Videology was founded in 1995 by Carol Ethier, a former Phillips engineer with a vision to create small board-level optical cameras.
Ethier’s vision quickly evolved to make Videology a major player in imaging solutions, catering to industries as diverse as biomedical and banking, or life science and industrial robotics, to name a few. It has facilities in Mansfield, Massachusetts in the U.S.A. and Eindhoven in The Netherlands in Europe.
The company’s significant growth potential was more recently recognised by inTEST Corporation, a supplier of test and process solutions for use in manufacturing and testing, and the latter acquired the former in 2021, marking a new era of growth and innovation and allowing Ethier to enjoy her retirement. Now part of inTEST Corporation’s Process Technologies Division, Videology has retained its roots in developing high-quality, high-volume camera products, and these products have garnered global recognition, with millions of cameras sold worldwide.
Videology: Technology, capabilities and services
Videology specialises in manufacturing small cameras, targeting technology and industrial companies that integrate its products into their applications and machines.
Videology designs and develops small cameras (Credit: Videology)
The firm’s hardware-centric approach has been its hallmark, with OEM partnerships playing a crucial role in integrating its technology into a multitude of applications. The company's camera platform, SCAiLX, which was introduced two years ago, demonstrates a shift towards incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into its offerings.
Johan Scheepmaker, Director of Sales & Operations Europe explains: “We were looking into AI development. If you develop, let's say a camera, it is just a camera, it is not that easy to differentiate as there is already a dominant market, but you can look at the adjacent features to the hardware, and that is obviously software. We have partnerships with several companies, meaning that we can embed software like artificial intelligence into our SCAiLX solution.”
SCAiLX is an IP/AI device platform developed entirely in-house by Videology. The integration of this new SCAiLX platform with a camera was initially achieved with Videology Zoom Block cameras. This connected camera solution, called SCAiLX-ZB, is a camera with integrated zoom lens and Edge AI processing capabilities. These intelligent cameras can detect, analyse, and compare images at the device level, which can open up further application opportunities in industries such as manufacturing, retail, transportation, energy, and healthcare.
SCAiLX Edge AI cameras from Videology (Credit: Videology)
“Another stream of development for Videology,” says Scheepmaker, “is the IP. So, we're developing Ethernet products, which is necessary because you can't maintain having products at a non-IP level. People want to bring video into their cloud, they want to bring the video to monitoring centres or to control rooms. For that reason, the easiest thing to do is to bring your video to the network. So, for this, we have a development platform for IP.”
Collaboration and customisation
As well as its focus on technology, Videology also encourages a collaborative approach with its customers, emphasising the importance of customisation to meet specific needs. With a diverse team spread across international offices, the company values this multicultural workforce, and this diversity extends to its customer base, fostering an environment where varied perspectives contribute to innovation.
Says Scheepmaker: “In the US, our Mansfield facility is a big production facility, and we have a laboratory there and about 30 people. Our office in The Netherlands is now located in High Tech Campus Eindhoven, which we all call the Silicon Valley of The Netherlands, and we have about 20 people here. So, around 50 people in total. Our organisation includes a group of engineers who specialise in imaging technology, camera hardware and software and in electronics. By using these individual technical skills in a targeted manner, we are flexible in designing and developing our own products. Production takes place in-house where possible. Additionally, we use manufacturing partners to support us with larger volumes. The design is always in our own hands, which is very important to allow us to fully customise products and solutions for our customers in order to meet their individual needs.”
And those customers can rest assured that, despite the trials faced by many suppliers since the pandemic, Videology can be relied upon. “The quality of our production is very high, with a very low failure rate, and hardly any defects coming back,” says Scheepmaker. “Everyone has had a couple of years with some trouble getting components, but we are always proud of our lifecycle management, which is impressive. Our lifecycle approach and continuous redesign gave us a very good reputation in the market during the periods when components were difficult to source. We made our way out from that challenging time with remarkable strength and resilience. And now, we`re making our big jump into the future. Our growth is here. Our innovations are here. We are in an excellent position for the next five to ten years to come.”
A huge part of this success is the people that make Videology what it is, as Scheepmaker acknowledges: “It’s important to understand the importance of diversity in the company. We have multilingual people from Brazil, South Africa, The Netherlands and Portugal, so our engineering department is really international. We're multicultural and diverse. And that is something we have in our veins. Our biggest asset is our people. The technology is great, of course, but our whole team is incredibly dedicated bringing our tagline, ‘Excellence Every Day, Every Time,’ to life. I take great pride in what we accomplish and build together.
About Johan Scheepmaker
Johan Scheepmaker, with a career spanning since 1992, has held key roles in various companies, including Security House (Honeywell) and ADI Global Distribution His experience extends to global leadership for business growth.
In 2019, he joined SB Group as General Manager, focusing on sustainable initiatives. Currently, Johan is the Director of Sales & Operations Europe at Videology Industrial-Grade Cameras, overseeing daily sales, marketing, operations, engineering and manufacturing activities at the company`s European headquarters since 2021.
