Robotics and machine vision for the future-an industrial view

Recent trends in industrial technology are to make things small, synergetic, intelligent, and environmentally friendly. Mechatronics is one research area on these trends, and its perspective is first introduced. The status of research in robotics and machine-vision technologies is then described as a typical example of mechatronics research. Expectations for the future of these technologies are also mentioned from the viewpoint of industry, emphasizing the importance of considering the reliability in robotics and of studying real-time color video processing in machine vision. These fields are becoming increasingly important for establishing a productive, efficient, secure, and stress-free society through factory, office, and social automation