A machine vision platform pushing 100 Gbit/s over CoaXPress-over-fiber will headline VISION 2026, the trade show running Oct. 6–8 in Stuttgart, Germany. The Teledyne Vision Solutions demonstration, built on the Sony IMX927 sensor, targets advanced semiconductor inspection, where sustained bandwidth and thermal stability decide whether a line-scan or area-scan architecture can keep pace with the wafer.

The show as a whole points to a shift in what buyers specify: integrated hardware, software, and embedded intelligence aimed at precision, throughput, scalability, and security in complex manufacturing environments, rather than standalone cameras selected on sensor alone.

What does the new imaging hardware deliver?

Active Silicon extends its Harrier camera range with 10x and 30x autofocus-zoom models built around Sony's 3MP Pregius S global shutter sensor. Global shutter readout eliminates rolling-shutter distortion on fast-moving subjects — relevant for UAV payloads, remote monitoring, robotics, and transport inspection. Output flexibility is a selling point: the cameras support USB 3, HDMI, and Ethernet IP. (Booth 10F59)

LUCID Vision Labs brings three product lines:

• an 8K line scan camera with 10GigE connectivity;
• near-infrared enhanced models using Sony IMX900 sensors;
• factory-calibrated Helios2 Chroma RGB-D cameras.

Applications cited include automated optical inspection, material sorting, robotic spatial awareness, and logistics automation. Factory calibration of the RGB-D units matters for integrators: it removes a per-line calibration step before deployment. (Booth 10E40)

The Teledyne platform's fiber link deserves a closer look from anyone specifying semiconductor inspection. Copper-limited CoaXPress runs constrain camera-to-frame-grabber distances and introduce cable-loss budgets; fiber removes both constraints at the cost of media conversion at each end, and the 100 Gbit/s figure covers aggregate sensor data rates the IMX927 can sustain. (Booth 8B10, Hall 8)

Where does intelligence move to the edge?

AT Sensors' IRSX-2 packs temperature measurement, evaluation, and communication into a single IP67-rated unit, with no additional hardware or software required. An app-and-job concept lets multiple inspection routines run on the camera itself, covering early fire detection and component quality control. The unit communicates over standard Ethernet and IoT protocols, so it integrates directly with machine controls and visualization platforms. The IP67 rating positions it for washdown and dusty environments where an external analysis PC would need its own enclosure. (Booth 10E55)

Basler AG takes the system-integration route: cameras, lenses, lighting, and software sold as matched sets. Demonstrations include AI-powered OCR and barcode recognition on moving objects, centralized lens and lighting control, and IP67-certified component setups for harsh industrial environments. The ace 2 10GigE and racer 2 S cameras carry the high-speed, high-throughput inspection workflows. (Booth 8D50)

How do legacy cameras join modern networks?

Pleora Technologies' iPORT CL-Deca external frame grabber lets legacy Camera Link cameras operate inside GigE Vision networks over standard 10 Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure. Camera-to-host distances extend up to 100 meters, and distributed imaging architectures scale without camera replacement. For plants with functioning Camera Link optics but aging host interfaces, this is a migration path rather than a rip-and-replace project. (Booth 8B02)

What does software security look like now?

MVTec's MERLIC 26.10 redesigns its communication stack around security and manageability — a signal that connected industrial vision has entered cybersecurity-audit territory. The release implements:

• encrypted connections over WebSockets;
• Unix-domain sockets for local communication;
• remote access limited by default;
• Software Bills of Materials in SPDX format.

The SPDX-formatted SBOMs matter for compliance teams: machine-readable component inventories are becoming a procurement requirement under industrial cybersecurity frameworks, not a nice-to-have. (Booth 8C56)

Who consolidates components, and who pairs optics with AI?

Exaktera consolidates multiple specialized vision brands — LED lighting, lasers, optical measurement systems, and protective enclosures — into a single portfolio, aiming to reduce system design complexity and shorten vision-system development cycles. (Booth 10C50)

Vision & Control pairs custom photonic systems with AI-based defect detection. Demonstrations include deep learning inspection of complex or subtle surface defects, and telecentric illumination designed for measurement consistency and repeatability at high production speeds. Telecentricity matters here: it keeps magnification constant across working distance, which is what makes dimensional measurement repeatable on fast lines. (Booth 10B87)

Vision Systems Design will publish a special print edition of its Fall 2026 issue at the show, available free at Booth 10C02.

The open question for attendees: with bandwidth at 100 Gbit/s, edge intelligence at IP67, and SBOMs in SPDX, the specification battle shifts from the sensor to the system — and buyers will need to decide how much of their inspection stack they are willing to buy as one vendor's integrated whole.