Where ToF Cameras Excel: AMRs, AGVs, Medical & Biometric Systems

Unlock the real impact of Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology with DepthVista — e-con Systems’ powerful 3D sensing camera series.

In this episode of Vision Vitals - e-con Systems Podcast, we break down the top real-world applications where DepthVista ToF cameras deliver unmatched value across robotics, healthcare, biometrics, and spatial intelligence.

You’ll discover how DepthVista enables:

🔹 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)

• Robust object detection & obstacle avoidance
• Stable depth sensing in mixed/low lighting
• Real-time mapping & localization

🔹 Pick & Place Robotics

• Precise distance measurement
• Reliable sensing on smooth or texture-less objects
• Dense depth maps for fast cycle times

🔹 AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles)

• Consistent depth in long corridors
• Floor-level hazard detection
• Reliable navigation on predefined routes

🔹 Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

• Privacy-preserving depth sensing
• Non-contact fall detection & motion tracking
• Accurate performance in fully dark rooms

🔹 Biometric Security & Anti-Spoofing

• 3D facial structure validation
• Liveness detection
• Low-light authentication with active NIR illumination

We also explore upcoming opportunities for ToF cameras in:

• Spatial analytics
• Collaborative robots
• Smart retail & gesture recognition
• AR-assisted industrial workflows

DepthVista continues to push what's possible in depth sensing — and this episode shows you why.

🔗 Explore DepthVista & e-con Systems’ ToF Cameras

Transcript

Host:

Welcome back to e-con Systems’ Vision Vitals, a podcast for engineers, product leaders, and innovators to find exclusive embedded vision insights.

In every episode, we break down the real choices behind modern imaging. Today’s focus is DepthVista: e-con Systems’ cutting-edge Time-of-Flight camera series.

In this episode, we shine the spotlight on 5 of the top applications of DepthVista. Some come directly from our existing work; others represent a broader industry adoption powered by the strengths of Time-of-Flight. 

To help us walk through these applications, we have one of our resident experts with us today. 

Great to have you here!

Speaker:
 
Happy to join. e-con Systems’ DepthVista camera series has reached a point where we’re seeing it elevate the performance of a wide variety of systems. Each one uses depth a little differently, and I’m excited to break down how these applications take shape.

Host:
 
AMRs have become a staple in warehouses, factories, and service environments. What role does DepthVista play in systems that need real-time spatial awareness?

Speaker:
 
DepthVista lines up closely with what an AMR needs.
 
AMRs never stop perceiving. They must see aisle geometry, detect moving objects, interpret clutter, and make movement decisions in real time. The AMR article from e-con explains how ToF supports object detection, obstacle avoidance, mapping, localization, and navigation — all core AMR functions.

DepthVista’s NIR illumination ensures that the robot’s depth sensing stays stable even if the lighting dips, shifts, or disappears entirely. That’s important for warehouses with racking shadows, mixed lighting zones, or low-illumination corners.

Unlike passive systems that wait for ambient light, DepthVista generates its own signal, so the robot gets consistent readings throughout the route.

AMRs also face dynamic scenes. Workers walk by. Pallets move. Boxes appear where they weren’t a minute ago. Because DepthVista produces frame-to-frame depth directly from its illumination return, the camera provides continuous distance updates without the load of feature matching.

Outdoor AMRs can also benefit when illumination is tuned to overcome ambient peaks. But indoors is where DepthVista stands out most, giving robots depth they can rely on even when the environment refuses to be predictable.

Host:
 
Pick & Place applications depend on precise grasping and short-range accuracy. How does DepthVista support workcells built for handling, sorting, or packaging?

Speaker:
 
Pick & Place tasks are about precision, repeatability, and collision-free movement. Robots need to know how far the gripper is from an object and whether that object sits on a smooth tray, a reflective surface, or a textured conveyor.

This is where Time-of-Flight helps. DepthVista gives per-pixel distance without depending on visible texture. That means the robot receives stable depth even when it’s trying to grasp objects that are:

• Smooth
• Uniformly colored
• Dark or low-contrast
• Sitting on surfaces with minimal texture

These are challenging for disparity-based stereo systems, but DepthVista’s active illumination and direct range measurement handle them reliably — exactly what the ToF technology descriptions outline. 

