Tichawa Vision

What Tichawa Vision does

Tichawa Vision GmbH is a German designer and manufacturer of Contact Image Sensors (CIS) — line-scan cameras in which multiple sensor chips are arranged end-to-end (including gaplessly, up to 4 metres) and integrated with illumination, optics and processing controllers in compact housings. Founded in 2001 by Krisztina 'Christine' Tichawa and headquartered in Friedberg near Augsburg, the company has more than 20 years of experience in CIS technology and has held ISO 9001 certification since 2000 (re-certified to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 in January 2022). Dr. Nikolaus Tichawa serves as co-CEO alongside Christine Tichawa; the group also includes a wholly-owned intellectual-property subsidiary, Tichawa IP GmbH, established in 2011. The company remains entirely founder/family-owned with no external institutional investment.

The product portfolio spans the VUCIS (flagship universal CIS with up to 16 illumination geometries and 10 illumination colours), BoroCIS (360° distortion-free internal inspection of tubes, pipes and bores from 10 mm diameter, with UV option for magnetic-particle crack detection per DIN 9934-1), RingCIS (360° external tube/profile inspection), BDCIS and MXCIS (extended working-distance and multi-axis variants), VacuumCIS (3 bar vacuum-compatible housing), WaferCIS (1200 dpi wafer inspection with coaxial illumination) and the Shape-from-Shading CIS (integrated quad-directional dark-field illumination for 3D topographic profiling in a 100x100mm housing). Underpinning these is the proprietary BergKristall sensor chip (up to 1,000 kHz line rate, monochrome/RGB/multispectral/hyperspectral modes). BoroCIS and RingCIS are patented via the Munich Patent Office; a look-through extension is patent-pending. Since fall 2023, sensor-chip bonding onto PCB has been performed in-house on F&S BONDTEC wire-bonder equipment installed in a dedicated bonding room within a high-tech production building opened in Friedberg around 2021.

Tichawa sells directly to industrial manufacturers through enterprise field sales, complemented by an integration-partner channel and presence at trade fairs including Control (Stuttgart), Tube (Düsseldorf) and SEMICON Europa. Revenue is generated primarily through hardware sales of standard, modified and fully custom CIS units (some up to 4 m scan width), supplemented by imaging-lab feasibility studies and consulting services that typically run 8–12 weeks and feed directly into 20–30 year product lifecycle commitments with compatible replacement parts. End markets include industrial flat-materials manufacturing, tube and pipe producers, semiconductor wafer inspection, battery foil and bipolar-plate production, aerospace/automotive non-destructive testing, and precision goods/printing. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and quotes are project-specific via [email protected].

Name

Tichawa Vision

Legal name

Tichawa Vision GmbH

Website

https://tichawa-vision.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tichawa Vision GmbH is a German designer and manufacturer of Contact Image Sensors (CIS) for industrial surface and interior inspection, serving manufacturers across flat materials, tubes/pipes, semiconductors, battery foil, aerospace, and precision goods with proprietary line-scan technology and custom solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Machine Vision & Inspection Hardware

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Inspection, Checkweighing & Detection Systems (Vision, Metal, X-ray) (IMALAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Machine Vision & Inspection Lighting (Ring lights, bar lights, backlights, strobed illumination) (IMAGAIAG), Industrial-Grade Sensors & Transducer Components (Discrete sensing elements, transducers, MEMS sensors) (IMAGAJAO), Dimensional Inspection Software (GD&T, SPC, Reporting) (IMAAAHAD)

Keywords

• Contact image sensors
• Industrial machine vision
• Surface inspection systems
• Line-scan imaging
• Quality control automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Friedberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. CIS Hardware Sales: Sale of Contact Image Sensor products including standard VUCIS, BoroCIS, RingCIS, MXCIS, BDCIS, and specialized variants. Products are available in lengths up to 1820mm (standard) or up to 4m. Direct B2B sales to industrial manufacturers with long product lifecycle support (20-30 years).
2. Custom/Modified CIS Solutions: Modified and custom CIS sensors tailored to specific customer requirements. Company adapts illumination angles, scan widths, optics, and configurations to meet unique inspection needs.
3. Professional Services / Imaging Lab Services: Feasibility studies and test image creation using in-house imaging lab before project initiation. Customer-specific image processing consulting and system configuration support to ensure optimal device performance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tichawa Vision GmbH designs and manufactures Contact Image Sensors (CIS) for industrial surface and quality inspection. Its product portfolio includes the VUCIS universal line-scan sensor, BoroCIS for 360° internal tube/pipe inspection, RingCIS for external tube inspection, BDCIS for extended working distance, MXCIS, Shape-from-Shading CIS for 3D profiling, VacuumCIS, and WaferCIS, plus the proprietary BergKristall sensor chip. Products are sold directly to industrial manufacturers with feasibility studies and custom configurations.

