Orbbec's AI Vision Systems at Automate 2026: How Chinese 3D Sensor Makers Are Reshaping Global Industrial Automation

From Service Robots to Industrial Automation: Orbbec's AI Vision Strategy

At the Automate 2026 exhibition held in Chicago, Chinese 3D vision sensor manufacturer Orbbec showcased its latest AI-enhanced vision systems. The booth of this Shenzhen-headquartered company clearly reflects the profound transformation underway in China's vision sensor industry: from an initial focus on the service robot market to a major push into industrial automation, leveraging AI edge computing capabilities to compete for high-end global manufacturing clients.

AI + 3D Vision: Overcoming Industrial Perception Blind Spots

In industrial automation, transparent objects, low-texture surfaces (such as white walls and fences), and highly reflective materials have long been challenges for traditional 3D vision. Orbbec's LingBot-Depth for Gemini 330 series exhibited this time, developed in collaboration with domestic robotics company Robbyant (affiliated with Ant Group), combines high-precision 3D vision hardware with a Vision-Language-Action (VLA) large model. The chip-level training data for this depth filtering comes from Orbbec's Gemini 330 series and enables real-time edge inference on the NVIDIA Jetson Orin platform, performing hole filling, denoising, and edge optimization.

This technological path reveals an industry trend: hardware sensors are deeply integrating with edge AI, evolving from data collection terminals into front-end intelligent nodes for "perception + decision-making." Orbbec's product strategy also confirms this — its exhibited 3D DLP structured light camera (with accuracy of about 0.07mm) not only provides high-resolution RGB data but also features adaptive multi-mode capture (fast, high-reflectivity, and precision modes) to balance speed and reconstruction quality, providing better raw data for AI training.

Global Market Penetration: From China to Korea, Europe, and the US

The cooperation cases showcased by Orbbec at Automate 2026 fully demonstrate its global influence. Teradyne Robotics' Universal Robots (UR) uses Orbbec's Gemini 305g stereo 3D camera in its AI Trainer to train AI models for complex operations such as electronic assembly. This partnership signifies that Chinese vision sensors have entered the world's top robotics ecosystem.

Market data is even more compelling: according to GGII data, Orbbec holds over 70% of China's service robot vision market share; according to an Interact Analysis report, its market share in Korea's mobile robot 3D vision market reaches 72%. Globally, Orbbec has served over 1,600 service robot companies cumulatively. These numbers indicate that Chinese 3D vision technology is not only competitive in low-cost markets but has also established absolute leadership in the technology-intensive mobile robot and service robot sectors.

Dual-Location Manufacturing Strategy: China's Answer to Supply Chain ResilienceFaced with the fragmentation of global supply chains and rising trade barriers, Orbbec has adopted a dual-manufacturing base strategy of China + Vietnam. Its smart manufacturing base in Foshan, Guangdong, already possesses flexible OEM/ODM and co-design capabilities, while the RVMC plant soon to be launched in Vietnam will replicate China’s mature manufacturing processes and undertake localized mass production tasks for international customers. The company also has an office in Troy, Michigan, USA.