Edge-vision instrument
X Float
Continuous froth analysis for flotation control.
Works on white scheelite froth, where colour cameras go blind. 18 froth metrics and process states, written straight to holding registers.
Request a trialSurface analytics for heavy industry
We instrument the process.
A camera finds the surface, frames the region that matters, and writes the number to your PLC. On-device, on-premises, in the protocol you already run.
The variables that decide a process are the ones nobody could measure in real time.
We measure them, on the plant floor, and hand the number to the control system that already runs the plant.
40001 · Signal path
How it works
The same path for every instrument: a camera on the process, the number computed on the device, written to a register your PLC already reads.
- 1 cam · FIELD OF VIEW
Camera
A fixed camera watches the surface your operators watch by eye — the froth in a cell, the foam on a tank.
- 2 edge · INFERENCE
On-device inference
The surface is measured on the device, at the plant. Classical computer vision at the core; nothing is sent off site.
- 3 40001 · WRITE
Modbus register
The measurement is written to a Modbus TCP holding register — coverage, texture, depth, state.
cov % → 40001
- 4 plc · READ
Your PLC / DCS
The control system reads another register and decides what to do. It behaves like a level transmitter.
No server. No cloud. No GPU rack.
- What does an X Vision instrument measure?
- The surface an operator watches by eye — froth in a flotation cell, foam on a process tank — turned into a continuous number: coverage, texture, depth, and process state.
- Does it need cloud connectivity?
- No. Inference runs on the device, on-premises. The instruments are offline-capable and nothing leaves site.
- How does the measurement reach the control system?
- As Modbus TCP holding registers. The PLC reads another register and decides what to do with it — the instrument behaves like a level transmitter.
- Does installation require a shutdown?
- No. A camera mounts over the launder or tank, and the instrument retrofits in hours without stopping the process.
- Does X Float use AI?
- The core is classical computer vision. Machine learning is used only for advanced pattern recognition, not as a black box.
Products
One system, three instruments
One camera-to-register path. Three surfaces — froth, foam, and the truth of a trade-waste discharge.
Edge-vision instrument
X Foam
Vision-based foam intelligence for process control.
Continuous 0–100% coverage, edge-proximity and trend for overflow prevention, advisory dosing. The camera measures; your PLC decides and actuates.
Request a trialSoftware division
Industrial Data Systems
Trade-waste compliance and billing you can defend.
Replaces the spreadsheet. Catches breaches at entry, not month-end. Reconciles the utility invoice against an independent estimate, and signs a monthly PDF.
industrialdata.systemsDatasheet
What the PLC gets
The instrument is a fixed camera and an edge computer. The output is a register. Everything a controls engineer needs to scope a retrofit.
| Measures | Surface state — coverage, texture, depth, and process state |
|---|---|
| Output | Modbus TCP holding registers (4–20 mA optional) |
| Update rate | Continuous, frame by frame |
| Compute | On-device at the edge — no cloud, no GPU rack |
| Network | On-premises, offline-capable — nothing leaves site |
| Mounting | Fixed camera over the launder or tank |
| Retrofit | Hours, no process shutdown |
| The PLC sees | Another register — it behaves like a level transmitter |
Proof
Running in the field
Mineral flotation
A scheelite flotation circuit in Tasmania, in continuous operation.
Process water
A major Australian food-processing plant, where one site runs two X Vision systems.
Each instrument behaves like a level transmitter your PLC already knows how to read.
Why it's different
Not another analytics subscription
Reads white froth
Works on white scheelite froth, where colour cameras go blind. Stereo depth carries the read that RGB-only systems miss.
A device, not a rack
A plug-and-play edge instrument you mount and read from the PLC. No cloud account, no data leaving site, no new IT project.
Measures and hands over
It reports a number and stops there. Your control system keeps every decision and every interlock.
Critical minerals are a national priority, and flotation is where recovery is won or lost.
Patent-pending instrumentation, built and running in Australia.
Instruments on live circuits today, feeding real control rooms.
Put an instrument on your hardest measurement.
Tell us the surface you can only judge by eye. We will show you the register it becomes.