Perflens Field NotesPractical writing on computer vision, edge AI hardware, reliability and facility operations from the engineers at Perflens.https://perflens.com/en-usVision-language models on the production line: where they help and where they hallucinatehttps://perflens.com/blog/vision-language-models-on-the-production-line/https://perflens.com/blog/vision-language-models-on-the-production-line/Where vision-language models help on a production line (search, triage, reject explanations, shift reports) and why they should never make pass/fail calls.Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTComputer visionEdge AIhello@perflens.com (Mara Lindqvist)What a minute of downtime really costs: a calculation you can defendhttps://perflens.com/blog/what-a-minute-of-downtime-really-costs/https://perflens.com/blog/what-a-minute-of-downtime-really-costs/How to calculate the cost of a minute of downtime using contribution margin, idled labor and restart scrap, with a worked example finance will accept.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTOperationshello@perflens.com (Grace Nakamura-Hill)An IEC 62443 hardening checklist for edge deviceshttps://perflens.com/blog/iec-62443-hardening-checklist-edge-devices/https://perflens.com/blog/iec-62443-hardening-checklist-edge-devices/A practical IEC 62443 hardening checklist for edge devices — credentials, secure boot, signed updates, logging, SBOMs — plus EU Cyber Resilience Act dates.Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSecurityhello@perflens.com (Alicia Brandt)Outcome-based pricing for industrial AI: how it works and when it fitshttps://perflens.com/blog/outcome-based-pricing-industrial-ai/https://perflens.com/blog/outcome-based-pricing-industrial-ai/Outcome-based pricing ties part of an industrial AI fee to measured results. How baselines, metrics and guardrails work, and when a subscription is better.Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTStrategyhello@perflens.com (Daniel Okafor)Choosing edge AI compute in 2026: Jetson, Hailo or Qualcomm?https://perflens.com/blog/choosing-edge-ai-compute-2026/https://perflens.com/blog/choosing-edge-ai-compute-2026/How to choose edge AI hardware in 2026: NVIDIA Jetson Orin and Thor, Hailo and Qualcomm Dragonwing compared by workload, power, toolchain and lifecycle.Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTEdge AIhello@perflens.com (Theo Ramírez)Continuous thermal monitoring vs periodic IR surveys for electrical assetshttps://perflens.com/blog/continuous-thermal-vs-periodic-ir-surveys/https://perflens.com/blog/continuous-thermal-vs-periodic-ir-surveys/Periodic IR surveys miss load-dependent and intermittent faults. When continuous thermal monitoring pays off, how to set alarms, and when periodic is enough.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTMaintenanceFacilitieshello@perflens.com (Theo Ramírez)Why your inspection model got worse in Julyhttps://perflens.com/blog/why-your-inspection-model-got-worse-in-july/https://perflens.com/blog/why-your-inspection-model-got-worse-in-july/Inspection models rarely fail suddenly — they drift as light, materials and machines change. How to spot model drift early and fix it before escapes rise.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTComputer visionOperationshello@perflens.com (Priya Venkataraman)Hyperspectral imaging for foreign-material detection in foodhttps://perflens.com/blog/hyperspectral-foreign-material-detection-food/https://perflens.com/blog/hyperspectral-foreign-material-detection-food/What hyperspectral imaging adds to X-ray for foreign-material detection in food, and how band selection, lighting, calibration and ejection make it work.Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTComputer visionhello@perflens.com (Samuel Achterberg)Seeing without surveillance: privacy-preserving sensing in buildingshttps://perflens.com/blog/seeing-without-surveillance-facility-sensing/https://perflens.com/blog/seeing-without-surveillance-facility-sensing/How to measure occupancy without identifying anyone — on-device processing, counts instead of images, sensor choice, data minimization and governance.Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTFacilitiesSecurityhello@perflens.com (Alicia Brandt)Synthetic defect data: when generated images help and when they hurthttps://perflens.com/blog/synthetic-defect-data-when-it-helps/https://perflens.com/blog/synthetic-defect-data-when-it-helps/Synthetic defect data can fill rare-defect gaps or teach a model the wrong thing. Procedural vs generative methods, domain gap, label leakage and validation.