{"id":131636,"date":"2025-08-07T05:03:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T10:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/?p=131636"},"modified":"2025-08-07T05:03:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T10:03:27","slug":"repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Automate 2025 application session called \u201cThe final frontier of automation in a high-volume automotive paint shop: Robotic paint repair on a moving line,\u201d discussed integration of robotics, motion control, machine vision and abrasive technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experts from General Motors, 3M Abrasives Division, Encore \/ Inovision Inc. and Fanuc America explained the automation and integration involved in the automated paint repair application.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additional questions, answers on robotic-machine vision integration followed the formal presentation, as explained in a Control Engineering article.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>General Motors and three automation providers, 3M, Encore \/ Inovision Inc. and Fanuc America, explained how integrated technologies are achieving robotic paint repairs on a moving high-volume automotive paint shop, at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.automateshow.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Automate 2025<\/a>, by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). The application, called the first of its kind, was described at the conference in Detroit, May 12-16. The related show had more than 875 exhibitors, more than 40,000 registrants, and more than 140 conference sessions on robotics, machine vision, artificial intelligence and other industrial automation topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig1-Panel-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-131640\" style=\"width:900px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig1-Panel-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig1-Panel-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig1-Panel-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig1-Panel-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig1-Panel-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 1: Describing a first-of-a-kind vision system and robotic paint repair application at Automate 2025, were, right to left, Ryan Odegaard, global director paint, General Motors; Tom VanderPlas, senior staff engineer, paint, Fanuc America; Michelle Frumkin, 3M, senior global robotics portfolio manager, 3M Co. Abrasive Systems Division; Marcus Pelletier, global director R&amp;D, 3M; and Gary Gagne, product development manager, Encore \/ Inovision Inc. The session was \u201cThe final frontier of automation in a high-volume automotive paint shop: Robotic paint repair on a moving line.\u201d Courtesy: Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, WTWH Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The application session called \u201cThe final frontier of automation in a high-volume automotive paint shop: Robotic paint repair on a moving line,\u201d discussed integration of robotics, motion control, machine vision and abrasive technologies, as described by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ryan Odegaard, global director paint, General Motors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Marcus Pelletier, global director R&amp;D, 3M Co.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tom VanderPlas, senior staff engineer, paint, Fanuc America<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gary Gagne, product development manager, Encore \/ Inovision Inc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Michelle Frumkin, senior global robotics portfolio manager, 3M Co. Abrasive Systems Division, coordinated audience questions and answers after the presentation (Figure 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig2-Challenges-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-131641\" style=\"width:900px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig2-Challenges-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig2-Challenges-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig2-Challenges-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig2-Challenges-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig2-Challenges-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 2: Challenges of the automotive paint-repair application included that imperfections were in a different location and of different type for each car. A moving line added variability. The application relied on people, which was subjective and it required material and abrasive science knowledge along with vision, robotics and motion control integration, said Ryan Odegaard, global director paint, General Motors at Automate 2025\u2019s session: \u201cThe final frontier of automation in a high-volume automotive paint shop: Robotic paint repair on a moving line.\u201d Courtesy: Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, WTWH Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Application needs: Paint repairs on a moving automotive line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Odegaard said the finishing system for Cadillacs may create certain imperfections that require understanding the inspection process to catch everything (Figure 2). Visual classification of paint quality with humans is subjective. But data is needed to prevent future imperfections. The process matters. Repairing paint on a high-volume moving automotive paint line is revolutionary, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pelletier at 3M said the effort combined external and internal processes to develop this solution for General Motors. Sanding is variable, because of wear and movement, with induced problems. Today it is ergonomically challenging, and human performance decreases through the day, even for the most-expert human workers. Automation leads to consistent, higher-quality repairs and improves efficiency for clearcoat, primer and e-coat applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Four things make the application work: material and abrasive science, robotics, integration and vision, and partnership among all project participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt 3M, we don\u2019t have a moving automotive line to use, so we couldn\u2019t develop this in isolation,\u201d Pelletier said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among 3M contributions to the effort were software that applies recipes in real time, tooling for pressure, force and speed for each recipe, along with internal vision technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The software measures results, validates and correcting assumptions ahead of time. It\u2019s low code or no code software. The robot moves and bends as needed in real time, with the robot controller every 10 milliseconds instruction for precise control. Tooling sensors provide feedback to modify trajectories as needed, Pelletier said. It\u2019s a multivariable process for appropriate speed and motion control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Robotic advancements for paint repair<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>VanderPlas at Fanuc brought improved robotic technologies to the application. A modular rail system moves a 6-axis robot to keep robot synchronized with the moving automobile, up to 1,500 mm\/sec for a 1,200 kg robot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Advanced tracking offers precision. Painting experience is applied to sanding also. An encoder connected to a conveyor supplies 500 pulses per inch to controllers and programmable logic controllers (PLCs), to provide line tracking from the robot to conveyor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Streamed motion provides robot control via an external controller (from 3M in this case for 6 axes in the application; Fanuc handles the seventh).