Pick & Place systems also run fast cycles. They need depth that updates instantly as the end-effector moves. DepthVista’s dense depth map supports rapid path adjustments, gentle approach movements, and mid-trajectory corrections.

The result is a camera that fits naturally into robotic arms, gantries, or cobots where throughput and placement accuracy matter.

Host:
 
AGVs are similar to AMRs but follow predefined or semi-structured routes. How does DepthVista fit their safety and navigation requirements?

Speaker:
 
AGVs prioritize route consistency. Instead of dynamic decision-making, they need dependable detection along a known path. DepthVista helps by keeping depth constant even when the AGV moves through uneven lighting or mixed environments — a common situation in manufacturing halls and logistics facilities.

The same ToF traits highlighted for AMRs apply here, including:

• Reliable obstacle detection
• Steady performance across low-light zones
• Crisp distance measurement for fixed travel paths
• Support for recognizing low-profile hazards and floor-level objects 

AGVs often run in long, narrow corridors, even small obstructions can disrupt flow. DepthVista’s per-pixel distance stream helps avoid unexpected stoppages and contributes to smoother fleet operation.

AGVs don’t need the full autonomy stack of an AMR, but they absolutely need trustworthy depth sensing. And that’s where DepthVista aligns with their mission.

Host:
 
DepthVista has also been used in medical sensing and monitoring. What advantages does ToF bring to Remote Patient Monitoring?

Speaker:
 
The RPM article outlines how ToF improves patient monitoring by enabling accurate, privacy-preserving distance and motion tracking. 

DepthVista helps RPM systems in several ways:

• It captures depth maps instead of RGB, which protects patient privacy and reduces the risk of exposing identifiable visual information.
• It tracks patient motion with high accuracy, enabling fall detection, posture changes, bed-exit alerts, and other safety-critical signals.
• It maintains consistent sensing even in dark rooms, making it effective for overnight ICU monitoring or home-care environments.
• It supports non-contact observation — a crucial capability for infection-controlled spaces.
• Its depth data can help analyze subtle movements, including micro-adjustments in posture.

Host:
 
Depth is becoming central to biometric systems. How does DepthVista strengthen anti-spoofing for face recognition?

Speaker:
 
Anti-spoofing systems need to verify that a real person — with full 3D facial structure — is standing in front of the camera. Time-of-Flight helps by capturing the actual geometry of the face rather than relying on appearance alone.

DepthVista supports:

• Depth-validated facial contours, which help the system differentiate a real human face from a printout or tablet screen.
• Resistance to flat-surface spoofing, since a 2D object returns uniform distance instead of true depth curves.
• Liveness detection, using micro-movements and small geometric changes visible only in depth.
• Low-light authentication, thanks to active NIR illumination — a capability reinforced by the ToF overview content.

Biometric terminals, access gates, and kiosks benefit the most, as they often work in indoor or mixed-lighting environments where ambient illumination cannot guarantee stable RGB performance.

DepthVista provides a reliable depth backbone that makes these systems harder to fool and easier to trust.

Host:

Before we wrap up, let’s look ahead a little. As Time-of-Flight matures and DepthVista continues to evolve, where do you see the next wave of applications emerging?

Speaker:

We’re already seeing interest from teams that build systems needing more structured spatial awareness beyond navigation or object handling. One emerging area is spatial analytics, where depth helps measure foot traffic, zone occupancy, and movement trends without exposing identity. 

Another is collaborative robotics, especially in environments where robots and humans work side by side. Here, ToF adds an extra safety layer by tracking proximity with precise, per-pixel distances.

We’re also seeing early demand in smart retail and interactive kiosks where gesture recognition, user-distance sensing, and adaptive interfaces rely on fast, accurate depth. And there’s growing momentum in AR-adjacent industrial workflows, where depth supports placement validation or scene understanding for operators.

All of these share a common thread: they rely on depth signals even when lighting or surface conditions shift. That’s where DepthVista’s architecture gives product teams a head start.

Host

And that brings us to the close of today’s conversation. 

A big thank-you to our guest for walking us through these applications and discussing how DepthVista supports them in the field. 

This ToF camera proves how much range a single depth technology can cover when the underlying signal stays consistent and dependable. If you’d like to explore the full DepthVista line or other 3D depth sensing solutions from e-con Systems, you can find them at www.e-consystems.com.

And thank you for tuning into Vision Vitals. We’ll see you again in the next episode!