How Vision-to-Action Bridges the Gap in Modular Pharma Plants
EMPOWER TOMORROW’S PHARMA MANUFACTURING
At ISPE Singapore 2026, pharmaceutical manufacturers, technology providers, and automation specialists came together to explore what the next generation of production can look like: more connected, flexible, data-driven, and responsive to quality requirements.
For LINX, the event was an opportunity to turn that conversation into something visitors could see in action.
Together with COPA-DATA, and with the support of The Imaging Source, LMI Technologies, and Teledyne FLIR, we presented a live, simulatedpharmaceutical manufacturing environment at Booth #331. Rather than showing individual products in isolation, the showcase connected
three inspection stations to zenon by COPA-DATA, demonstrating a complete Vision-to-Action approach—from inspection at the line to centralised production visibility.
The response from visitors was encouraging. Many were initially drawn to the live stations, screens, and visual outputs, then stayed to understand the bigger picture: how can multiple inspection technologies work together and how can their data become useful to production and quality teams?
That question was at the heart of our ISPE Singapore 2026 participation.That question was at the heart of our ISPE Singapore 2026 participation.
FROM STANDALONE INSPECTION TO CONNECTED PRODUCTION INSIGHT
Pharmaceutical manufacturing increasingly relies on different forms of inspection and measurement. A colour camera can verify tablet appearance. A 3D sensor can assess a surface profile. A thermal camera can visualise temperature distribution. Each has a clear role, but the operational value becomes greater when these inspection results are no longer isolated at individual stations.
At the LINX and COPA-DATA showcase, visitors could see how inspection results from the 2D, 3D, and thermal demonstrations were reflected in zenon. The central interface presented the individual station status, measurement results, and pass/fail outcomes as part of one simulated production environment.
This live connection was what made the booth different. It showed how vision and sensing technologies can contribute not only to point-level inspection, but also to more visible, traceable, and informed manufacturing operations.
The concept resonated with visitors from pharmaceutical manufacturers and automation organisations, including representatives from companies such as Pfizer, Festo, AstraZeneca, and Rockwell Automation. Many were curious to understand how the same architecture could be adapted to their own production challenges—whether related to inspection, process monitoring, batch visibility, equipment integration, or future plant expansion.
A FOUR-STATION SHOWCASE FOR PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING
The exhibition brought together four complementary demonstration areas,
each illustrating a different layer of pharmaceutical automation.
1. zenon by COPA-DATA: the central automation and orchestration layer
At the centre of the showcase was zenon by COPA-DATA, serving as the automation platform that brought the Visitors could view station-level inspection outputs from a central dashboard and see how information from multiple technologies can be visualised in a unified environment. This presented a practical example of how manufacturers can move toward greater production transparency, rather than relying on separate applications, devices, or manual data collection.
The zenon demonstration also opened conversations around modular automation through MTP (Module Type Package) and OpenDCS. In a modular production environment, equipment modules need a common way to communicate their capabilities, services, parameters, alarms, and operating information to a higher-level orchestration layer.
MTP provides that standardised framework. It supports a plug-and-produce approach in which modules can be integrated with less custom engineering, while zenon and OpenDCS provide the orchestration environment to configure, monitor, and operate the broader process.
For pharmaceutical manufacturers, the value is clear: greater flexibility to adapt and scale, with a more structured approach to connecting equipment and production data.
2. The Imaging Source Aptiris: 2D pill counting and colour
sorting
The first inspection station featured The Imaging Source Aptiris USB 3.1 autofocus camera in a 2D vision demonstration for pill counting and colour sorting.
At the station, pills were placed in a non-overlapping arrangement for inspection. The system identified the pills by colour, counted them, and displayed the results on screen. This demonstrated how 2D vision can support quality verification and classification tasks in pharmaceutical processes where appearance, colour, and count are important inspection criteria.
A key attraction of this demonstration was the visible inspection result: visitors could see the system identify individual items and report counts by colour category.
Beyond the live application, Aptiris offers capabilities that are relevant to flexible deployment in pharmaceutical and life-science environments. Its autofocus design supports inspection where focus needs to be maintained across varying object distances. The platform supports Windows, Linux, macOS, x86, and ARM environments, offering flexibility for integration across different computing architectures.
Its image-acquisition software also provides flexible calibration using a known reference object, on-screen measurement of length, angle, area, and perimeter, as well as single-image and automated sequence capture. A multilingual interface is available in English, German, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese—helpful for teams operating across regional and global manufacturing sites.
3. LMI Technologies Gocator: 3D blister-pack pocket inspection
The 3D inspection station featured an LMI Technologies Gocator 2520 smart sensor, demonstrating a use case that goes beyond what conventional 2D imaging can reveal. The demonstration focused on blister-pack pocket inspection. Using 3D laser profiling, the system captured depth and surface information from the inspected area, producing a detailed visual representation on the screen. This type of inspection is valuable where height, shape, surface condition, or volumetric variation matters—not simply colour or appearance.
In pharmaceutical packaging and production, 3D measurement can support inspection tasks where a dimensional perspective is required. It provides an additional layer of confidence in applications involving fill condition, package structure, pocket geometry, or surface consistency.
The live visual output gave visitors a clear view of how 3D data differs from conventional camera images: rather than only seeing an object, the system measures its physical profile.
4. Teledyne FLIR A700: non-contact thermal process monitoring
The station featured the Teledyne FLIR A700 thermal smart camera. Thermal imaging was one of the most visually compelling parts of the booth, drawing attention from visitors as they watched real-time temperature patterns appear on screen
The demonstration illustrated how a thermal camera can measure and visualise temperature distribution without physical contact. For pharmaceutical manufacturing, this can be relevant in applications where temperature is a critical process or quality parameter, including monitoring heat-based processes, thermal consistency, and packaging or sealingrelated checks.
PowerTALK sessions: open automation and unified inspection data
The booth programme also included two PowerTALK sessions, offering visitors a concise introduction to the principles behind the live demonstrations.
In “Open by Design: Enabling Modular Process Automation with MTP and OpenDCS”, Maarten van Dam shared how open standards and modular automation can make plant engineering more flexible and manageable. The key message was that automation should not make operations more complex. With MTP, standardised process modules can be described, integrated, and orchestrated more efficiently—helping manufacturers adapt equipment and production processes with greater ease.
Together, the sessions reinforced the booth’s central message: quality inspection is most powerful when information can move from sensing to action.
Looking ahead
ISPE Singapore 2026 showed that there is strong interest in practical, connected pharmaceutical automation. The conversations at Booth #331 went beyond individual cameras, sensors, or software functions. Visitors wanted to understand how technologies could work together, how inspection results could be connected to operational visibility, and how automation could remain flexible as production needs evolve.
LINX sincerely thanks COPA-DATA for the exceptional collaboration that made this joint ISPE showcase possible. We also thank The Imaging Source, LMI Technologies, and Teledyne FLIR for contributing the technologies that brought the Vision-to-Action concept to life.
For organisations that were unable to visit the event—or would like to explore any of these applications in more detail—LINX is ready to discuss your inspection, automation, and integration requirements.
To learn more or arrange a consultation, contact:
- Singapore and Malaysia: sales@linx-sg.com
- Thailand: sales@linx.co.th