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Infrared (IR) calibration is used because there are no pre-defined paths; topography varies by imperfections. The position has to be reachable and using a feed that\u2019s attainable. Rail tracking follows the vehicle down the line. When last position runs in recipe, the robot waits for next imperfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Robot guidance simulation includes cycle time, reach, paint and handling applications. It\u2019s used in the quoting phase of the project to validate the number of robots and optimal position. Simulation tests scenarios for optimal positioning and robot choice. An inspection simulator is connected to the robot simulator for validation and tweaks its position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dual check safety (DCS) provides ISO and IEC certified safety functions monitoring servo motors for position and will shut down the process if needed. Self-diagnosis is performed periodically. Safety I\/O can turn on and off regions in the workcell if the robot is in another area for restocking pads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig3-Vision-motion-integration-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-131639\" style=\"width:900px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig3-Vision-motion-integration-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig3-Vision-motion-integration-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig3-Vision-motion-integration-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig3-Vision-motion-integration-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig3-Vision-motion-integration-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 3: In addition to knowledge about the application, materials and abrasives, robotics and motion, integration and vision expertise was needed covering multiple areas of detection and correction, explained Gary Gagne, product development manager, Encore \/ Inovision Inc., at the Automation 2025 session, \u201cThe final frontier of automation in a high-volume automotive paint shop: Robotic paint repair on a moving line.\u201d Courtesy: Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, WTWH Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Elements of vision system application<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gagne at Encore \/ Inovision worked on the integration and vision expertise for detection and correction, locating and determining imperfection properties. Defect classification and machine learning works with a large database of defects and properties, processing 10GB of images in 60 seconds. Simulation builds models in 3D space. Vision offers correction robot motion and automatic path generation, imperfection repair coordination, advance tracking calibration and 3M\u2019s repair recipe generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each vehicle has an infinite number of possible repair locations, sizes and types. All repair path generation is on the fly for each vehicle. The vision system assigns how tools address defects and coordinate movement efficiently (Figure 3). The system applies input from encoders, vision and software tools to calibrate and use 3M\u2019s repair recipe generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-131637\" style=\"width:900px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 4: Repairing automotive paint imperfections on a moving line is a revolutionary application of abrasives, robotics and motion, machine vision and system integration, said Ryan Odegaard, global director paint, General Motors, yielding greater efficiency, accuracy, consistency, cost savings and scalability. It was explained at Automate 2025 during the session, \u201cThe final frontier of automation in a high-volume automotive paint shop: Robotic paint repair on a moving line.\u201d Courtesy: Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, WTWH Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions, answers on robotic-machine vision integration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Odegaard explained why the application is revolutionary (Figure 4). It uses data sets to improve efficiency and accuracy, consistency, cost savings and scalability. It\u2019s the first dynamic system being used in a production setting. Because paint shops have long lifecycles, the system was designed for scalability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Odegaard said a key to project success has been multiple organizations partnering to overcome challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>VanderPlas said they set expectations from the start \u201cthat we don\u2019t know we don\u2019t know.\u201d The team realized that in the beginning it was unclear how many spots would need repair on a vehicle or what paths the tools would take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gagne said the machine vision part of the application had been working for four or five years on inspection machine learning, model training, databases on defects to determine the size, type of defect, texture of paint and other characteristics giving a robot controller the knowledge to replace the human eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Odegaard said the application was rich process data that could be used to improve future outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gagne added that imperfections were wiped out with human repairs. Now imperfections are logged and eliminated with improvements now to improve quality and consistency in the systems delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cost savings and return on investments are unclear, Odegaard said, because the project is still iterating<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further addressing the uniqueness of the application, Pelletier said other systems can identify imperfections, but not where in real time. Or identify where but not what was needed for correction. This system integrates all of that, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mark T. Hoske<\/strong> is editor-in-chief, <em>Control Engineering, <\/em>WTWH Media<em>,<\/em> <a href=\"mailto:mhoske@wtwhmedia.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mhoske@wtwhmedia.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CONSIDER THIS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are your complex motion control applications adequately integrating machine vision and robotics?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ONLINE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Find more coverage by searching \u201cAutomate 2025\u201d at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.controleng.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.controleng.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.controleng.com\/magazine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.controleng.com\/magazine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more at<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.controleng.com\/robotics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.controleng.com\/robotics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/mechatronics\/vision-and-discrete-sensors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/mechatronics\/vision-and-discrete-sensors<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General Motors and three automation providers explained how integrated technologies are achieving robotic paint repairs on a moving high-volume automotive paint line, at Automate 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":131638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[104149,104040],"tags":[110522,110214,110215,110526,110525,109340,110521,110520,110523,110524],"tracking-metrics":[],"display-location":[109353],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision - Control Engineering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"General Motors and three automation providers explained how integrated technologies are achieving robotic paint repairs on a moving high-volume automotive paint line, at Automate 2025.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision - Control Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"General Motors and three automation providers explained how integrated technologies are achieving robotic paint repairs on a moving high-volume automotive paint line, at Automate 2025.