Forge Lab combines AI-powered vision training with powerful simulation tools to make vision-guided robotics easier to use.

Forge Lab helps you make sure.

Forge Lab is a web-based AI simulation and training environment that helps you de-risk vision-guided robot projects. You can build and simulate automation projects in hours.

What does Forge Lab promise?

Forge Lab drastically reduces the time and risks involved with developing vision-guided robotic cells for bin picking and material handling.

Without any cameras, computers, robots or hardware, you can develop cells and send them for AI vision training. Within 24 hours, the vision program can be deployed into real production cells using Apera Vue software.

Why use Forge Lab?

Forge Lab can save days or weeks of vision programming and proof of concept time.

Achieve in hours what used to take days.

Forge Lab guides you step-by-step through all the components in building a vision-guided robotic cell. When your cell is built, being able to run hundreds of simulations quickly enables you to check and improve your design.

Forge Lab reduces the risk of spending money on automation, since the strategy can be tested before spending.

Know it works before you build.

Fine tune your choices to reach an optimal design: pick points, end-of-arm tools, robot choice and positioning, and cameras. Then find and solve the challenging edge problems through full random and structured simulations.

Forge Lab helps make money by optimizing vision-guided robotic cells.

Real-world performance, less downtime.

You have already done the work ahead of cell deployment and the choices translate directly into Apera's Vue vision software. Vue delivers the speed, reliability and lighting resiliency that production environments demand.

How Forge Lab works

Forge Lab: AI Training + Simulation for Vision-Guided Robotics

Forge Lab users can run a full simulation of their vision-guided robotic cell.

Who can use Forge Lab?

You do not need to be an expert in vision-guided robots to use Forge Lab. Forge Lab’s purpose is to make it easier and faster to deploy vision-guided cells.

Starting in Summer 2024, Forge Lab is available to users of Apera Vue vision software. Manufacturing engineering teams can collaborate across sites using the tool’s web interface.

Pictures of synthetic data used to train neural network for robotic bin picking.

Training AI

The role of synthetic data

In training its neural networks, Apera AI uses synthetic data. This allows us to bypass the need for reference images or relying purely on CAD models. Synthetic data allows us to improve the AI process and introduce variables such as lighting, finish, texture, and labels or markings.