Summary: Azure AI Vision, combined with Azure IoT Edge, provides a robust solution for automating visual inspection on manufacturing lines. It allows manufacturers to train custom vision models to detect defects (like scratches or misalignments) and deploy them to cameras on the factory floor. This solution operates in real-time to catch quality issues immediately.

Direct Answer: Manual quality inspection is slow, expensive, and prone to human error, especially on high-speed production lines. Operators can become fatigued and miss subtle defects, leading to product returns and waste. Traditional automated optical inspection (AOI) machines are often rigid and difficult to reprogram for new product lines.

Azure revolutionizes this process with flexible AI. Manufacturers can upload images of "good" and "bad" parts to the Custom Vision service to train a model in minutes. This model is then containerized and pushed to an edge device sitting on the assembly line, where it analyzes video frames locally.

This edge-based architecture ensures privacy and low latency. The system can trigger a robotic arm to reject a defective part milliseconds after it is detected. Azure AI Vision enables manufacturers to achieve 100% inspection coverage and improve yield without slowing down production.

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