VISION SHOW 2026 Highlights: Two Live Demos, One VGR Platform

The show was the Photoneo debut of Aurora VGR Studio, the unification of Bin Picking Studio and Locator Studio. It brings stronger AI for object localization and a direct link to Aurora Design Assistant. One modular platform, from depalletizing boxes to precise pick and place of metal parts.

No more middleware or software switching. Cover all your automation needs from a single graphical user interface.

Demo 1: Depalletizing, dimensioning and palletizing in one cell

One robot emptied a randomly stacked pallet, measured every box in motion, and rebuilt the load sorted by size. Then it reversed the process and started again. No operator, no barcodes, no fixtures, no CAD models of the boxes.

These are normally three operations on three machines. Here they shared one cell.

How it works

1. Scan. A MotionCam-3D Color above the pallet captured the whole stack in one shot. No layout pre-learning.
2. Pick. AI Picking in Aurora VGR Studio found each box, chose a grasp point and planned a collision-free path.
3. Handle. A UR20 cobot lifted the box with a Gimatic multi-zone vacuum gripper. One tool covered every box size.
4. Measure. The box passed under a MotionCam-3D Color on a moving conveyor. Aurora Design Assistant returned length, width, height and volume. The belt never slowed.
5. Stack. The measurements drove the placement. The robot built a dense, size-sorted pallet.
6. Reverse. A second MotionCam-3D Color scanned the finished pallet. The robot took it apart, rebuilt a mixed load, and the loop repeated.

What we showcased:

• Dimensioning in motion. The camera captures moving objects at full resolution. Measuring added no cycle time and needed no stop-and-go.
• Data-backed decision making. Dimensions were not just shown on a screen. Data decided where each box went.
• Model-free AI picking. Visitors rearranged the pallet by hand mid-run. The cell simply carried on.
• No extra PC. The complete dimensioning application ran on a single Vision Controller, which also powered the camera.

What it means for you

• Unknown loads without downtime. Mixed sizes, shifted layers and new supplier packaging need no SKU re-teaching.
• Higher throughput. Material keeps flowing through the measurement step.
• Smaller footprint. Three stations fit into one, which matters most in brownfield sites.
• Faster deployment. Pre-trained AI and one vendor for cameras and software cut engineering hours. Connectors cover UR, Fanuc, KUKA, ABB and Yaskawa.

The cell fits parcel and e-commerce fulfillment, third-party logistics, mixed-case palletizing and inbound depalletizing.

Demo 2: Tote picking and pick-to-weld

A Fanuc CRX-25iA and ABB GoFa cobots shared one cell to split the jobs of placing parts into a welding fixture and tote handling.

How it works

1. Deliver totes. A Fanuc CRX-25iA took KLT totes off a pallet and set them in front of an ABB GoFa. Photoneo’s AI module for totes located them.
2. Pick parts. Aurora VGR Studio matched parts in the tote to their CAD models and planned a collision-free path. Different part types were recognized in the same scan.
3. Place with precision. The ABB GoFa picked each part with a Magswitch magnetic gripper and set it into the fixture in the required orientation.
4. Transfer. The robot lifted the part off the fixture and placed it into a second tote.
5. Swap. When the source tote was empty, the Fanuc exchanged the containers with a custom KLT gripper.
6. Keep organizing. While the ABB GoFa picked, the Fanuc kept sorting totes on the pallet, guided by a PhoXi 3D Scanner Gen3 XL.

What we showcased:

• Vision handles the container, not just the part. Totes were located in 3D. No mechanical centering, no extra fixturing.
• Two vision tasks, one software. AI found deformable totes without a model. CAD-based picking found rigid parts with one. The cell was configured once, not integrated twice.
• Placement, not just picking. Picking from a bin is the known half of the problem. Placing into a tight-tolerance fixture is what production needs, and the cell showed it.
• Robots that overlap. Tote logistics ran in parallel with picking. The cycle did not break at the end of each container.

What it means for you

• Continuous production. No waiting for a bin change and no manual tote staging. Welding and assembly lines keep running.
• Tolerance for worn containers. Distorted or shifted KLTs are still found and gripped. Fewer jams and faults.
• Fast changeovers. A new part needs only its CAD model. No retooling and no robot re-teaching.
• Simpler integration. One scanner family from S to XL, one software platform, and connectors for ABB, Fanuc, KUKA, Yaskawa and Universal Robots.

The cell fits weld-shop part feeding, checking and gauging stations, machine tending, kitting, and KLT handling at Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers.

One platform, two industries

A logistics cell and an automotive cell look like different problems. In Stuttgart, they ran on the same software and the same family of 3D sensors. That means less integration work for system integrators and faster, more flexible automation for end customers.

Missed us at the show, or want to see how this fits your application?