Vision Systems: Scan & Measure Boxes Moving at High Speed on a Conveyor Belt

For more on machine vision, be sure to check out Dr. Mehdi Asghari's podcast with Electronic Design.

When Dr. Mehdi Asghari walks the show floor at Automate 2025, it is through the lens of a serial entrepreneur who has a special knack for vision solutions.

The company he co-founded, SiLC Technologies, is his third silicon photonics startup focusing on advanced imaging solutions, so it’s safe to assume the company’s objective would be to accentuate an ongoing mission to enable advanced AI-based machine vision.

“What we’re seeing in mobility related to machine vision that is human-like and predictive is following suit in industrial automation, warehouse operations, robotics and manufacturing,” said Asghari.

SiLC Technologies showcased its latest offering, Eyeonic Trace, an all-in-one inspection and measurement tool for objects moving on conveyor belts, bucket elevators and assembly lines or being scanned by a robotic arm.

Machine Design previously reported on SiLC’s Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) LiDAR in 2022, when the company shared application examples of how it was working on next-gen autonomous vehicles, security solutions and industrial robots.

Until now, SiLC has fed solutions into components for strategic customers. With the rollout of its turnkey Eyeonic Trace offering, the company is expanding its business model.

Asghari and his team can draw from deep expertise in silicon photonics. For his part, Asghari is counted among early pioneers of the silicon photonics industry (he holds more than 50 patents within the fields of silicon photonics and optoelectronics) and he brings expansive knowledge from the III/V industry. His credentials include an electrical engineering degree from Cambridge University, a Master’s degree in optoelectronics from Heriot-Watt University and a Ph.D in III/V integrated photonics from the University of Bath, all in the UK.

Dr. Mehdi Asghari, CEO of SiLC Technologies

Solving a Warehouse Automation Problem

Machine Design: What problem does the Eyeonic Trace Class 1 Scanner solve?

Mehdi Asghari: The warehouse automation market is growing at a staggering pace, driven by the demand for faster order fulfillment, rising labor costs, increasing customer expectations for speed and accuracy, and the need to boost operational efficiency.

In large warehouses and distribution centers, conveyor belts are used to transport and sort packages for palletization and shipping. Traditionally, many of these tasks involved human workers, often in hazardous environments. But high-resolution scanners like the Eyeonic Trace are transforming these processes by automating inspection and measurement tasks with precision and safety.

Take for example the mining industry, one of the most dangerous sectors in the world. The Eyeonic Trace offers a long-range working distance of up to 10 meters, enabling it to measure material volume on conveyor belts, detect large rocks or foreign objects (like shovels) that could damage equipment, and monitor wear-and-tear on belts in real time.

In mining, unplanned shutdowns can cost millions. By enabling constant, automated inspection, the Eyeonic Trace minimizes these risks—making it a powerful asset not just for mining, but for a range of industrial and warehouse automation applications.

Trace’s velocity detection accurately measures packages moving at speeds up to 4 m/sec (9 mph) —over twice as fast as many current scanners—and has an eye-safe Class 1 laser unlike most line scanners, with Class II or IIa, which can cause injury with prolonged exposure.

The Eyeonic Trace from SiLC Technologies is a Class 1 Laser Line Scanner capable of dimensioning objects with extreme accuracy, even from distances up to 10 meters.

Key Performance Specifications of the Scanner

MD: What are the key performance specifications (including factors such as range, resolution, frame rate, etc.?)

MA: The Eyeonic Trace combines industry-leading precision, range and speed that outperforms all existing scanners. A few of Trace’s unique performance features include:

Exceptional range and precision. While most industrial scanners have a maximum working range of 1.5 meters, the Eyeonic Trace delivers sub-millimeter accuracy at distances up to 10 meters. This long working range allows it to scan large objects, and still capture fine details with precision as tight as 1 mm (1/25th of an inch).
Performs in all lighting conditions. Unlike competing systems that struggle in bright sunlight or total darkness, the Eyeonic Trace maintains full performance in any lighting. Whether scanning under harsh sun or in low light environments, the coherent receiver technology inside the Trace Scanner enables it to only “see” the light that it emits, providing reliable images in any condition.
High sensitivity on challenging materials. Existing sensors fail to work on hard-to-image objects, such as plastic-wrapped water bottles. The high sensitivity from chip integration and coherent detection allows Trace to easily image such objects.
Spatial resolution. The measurement rate of 1 million points per second is fastest in the industry. This enables extremely high spatial resolution.
Material identification via polarization. Trace provides reflected polarization intensity information, which enables a level of material identification.
Eye safety. The wavelength of light is 1,550 nm, which is eye safe (Class 1 laser). Other scanners require warnings, training and are sometimes prohibited in some work areas. Eyeonic Trace can be used safely without training or “keep out” areas.

Addressing Scanner Response Time and Motion Blur for High-Speed Automation

MD: Scanner response time and the ability to handle motion blur are pain points when handling objects on a high-speed conveyor belt or manipulated with robotic arms. How have you addressed this shortcoming with this scanner?

MA: The Trace scans at a rate of 1 million points per second. It measures velocity with every pixel. Trace uses this velocity measurement to accurately dimension packages on a conveyor belt at speeds up to 4m/second. Competing scanners cannot perform this task at such high belt speeds.

For more show coverage, be sure to check out Machine Design’s Automate 2025 content hub.