COVID-19 Impact on 3D Machine Vision in Semiconductors and Electronics Industry

ANALYSIS ON IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE MARKET
Coronavirus or more popularly known as COVID-19 which originated from Wuhan province in China has wreaked havoc and destruction and brought the world to a standstill. Major companies around the world have been forced to close down their offices to cut their expenses and smaller businesses have filed for bankruptcy. People have also been fired or are working with reduced salary. Central banks of various economies are introducing drastic measures to keep the country afloat however it is putting a massive strain on them. The major pharmaceuticals companies are on a race to develop the vaccine and are conducting rapid trails to get fastrack approvals for commercial usage. Among all this, many manufacturing facilities remained closed as a necessary step to prevent the spread of virus. However, manufacturing facilities of essential goods such as pharmaceutical, food & beverages, power generation and petrochemicals remained opened during the pandemic to supply essential goods to meet the demand of the market.
3D machine vision is used in various industries to perform specific task faster, smarter and more accurate. 3D machine vision systems typically comprised of multiple cameras for inspecting or detecting objects and specific distance from that object. The 3D machine vision tools are used in bin-picking, manufacturing, inspection and logistics industries. During the initial pandemic period, most of the above mentioned industries were halted abruptly which has impacted the sales of 3D vision machine. The demand for 3D machine vision has initially declined due to lockdown across countries. The companies were facing severe decline in cash flows and were deferring new planned projects related to the implementation and installation of 3D machine vision at their manufacturing facilities. However, when the lockdown and restrictions were uplifted after few months, the companies are now adopting on automation systems such as 3D machine vision for reducing their production costs. Overall, 3D machine vision market has witnessed negative impact during pandemic situation and after removal of lockdown restrictions, the business will see normal growth in coming years.

STRATEGIC DECISIONS FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER COVID-19 TO GAIN COMPETITIVE MARKET SHARE
The demand for 3D machine vision are expected to picking up as many industries are now focusing towards installing and implementing 3D machine vision systems in their facilities or establishments for reducing the production costs and manpower costs. The member of automation association in U.S., Jeff Burnstein, president of AIA has said that they are expecting to see an increased adoption of automation technologies in many industries post COVID-19, however he has also added that the vision industry is suffering the impact of the crisis. The companies are constantly working to develop the robust and reliable 3D machine vision systems to overcome the challenge of manufacturing industry of lowering the production costs during pandemic. The companies have taken various strategic steps to keep their business running by making some internal changes.
For instance,
• Baumer is shipping their products from the U.S. facility and is proactively increasing their inventory levels in the U.S. to evade against the future unpredictable events. ISRA Vision Company is demonstrating their products through web sessions and thereby ensuring continuity in doing their business.

AFTERMATH OF COVID-19 AND GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO BOOST THE MARKET
COVID-19 overall has negatively impacted the 3D machine vision market. During the pandemic, many manufacturing industry players are focusing on automating their facilities to reduce the overall production costs. The 3D machine vision sensors were also used in hospitals for various applications such as fall detection and patient monitoring to alert doctors or hospital staffs when a patient requires assistance. More and more industries are using automation technologies to fight the battle against COVID-19. The companies are leveraging robotics and 3D machine vision technology as a significant solution for safeguarding people and control & prevent the spread of the virus and to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. These cutting-edge technologies are helping pharmaceutical and medical device industry and many other industries in their manufacturing processes, inspecting, identifying and providing assistance in treating COVID-19 patients.
For instance,
• The U.S. based company Orrbec has collaborated with a robot manufacturing company of China where they have deployed 3D vision camera products in robots for various hospital applications.

IMPACT ON DEMAND
The ongoing pandemic has disrupted in the economies and due to this, many companies have stopped or decreased their production which has directly impacted on the demand of the 3D machine vision market. Hence, initially the demand for the 3D machine has been declined as many companies had experienced loss of orders or order cancellations.

IMPACT ON SUPPLY CHAIN
Many companies had faced the disruption in supply chain due to travel restrictions and lockdown across the world. The number of companies has stopped their production which has collaterally damaged the supply chain of the 3D machine vision market.

CONCLUSION
COVID-19 has had a total negative impact on the market as the demand for 3D machine vision is declined by the manufacturing industries due to halt in their operations. Initially, the demand was muted but slowly the market is expected to pick up due to which the manufacturing plants are restarting to cater to the growing demand. Governments of emerging nations are introducing strategies to attract major manufacturing companies for adopting automation technologies for their production facilities and other establishments. Major companies are also acquiring or are being acquired by other companies and also partnering with other companies in order to accelerate innovation. R&D is being carried out where technology is improving rapidly and the use of 3D machine vision are widening while being efficient at the same time.