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTComputer visionhello@perflens.com (Priya Venkataraman)Compressed-air leaks: the utility nobody is watchinghttps://perflens.com/blog/compressed-air-leaks-the-unwatched-utility/https://perflens.com/blog/compressed-air-leaks-the-unwatched-utility/Compressed-air leaks waste energy every hour a plant is pressurized. Where they hide, how ultrasound finds them, and how compressor kW data proves savings.Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTFacilitiesMaintenancehello@perflens.com (Grace Nakamura-Hill)Air-gapped AI: running inspection and monitoring without the cloudhttps://perflens.com/blog/air-gapped-ai-inspection-without-the-cloud/https://perflens.com/blog/air-gapped-ai-inspection-without-the-cloud/How to run AI inspection and monitoring without the cloud — what must live on site, how to update and retrain models offline, and the honest trade-offs.Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTEdge AISecurityhello@perflens.com (Mara Lindqvist)Anomaly detection or supervised classification? Picking the right defect modelhttps://perflens.com/blog/anomaly-detection-vs-supervised-classification/https://perflens.com/blog/anomaly-detection-vs-supervised-classification/When to use anomaly detection or supervised classification for defect inspection: data needs, thresholds, false rejects, heat maps and new defect types.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTComputer visionhello@perflens.com (Priya Venkataraman)Microstops and the hidden factory your OEE number hideshttps://perflens.com/blog/microstops-and-the-hidden-factory/https://perflens.com/blog/microstops-and-the-hidden-factory/Short stops rarely reach the downtime log, so OEE quietly hides them. How to capture microstops automatically, rank their causes and act on them daily.Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTOperationshello@perflens.com (Daniel Okafor)How to write an inspection spec your integrator can't misreadhttps://perflens.com/blog/how-to-write-an-inspection-spec/https://perflens.com/blog/how-to-write-an-inspection-spec/How to write a machine vision inspection spec: defect catalogue, limit samples, resolution math, false-reject budget, traceability and acceptance tests.Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTComputer visionStrategyhello@perflens.com (Mara Lindqvist)Retrofit or replace? Adding AI vision to a 20-year-old linehttps://perflens.com/blog/retrofit-or-replace-ai-vision-on-legacy-lines/https://perflens.com/blog/retrofit-or-replace-ai-vision-on-legacy-lines/Machine vision retrofit or replace? A framework for old lines covering cameras, mounting, encoders, PLC capacity, guarding, validation and downtime windows.Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTStrategyComputer visionhello@perflens.com (Jonah Whitfield)Encoders, handshakes and reject gates: integrating vision with PLCshttps://perflens.com/blog/vision-plc-integration-encoders-reject-gates/https://perflens.com/blog/vision-plc-integration-encoders-reject-gates/A vision system is only as good as its reject. How hardware triggers, encoder tracking, FIFOs, heartbeats and timing budgets make PLC integration reliable.Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTEdge AIComputer visionhello@perflens.com (Jonah Whitfield)Lighting is the lens: choosing illumination geometry for machine visionhttps://perflens.com/blog/lighting-geometry-for-machine-vision/https://perflens.com/blog/lighting-geometry-for-machine-vision/How to choose machine vision lighting: bright and dark field, dome, coaxial, backlight, structured light, polarization and wavelength, matched to the defect.Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTComputer visionhello@perflens.com (Samuel Achterberg)From pilot to fleet: why industrial AI pilots stallhttps://perflens.com/blog/from-pilot-to-fleet-industrial-ai/https://perflens.com/blog/from-pilot-to-fleet-industrial-ai/Industrial AI pilots rarely stall because the model fails. Six causes, from missing baselines to per-site customization, and a checklist for scaling.Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTStrategyhello@perflens.com (Daniel Okafor)Five vibration spectra every maintenance manager should recognizehttps://perflens.com/blog/five-vibration-spectra-worth-knowing/https://perflens.com/blog/five-vibration-spectra-worth-knowing/Unbalance, misalignment, looseness, bearing defects and electrical faults each leave a distinct vibration spectrum. What each looks like, and what to do.Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTMaintenancehello@perflens.com (Jonah Whitfield)