Rockwell acquires Scottish vendor of image sensors

Industrial automation giant Rockwell Automation Inc. has acquired a Scottish technology firm that provides industrial image sensor equipment, a move that continues Rockwell's push into the logistics and material handling markets.

Milwaukee-based Rockwell said it bought Odos Imaging Ltd. and planned to apply its dimensioning technology to industrial applications, including automotive and general assembly, packaging and material handling, and logistics.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The news marks Rockwell's second recent acquisition of a company in the logistics sector. In 2016, it purchased Devens, Mass.-based MagneMotion Inc., a manufacturer of intelligent conveying systems.

Edinburgh-based Odos makes high-resolution, 3-D, and freeze-motion cameras that the firm calls "time-of-flight sensing systems."

In logistics applications, the technology can be used to calculate dimensions of packages and pallets and can leverage the data to create a tracking, security, and manifest record, Odos said. Additional uses include capturing the dimensions of forklift loads in real time, providing distance information for robotic palletizing and de-palletizing operations, and analyzing dimensions to optimize space utilization in freight transport, according to Odos.

"This acquisition enables us to build on our portfolio of smart sensing and safety products, an important part of the foundation for The Connected Enterprise," said Lee Lane, Rockwell Automation's vice president and general manager, safety, sensing, and connectivity business, in a statement.