Industrial camera manufacturer IDS invests in the future

With more than 4,500 square metres of total space, there are a total of 52 offices and six conference rooms of completely different design, as well as an event room with space for up to 200 people. On the top floor, a loft-like open space area with individually designed meeting corners offers plenty of inspiration for creative work. Height-adjustable desks, ergonomic chairs, shower rooms with towel service and a company restaurant supplied by regional producers with meals subsidised by the employer are further benefits for the employees. Also new is the multi-storey car park behind the building, which has 262 parking spaces and charging stations for electric cars.

Platform

A central aspect of the striking new building is also its use as a platform for further education. Although, due to the current situation, hardly any face-to-face events are possible at present, this will of course change in the future. On the one hand, the spacious premises will be used by IDS itself to train employees in product-specific topics. On the other hand, the b39 Academy, a new branch of IDS, is located there. The aim is to jointly promote the development of digital specialist, methodological and technical skills, for example through event cooperation and knowledge transfer on topics such as image processing technology and artificial intelligence. Contacts with early-stage start-ups are also a focus. The innovative new building is intended to be a forum for all those who bring fresh ideas with them. "Technological progress, socio-cultural change and new work can best be shaped with specialist knowledge, methodological competence and soft skills," emphasises academy director Miriam Brenner.

Since 1997, the company has been developing and producing high-quality products for industrial image processing at its Obersulm site. Driven by a pioneering spirit and the will to create something really new, founder and owner Jürgen Hartmann has managed to become one of the largest manufacturers of industrial cameras with IDS. With technological foresight and a keen sense of future developments, IDS once made the USB interface for the camera sector suitable for industrial use.

Artificial Intelligence

A total of three different product lines enable a limitless spectrum of applications in the fields of equipment, plant and mechanical engineering as well as in non-industrial areas such as medical technology, agriculture or logistics. In addition to powerful USB, GigE and 3D cameras, the latest innovation is the visionary product platform IDS NXT with artificial intelligence – a new generation of vision systems for industrial applications. In future, the company, which has around 300 employees, will thus offer not only cameras but also easy-to-use and flexible complete systems for image processing. In addition to artificial intelligence, IDS is currently focusing on the technology trends of machine vision and robotic applications, which are generating growing demand in the 3D segment for camera manufacturers.