Counting objects on a production line sounds simple—until the parts touch each other. In many manufacturing environments, components are tightly packed, identical in color, and moving at high speed. Traditional camera-based systems often fail, merging multiple parts into a single object and producing unreliable counts.
TThis long-standing challenge has now been addressed by Intelgic, which has deployed an advanced laser profiler sensor–based counting solution that accurately separates and counts objects even when they are closely associated or physically touching.
The Core Challenge: When Two Objects Look Like One
Conventional 2D vision systems depend on contrast, color, or visible edges to separate objects. When products touch—or when lighting, dust, or reflections interfere—those visual boundaries disappear. The result is inaccurate counting, false rejects, and lost productivity.
"In many factories, operators know the count is wrong, but the system has no way to explain why. The problem isn't software tuning—it's the lack of depth information."
A Shift from 2D Images to 3D Geometry
Intelgic’s breakthrough comes from replacing flat images with laser profiling technology, a 3D sensing method that measures height instead of appearance.
A laser profiler sensor projects a thin laser line across the moving product stream. As items pass under the sensor, it captures millions of height measurements per second using triangulation. The software then reconstructs a precise 3D height map of every object.
Even when parts touch side-by-side, their surface geometry—tiny height differences, slopes, and curvature changes—remains detectable.
How the Software Separates Touching Objects
Intelgic’s laser profiler software analyzes the height map in real time using a multi-stage process:
- Height-based segmentation removes the conveyor or tray background with extreme stability
- Slope and curvature analysis identifies natural boundaries between touching parts
- Watershed and marker-based separation splits closely packed items using geometric cues
- Physical validation rules (area, height, volume, and shape) prevent over-segmentation
Because the system relies on real-world dimensions instead of pixel contrast, it remains stable across shifts, lighting changes, and surface variations.
Encoder-Synced Accuracy at Production Speed
To ensure precision at high conveyor speeds, Intelgic synchronizes the laser profiler with a motion encoder. This guarantees consistent spatial resolution even when line speed fluctuates—an essential requirement for reliable 3D reconstruction and repeatable counts.
Once an object is confirmed, the system tracks it virtually and increments the count only when it passes a defined counting gate—eliminating double-counting.
Proven Impact on the Factory Floor
Manufacturers using Intelgic’s laser profiling solution report:
- Accurate counts for touching, overlapping, or low-contrast parts
- Reduced false rejects caused by merged objects
- Higher throughput without slowing the line
- Clear 3D inspection evidence for audits and quality reporting
The solution is already being applied to metal components, molded parts, extrusions, and packaged items where traditional vision systems struggle.
A New Standard for Industrial Counting
By combining laser profiler sensors with intelligent 3D software, Intelgic has transformed a persistent automation bottleneck into a solvable engineering problem.
"Once you see the process in 3D, the answer becomes obvious. You're no longer guessing where the boundary is—the geometry tells you."
As manufacturers push toward higher automation and zero-defect goals, laser-based 3D counting is quickly emerging as the new standard for reliable object counting—especially when parts refuse to stay apart.
