EPHJ 2024 – Unveiling TARS
EPHJ 2024 was a milestone edition for Oratek. For the first time, we presented a complete machine developed for an industrial customer — a project that brought together several years of internal development around our TOFU embedded platform.
TARS – A 15-Camera Vision Inspection System
TARS is a high-density vision control machine designed to perform simultaneous inspection of 10 watch heads in a single pass.
At its core, the system integrates 15 camera modules arranged in three rows of five, all wired to a single custom development board built around Oratek's TOFU platform. The lighting system is fully integrated and custom-designed to ensure consistent, repeatable illumination across all inspection positions.
Open Frame — No Doors, No Constraints
One of the defining characteristics of TARS is its open-frame architecture. There are no doors, no enclosures, no mechanical constraints for the operator. Parts are placed directly into the inspection tray, and the system processes all 10 positions simultaneously.
This approach drastically simplifies the workflow and reduces cycle time, making the machine immediately accessible to production operators without specific training or handling procedures.
Built on the TOFU Platform
TARS is one of the first industrial deployments to showcase what the TOFU board enables at system level. The ability to aggregate 15 camera inputs, manage custom lighting control, and run vision processing pipelines — all within a compact and elegant enclosure — reflects the core design philosophy behind the TOFU platform.
Strong Reactions on the Floor
Visitors at EPHJ 2024 were particularly struck by two aspects: the density of the camera array, and the simplicity of operation enabled by the open-frame design. The combination of high technical complexity and frictionless usability generated significant interest among watchmaking manufacturers and industrial partners.
A Glimpse of What's Possible
While TARS was developed for a specific customer application, it illustrates the kind of systems that can be built on Oratek's embedded platforms. The project demonstrated that high-channel vision control, custom lighting, and production-grade reliability can coexist in a single, compact machine.
To learn more about the TOFU platform or discuss a custom vision application, feel free to contact us.
