across every key metric:
75% Footprint Reduction : Our new compact system occupies less than a quarter of the space of our original solution, making it ideal for tight enclosures and retrofit installations where space is at a premium.Significant Cost Reduction : By eliminating the need for discrete GPUs and multiple expansion cards, we dramatically reduced both our bill of materials and the total system cost for customers, making AI-powered vision inspection accessible to a broader range of manufacturers.Enhanced Energy Efficiency : The integrated GPU approach consumes significantly less power than our discrete GPU solution, reducing both operating costs and thermal management requirements in industrial enclosures.Faster Deployment : The simplified architecture and pre-configured settings enable customers to deploy vision inspection systems faster than ever before, reducing installation time and getting production lines operational sooner.Improved Reliability : With fewer discrete components and fanless operation, the system has fewer points of failure and operates more quietly, improving overall system reliability and reducing maintenance requirements.Looking Forward: Expanding AI Vision Accessibility This collaboration represents more than just a product development success—it demonstrates our commitment to making AI-powered vision inspection accessible across the manufacturing spectrum. By partnering with ASRock Industrial, we've been able to extend our technology's reach into applications and environments that were previously cost-prohibitive or physically impractical.
The iEP-7020E-based solution now serves as our go-to recommendation for customers with simpler inspection requirements, complementing our higher-end systems for complex multi-camera applications. This tiered approach ensures we can provide the right solution for each customer's specific needs and constraints.
Technical Specifications at a Glance AI Processing : Intel 13th Gen Core Industrial Processor with integrated GPUCamera Support : Up to 2 GigE cameras via built-in dual PoE portsForm Factor : DIN-rail mountable, compact industrial designPower : 24V external input for simplified cabinet integrationOperation : Fanless design for reliable, quiet operationInference Performance : Low-latency AI anomaly detection matching discrete GPU systemsReady to Transform Your Vision Inspection? If you're looking to implement AI-powered vision inspection in space-constrained environments or need a cost-effective solution for simpler applications, our ASRock Industrial iEP-7020E-based system might be the perfect fit.
Schedule your 20-minute discovery call to explore how Elementary can tackle your inspection challenges.
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