To find out how the industry changed during the pandemic, MVPro Media’s Matt Williams spoke to several innovators in the world of machine vision. Stay tuned for the rest of our exclusive pandemic interviews. Also, to see the full list of our pandemic interviews, click here.
In this interview, Dr. Olaf Munkelt explains how MVTec was affected by the pandemic. Dr. Olaf works as a Managing Director at MVTec Software.
Dr Olaf Munkelt – Managing Director at MVTec
MW: How did MVTec adapt during Covid?
OM: Like many other companies, we switched to a home office at the beginning of the pandemic. The new way of working came with some challenges, but we managed them very well. Over time, however, we realised that as social beings we also need contact with our colleagues. We have therefore already started a flexible working model in 2021. With this, we manage the balancing act between being present in the office and working from home. The simple guideline of this working model is: everything which creates emotions between people happens face-to-face in the office. Additionally, we have established new communication formats. One example is the “Mystery Coffee” tool. The program randomly connects employees who meet for a virtual coffee break.
MW: How much has Covid changed the way MVTec is run?
OM: With Covid, we have seen that nothing can replace the personal exchange with our customers and partners. That is why we have significantly increased our internationalisation efforts. It is important for us to know the different local needs and to react quickly. To this end, we were already well positioned with our branches in the USA, China, and Taiwan. However, we will establish more branches around the world in the near future.
MW: Did Covid give MVTec the opportunity to reflect and research new ideas?
OM: MVTec had no short-time work during the Covid period. So, the creative potential of our more than 100 developers unfolded without interruption. We can see some of this at the trade fair stand today. For example, the deep learning technology “Global Context Anomaly Detection”, which is a world first in this form, or the deep learning-based bin-picking application, which combines 3D vision with deep learning. Covid has increased the industry’s need for further automation. This is where we want to provide support.
We at MVPro Media would like to thank X for taking part in this interview. Find out more about MVTec here.
