24 n MACHINE VISION September 2026 www.drivesncontrols.com AI is becoming a key growth driver for machine vision Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most important technologies shaping the future of machine vision. While much of the industry discussion focuses on AI’s ability to improve inspection accuracy, the bigger story is that it is fundamentally changing how machine vision systems are developed, deployed, monetised, and maintained. By reducing deployment complexity, lowering engineering costs, and enabling manufacturers to extract greater value from visual data, AI is expanding the number of applications where machine vision can deliver a compelling return on investment. As a result, AI is forecast to be one of the primary drivers of growth in the machine vision market in the period to 2030. The global machine vision market generated around $5.9bn in revenues during 2025, and we predict that this figure will exceed $8.3bn by 2030. Cameras and imaging hardware continue to account for the largest share of revenues, but we expect software to outperform the wider market by 2030. This reflects rising investment in AIpowered inspection systems, an increasing demand for data-driven manufacturing, and broader adoption of intelligent and flexible automation technologies. Reducing barriers Historically, one of the greatest barriers to the wider adoption of machine vision has been the complexity of implementing the technology. Conventional vision systems rely heavily on rules-based algorithms, requiring specialist engineers to define inspection parameters manually, tune lighting conditions, and optimise system performance for each application. Depending on the complexity of the inspection task, deployments can take weeks, or even months, before reaching production readiness. AI changes this process fundamentally. Rather than programming detailed inspection rules, manufacturers can train deep learning models using labelled image datasets that allow systems to recognise acceptable products and identify defects automatically. This reduces development time significantly, lowers engineering costs, and enables manufacturers to deploy machine vision in applications that previously would not have justified the investment. As skills shortages continue to affect manufacturers globally and quality expectations continue to rise, lowering the barriers to automation becomes increasingly valuable. The impact of this shift is already evident in software spending patterns. We predict that revenues from AI-based machine vision software will rise from around $132m in 2025 to more than $336m by 2030. By comparison, traditional vision software revenue is forecast to increase from $393m to some $505m over the same period. As a result, AI software is expected to capture an increasing share of machine vision software revenues, reflecting the growing adoption of AI-enabled inspection systems and the expansion of machine vision into applications that were previously difficult to automate. Expanding the addressable market Performance improvements remain one of the primary drivers behind AI adoption. AI is becoming one of the most important technologies shaping the future of machine vision. It is expanding the number and variety of applications where machine vision can deliver a compelling ROI, and will be a primary driver of growth in the machine vision market to 2030. Jonathan Sparkes, senior analyst at Interact Analysis, examines how AI will transform the market, and impact different industries. AI software is expected to account for a growing share of the machine vision software market over the coming years (Source: Interact Analysis)
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