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Control Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ControlEngineeringMagazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-07T10:03:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-07T10:03:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"506\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark T. Hoske\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@controlengtips\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@controlengtips\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark T. Hoske\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark T. Hoske\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8d6c2e7cce864f132f3f84a92d4ede7f\"},\"headline\":\"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-07T10:03:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-07T10:03:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/\"},\"wordCount\":1523,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"3M\",\"A3\",\"Automate 2025\",\"automated paint repairs\",\"automotive robotic paint repairs\",\"control engineering\",\"Fanuc\",\"Inovision\",\"paint shop machine vision\",\"robotic painting\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Robotics\",\"Vision and Discrete Sensors\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/\",\"name\":\"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision - Control Engineering\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-07T10:03:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-07T10:03:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"General Motors and three automation providers explained how integrated technologies are achieving robotic paint repairs on a moving high-volume automotive paint line, at Automate 2025.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":506},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/\",\"name\":\"Control Engineering\",\"description\":\"Control Engineering covers and educates about automation, control and instrumentation technologies\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Control Engineering\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce_logo.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":93,\"caption\":\"Control Engineering\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ControlEngineeringMagazine\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/controlengtips\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/control-engineering-magazine\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8d6c2e7cce864f132f3f84a92d4ede7f\",\"name\":\"Mark T. Hoske\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a681f733c4a125a8abde58f95c1427d9bb600dc72913799a5ca7cb4b754fc7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a681f733c4a125a8abde58f95c1427d9bb600dc72913799a5ca7cb4b754fc7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark T. Hoske\"},\"description\":\"Mark Hoske has been Control Engineering editor\/content manager since 1994 and in a leadership role since 1999, covering all major areas: control systems, networking and information systems, control equipment and energy, and system integration, everything that comprises or facilitates the control loop. He has been writing about technology since 1987, writing professionally since 1982, and has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree from UW-Madison.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/author\/mark-t-hoske\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision - Control Engineering","description":"General Motors and three automation providers explained how integrated technologies are achieving robotic paint repairs on a moving high-volume automotive paint line, at Automate 2025.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision - Control Engineering","og_description":"General Motors and three automation providers explained how integrated technologies are achieving robotic paint repairs on a moving high-volume automotive paint line, at Automate 2025.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/","og_site_name":"Control Engineering","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ControlEngineeringMagazine","article_published_time":"2025-08-07T10:03:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-07T10:03:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":506,"url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mark T. Hoske","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@controlengtips","twitter_site":"@controlengtips","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark T. Hoske","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark T. Hoske","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8d6c2e7cce864f132f3f84a92d4ede7f"},"headline":"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision","datePublished":"2025-08-07T10:03:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-07T10:03:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/"},"wordCount":1523,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg","keywords":["3M","A3","Automate 2025","automated paint repairs","automotive robotic paint repairs","control engineering","Fanuc","Inovision","paint shop machine vision","robotic painting"],"articleSection":["Robotics","Vision and Discrete Sensors"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/","name":"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision - Control Engineering","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-07T10:03:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-07T10:03:27+00:00","description":"General Motors and three automation providers explained how integrated technologies are achieving robotic paint repairs on a moving high-volume automotive paint line, at Automate 2025.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FI-CTL2508_WEB_Automate6-RoboticPaintRepairOnMovingLine-Fig4-How-it-works.jpg","width":900,"height":506},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/repairing-paint-on-an-automotive-line-with-robots-machine-vision\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Repairing paint on an automotive line with robots, machine vision"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/","name":"Control Engineering","description":"Control Engineering covers and educates about automation, control and instrumentation technologies","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization","name":"Control Engineering","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce_logo.png","width":300,"height":93,"caption":"Control Engineering"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ControlEngineeringMagazine","https:\/\/x.com\/controlengtips","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/control-engineering-magazine\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8d6c2e7cce864f132f3f84a92d4ede7f","name":"Mark T. Hoske","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a681f733c4a125a8abde58f95c1427d9bb600dc72913799a5ca7cb4b754fc7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a681f733c4a125a8abde58f95c1427d9bb600dc72913799a5ca7cb4b754fc7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark T. Hoske"},"description":"Mark Hoske has been Control Engineering editor\/content manager since 1994 and in a leadership role since 1999, covering all major areas: control systems, networking and information systems, control equipment and energy, and system integration, everything that comprises or facilitates the control loop. He has been writing about technology since 1987, writing professionally since 1982, and has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree from UW-Madison.","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/author\/mark-t-hoske\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131636"},{"taxonomy":"tracking-metric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tracking-metrics?post=131636"},{"taxonomy":"display-location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display-location?post=131636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}