AI-Enhanced Machine Vision Powers the Next Generation of EV Battery Quality Control
As electric vehicle (EV) production accelerates, leading provider of industrial tooling, assembly and data-driven solutions, Atlas Copco, has harnessed artificial intelligence to validate EV battery integrity and safety, throughout the manufacturing process.
Innovated as part of Atlas Copco’s VisionTools portfolio, ‘Smart Verification with AI’ uses AI‑enhanced machine vision to automatically check that every joining, sealing, and assembly step on an EV battery is correct, complete, and within tolerance, in real time, without the need for manual inspection.
By employing state-of-the-art inline verification, manufacturers can locate inspection technology at each point of assembly. Atlas Copco’s ROBOcam is a specialised machine-vision camera in the VisionTools portfolio designed for robot-mounted quality inspection in automated assembly, including EV battery production. It attaches directly to lightweight robots and captures high-resolution images with integrated LED lighting, for precise visual inspection and automated guidance tasks. Any missing or misaligned components are detected immediately, which triggers automatic corrective actions or assembly line stops, before a defective battery progresses downstream.
Complementing its ‘Smart Verification with AI’, for absolute safety, manufacturers can track thermal profiles and measure heat distribution within a battery, in real time, using VisionTools’s ‘Advanced Verification with V60’ software. This connects to the customer’s MES so it can be configured to manage all cameras, lights and accessories from one source.
Thermal camera checks enable temperature monitoring between mixed materials, to prevent instances of overheating or thermal runaways during production, as well as lithium-ion cell degradation. Atlas Copco’s R&D team noted that even miniscule temperature differences or hotspots that go undetected during assembly, can compromise battery safety and performance. This can be caused by inconsistent adhesive or sealant thickness, inadequate cooling in cell or module housings, misalignment between conductive materials, or fastening irregularities, which can generate heat.
Atlas Copco’s proactive approach transforms thermal measurement from a post-process check into preventative control, thereby ensuring that every battery pack exits the line within safe and validated thermal parameters.
‘Smart Verification with AI’ enables vehicle manufacturers to achieve new levels of speed, precision, process control and quality assurance, as James McAllister, General Manager, Atlas Copco Tools and Industrial Assembly Solutions, explains:
“Verifying critical safety‑related joints and seals by harnessing AI represents a major step forward in turnkey inspection and verification for the automotive industry, as well as our mission towards zero-defect manufacturing more widely. In addition, EV battery integrity is an absolute safety imperative, which is now helping to define vehicle performance and OEM brand reputation.”
“By combining intuitive software intelligence with robotics and advanced vision technology, Atlas Copco’s VisionTools platform is delivering fully flexible and scalable solutions, which automatically validate and optimise every stage of the battery assembly process. As a strategic partner to several EV manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers Atlas Copco is delivering turnkey end to end AI-based vision solutions leading the evolution of AI-driven inspection and decision logic, as part of a smart factory manufacturing ecosystem. This saves our customers time, reduces their costs, and minimises risk with production start-up deadlines.”
For more information: www.vision-tools.com
