Difficulties with visual inspection equipment

The need for automatic visual inspection is very high, and various manufacturers are selling visual inspection equipment.
However, we do not hear that they are doing very well in terms of business. Why is this?

One reason is that visual inspection is all about subjectivity, and trying to automate it and sell it as a standard device is in itself a major impossibility.
Even if exactly the same equipment is made, different customers have different requirements. In fact, the quality control department and the manufacturing department at the customer's site also have different requirements. The former considers safety, while the latter emphasizes production efficiency. The evaluation of a product can really change depending on one's way of thinking.
To make matters worse, the introduction of a product is decided without sufficient verification of the actual product, and the compatibility with the actual product is not known until it is introduced on the site. It is a common occurrence that "this is not how it's supposed to be. Delays in acceptance inspection are commonplace. It is even possible that the inspection might not be completed. There are even stories of people being "banned from the site.
From a business standpoint, it is better to stay out of it...

If there is only one way to do this, the equipment manufacturer should create an environment that allows sufficient evaluation of the actual equipment before signing a contract. The user should verify all aspects of operation, detection capability, and compatibility with the company's products.

It is too dangerous to create a "must sell" situation as a business.
It doesn't matter if the product sells or not. We will do our best and calmly let the user make the decision.
Without such a stance, I think it will be difficult to produce visual inspection equipment.

I think the hardest part is for the "production engineering staff who are given a theme.
I have seen many things, and there are things that are suitable for automatic visual inspection and things that are not. There are many things that cannot be done even if you try your best. It is difficult to find a theme that comes first.