Techniques for extracting useful information from images deployed as part of an industrial or manufacturing process. Most such techniques require close control of the conditions under which the image is obtained, in particular the use of optimal lighting to get the best quality image, and the use of fiducial markers for accurate positional data. A variety of edge detection and feature matching algorithms are then used to extract useful information. The main application is for automatic inspection systems for quality control, particularly in electronics manufacturing. See also computer vision.