Fujitsu today announced the successful development of an AI technology for image inspection that enables highly precise detection of a wide variety of external abnormalities on manufactured goods, including scratches and production errors. The technology leverages an AI model trained on images of products with simulated abnormalities, without having to prepare training data that uses actual images of defective products pulled from the inspection process of a production line.
Fujitsu AI technology for Image Inspection is capable of correctly detecting abnormalities like frayed threads and defective wiring patterns in products that vary individually, even if they appear normal, such as carpets with different wool or color, or printed circuit boards with different wiring shapes depending on the part. The developed technology successfully achieved world leading accuracy in a benchmark using public data collected from external images of various manufactured goods.
Fujitsu verified the effectiveness of this technology during the inspection process at the Nagano Plant of Fujitsu Interconnect Technologies Limited, a factory that manufactures electronic equipment, and confirmed its effectiveness in reducing man-hours required for inspecting printed circuit boards by 25%. The technology ultimately offers the potential to help reduce the workload of workers at manufacturing plants and improve productivity, while helping to introduce new working styles for frontline staff.
