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Turnover in the German image processing industry has doubled in the last ten years. In 2017 alone, growth reached almost 18% because, in the course of automation and digitization, companies are increasingly opting for technologies that allow machines to see and are combining them with deep-learning functions based on artificial intelligence. The German Engineering Federation (VDMA) expects that record sales of EUR 2.6 billion will also be achieved in 2018.

The fact that the increases will not be that significant this time is the result of cyclical effects, according to the VDMA, as the electronics and automobile industries invested heavily in new production facilities in 2017. These two sectors account for the biggest individual shares of sales in the image processing industry, at 19% and 16% respectively; in the electronics industry alone, the demand for components of this sort increased by 48% in 2017.

Germany is the biggest market for the image processors, accounting for 33% of sales. Asia is the most important export market at 14%, while exports to China increased by 47% in 2017. Concerning components, the largest share of overall sales is accounted for by cameras that allow machines to see, in the field of robotics , at 29%.