Production employees will also benefit from applications using industrial cameras. However far automation progresses, there are good reasons why there will always be a place for humans in industrial production. These include "human" sensory capabilities, flexibility and affordability.
Even so, future workflows will also be changing as part of Industry 4.0. Human efficiency can be enhanced through intelligent machine vision systems integrated into helmets, garments and tools. This is fully technically feasible, as cameras continue to grow smaller and lighter: high-precision industrial cameras the size of stamps, weighing less than 30 g including lens and casing, are already available today. These vision systems record the activity and work status visually, audit results, identify sensible follow-on steps or information and forward it to humans, perhaps for example as notifications on smart glasses working with 'augmented reality.' This helps promote timely provision of working materials, further increasing productivity.