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 continuous numbers. X Float alone measures over a dozen physical froth characteristics: bubble-size distribution, velocity, stability, texture, depth, colour and process state. Colour is only one of them.

Does it need cloud connectivity?

No. Inference runs on the device, on-premises. The instruments are offline-capable and nothing leaves site.

Does installation require a shutdown?

No. The instrument is a self-contained camera that needs only power and a network drop. It mounts over the launder or tank in minutes and commissions in hours, with no process shutdown — and it moves to another cell or tank just as easily. There is no fixed sampling rig to build and no routine maintenance in normal operation.

X Float's core is classical computer vision — over a dozen physical measurements taken straight from the image and stereo depth. Machine learning is added for higher-order tasks such as site-calibrated grade correlation, not as a black box. X Foam, by contrast, uses a neural segmentation model to separate foam from water by colour.

A bank of flotation cells inside a mill at night, froth spilling over the launder lips under sodium and mercury-vapour light.

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.

Scheelite flotation circuit, Tasmania — running since early 2026 Food-processing plant, Australia — around the clock

Flotation froth

X FLOAT · ROUGHER LAUNDER

Grey scheelite froth is the surface colour cameras go blind on. Over a dozen physical measurements — bubble size, velocity, stability, texture, stereo depth — mean colour is only one input, so the read holds when the contrast does not.

d32 bubble size: 1.4 mm
Surface coverage: 34 %
Froth velocity: 62 mm/s
Process state: OPTIMAL

A stainless machine-vision camera on a bracket above a flotation launder. — Mounted over the launder. Power and a network drop.

Overhead view of white foam on dark process water.

Process foam

X FOAM · AERATION TANK

Foam separated from the water by colour and texture, then reported as continuous coverage with edge proximity and trend. The camera measures and recommends; your PLC keeps every interlock and decides what to actuate.

Surface coverage: 61 %
Edge proximity: 40 mm
Trend: RISING
Process state: WATCH

A process tank under a thick foam blanket at night, steam rising. — Process tanks, Australian food plant. Watched around the clock.

Paper-mill stock

X FOAM · HEADBOX APPROACH

Fine entrained foam on pulp stock is the same measurement on a different material — coverage, cell size and trend, taken from the frame and written to a register. Nothing about the camera changes; only what it is pointed at.

Surface coverage: 78 %
Mean cell size: 0.8 mm
Trend: STEADY
Process state: NOMINAL

The wet end of a paper machine at night with foam along the wire. — Paper stock. The same instrument, a different surface.

It behaves like a level transmitter

The measurement lands where every other plant signal lands. Your PLC reads another register and decides what to do with it. There is nothing new for the control system to learn and nothing new for IT to approve.

Surface → Camera → On-device inference → Holding register → Your PLC

No server. No cloud. No GPU rack.

Measures	Physical surface characteristics — size, coverage, velocity, texture, stability, depth — plus 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	Power and a network drop — offline-capable, nothing leaves site
Mounting	Self-contained camera, fixed over the launder or tank
Install	Minutes to mount, hours to commission — no process shutdown
Maintenance	None in normal operation; moves to another cell or tank easily
The PLC sees	Another register — it behaves like a level transmitter

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 continuous numbers. X Float alone measures over a dozen physical froth characteristics: bubble-size distribution, velocity, stability, texture, depth, colour and process state. Colour is only one of them.
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. The instrument is a self-contained camera that needs only power and a network drop. It mounts over the launder or tank in minutes and commissions in hours, with no process shutdown — and it moves to another cell or tank just as easily. There is no fixed sampling rig to build and no routine maintenance in normal operation.
Does X Float use AI?: X Float's core is classical computer vision — over a dozen physical measurements taken straight from the image and stereo depth. Machine learning is added for higher-order tasks such as site-calibrated grade correlation, not as a black box. X Foam, by contrast, uses a neural segmentation model to separate foam from water by colour.

Three lines, one entity

Two edge-vision instruments that share a camera-to-Modbus path, and a software division that replaces the compliance spreadsheet.

X Float

EDGE-VISION INSTRUMENT

Continuous froth analysis for flotation control. Works on white scheelite froth, where colour cameras go blind. Grade appears only as site-calibrated correlation, never as a promised live output.

Details

X Foam

EDGE-VISION INSTRUMENT

Foam monitoring for water and process tanks, with advisory antifoam dosing. Around 50% lower antifoam use, modeled on the trial tank and specific to it.

Details

Industrial Data Systems

SOFTWARE DIVISION

Trade-waste compliance and billing you can defend. Catches breaches at data entry rather than at month-end, and reconciles the utility invoice against an independent estimate.

Details

Running tonight

Described by sector, geography and duration. We do not name customers.

Mineral flotation Scheelite circuit, Tasmania — continuous froth analysis on the rougher launder SINCE EARLY 2026

Food processing Major Australian plant — foam coverage and overflow watch across process tanks AROUND THE CLOCK

Critical minerals are a national priority, and flotation is where recovery is won or lost.

Designed, built and supported in Australia.

Instruments on live circuits today, feeding real control rooms.

The food plant runs two X Vision systems at once: the instrument on its tanks, and Industrial Data Systems on its trade-waste compliance. Instrumentation patent pending. Register values shown on this page are representative of the measurement and are not readings from a customer circuit.

Hardest

Close macro photograph of wet flotation froth.

Measurement

Tell us which one. We will put an instrument on it.

Request a trial

Or email support@xvisiontechnologies.com