Product overview

Tichawa Vision is a German company with over 20 years of experience manufacturing Contact Image Sensors (CIS). Their product portfolio centers on industrial image processing systems for quality inspection and comprises several distinct CIS product families: VUCIS serves as the flagship universal sensor supporting 16 illumination geometries and 10 colors for flat object inspection; BoroCIS provides 360-degree internal inspection of tubes and pipes; RingCIS offers external 360-degree scanning of round objects; BDCIS delivers extended working distance capabilities; and Shape-from-Shading CIS enables 3D topographic imaging. The company also manufactures proprietary BergKristall sensor chips, offers illumination accessories, and provides custom sensor solutions. All products are designed and manufactured in Germany at their Friedberg facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VUCIS: Variable Universal Contact Image Sensor - latest generation with 16 illumination geometries and 10 illumination colors, available up to 1820mm length
• BoroCIS
• RingCIS
• VDCIS
• BDCIS
• MXCIS
• BergKristall
• VacuumCIS
• WaferCIS

Products and services

• VUCIS (Variable Universal CIS) Versatile Contact Image Sensor supporting 16 illumination geometries and 10 illumination colors with 8 optics options, available in lengths up to 1820mm for flat object inspection. Served as successor to VTCIS.
• BoroCIS World's first CIS for inner inspection of tubes, pipes, and bores from 10mm diameter. Features 360-degree distortion-free imaging, scanning depths up to 250mm, 'look-through' option for tube shoulders/bottoms, and UV option for magnetic particle crack detection per DIN 9934-1. Patented technology.
• RingCIS CIS bent into ring configuration for 360-degree external inspection of tubes, profiles, and pipes without object rotation. Features adjustable focus for different tube diameters with single device serving multiple product types. Patented technology.
• BDCIS (Bi-Directional CIS) Contact Image Sensor with extended working distance (up to 100mm) and large depth of field (up to 70mm) for inspecting tubes, profiles, and objects requiring greater standoff distance.
• MXCIS Multi-axis/extended Contact Image Sensor variant for specialized inspection applications.
• Shape-from-Shading CIS Integrated quad directional dark field illumination CIS generating 3D topographic images. Combines 4 light sources, controller, driver, and sensor in one 100x100mm housing for heights from micrometers to millimeters. Combines 4 directional light sources for Shape-from-Shading imaging.
• VacuumCIS CIS with vacuum-suitable housing capable of resisting pressure up to 3 bar, designed for inspection in vacuum environments where conventional CIS or industrial cameras cannot operate.
• WaferCIS High-resolution Contact Image Sensor for wafer inspection with 1200 dpi resolution, coaxial illumination, gapless image capture, 110mm installation height, and multiple calibration data sets for fast switching between wafer types.
• High-Speed 3D Scanner for Web Inspection Industrial CIS scanner using Shape-from-Shading/Photometric Stereo technology for precise 3D inspection at high speed, optionally in colour. Up to 1200 dpi resolution, up to 4m scan width, maximum line rate 250 kHz (FAST mode) / 22.5 kHz (STD mode). Scanning speed up to 114 m/min (FAST) / 1.9 m/s (STD). No lighting dome required, compact design for easy integration.
• Industrial Scanner for Foil Thickness Scanning CIS-based industrial scanner for measuring foil thickness in battery foil and bipolar plate inspection applications.
• Custom Solutions (Modified CIS) Modified and custom CIS sensors tailored to specific customer requirements including custom scan widths, illumination angles, optics, and integration configurations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 2 m/sec scanning speed for Shape from Shading CIS (previously limited by light availability)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability6 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MSTVisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSTVision received an award in the same category as Tichawa Vision at the VisionSystemsDesign InnovatorsAwards 2022. The two companies collaborate on Shape from Shading technology, with Tichawa's CIS products generating raw images processed by MSTVision's FPGA-based systems. Both companies were recognised for their jointly-developed imaging solutions.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Basler AG: German industrial camera manufacturer specializing in area-scan and line-scan cameras for machine vision, with strong foothold in factory automation and semiconductor inspection. Closest direct peer in terms of German Mittelstand heritage, line-scan camera technology, and industrial inspection customer base.
• IDS Imaging Development Systems: German industrial camera manufacturer offering 2D and 3D vision cameras for factory automation, quality inspection, and machine vision integration. Comparable as a German Mittelstand peer competing in industrial image capture with similar integration-partner sales motion.
• Stemmer Imaging AG: European machine vision technology provider offering cameras, software, and integration services for industrial inspection, with deep CIS/line-scan and 3D vision expertise. Comparable as a value-added system integrator and vision component provider across Tichawa's served verticals.
• ISRA VISION AG: German machine vision specialist (now part of Atlas Copco) focused on industrial surface inspection and 3D machine vision across automotive, glass, metal, and packaging — directly comparable to Tichawa's surface, foil, and web inspection applications.

Broad incumbents

• Cognex Corporation: US-based leader in machine vision and industrial barcode reading, with vision software (e.g., integrated with Tichawa CIS via Halcon/Cognex pipelines) and smart cameras widely used in industrial QA. Overlaps with Tichawa on the software/processing side of CIS-driven inspection systems.
• Keyence Corporation: Japan-based global leader in industrial automation sensors, machine vision systems, and code readers. Highly comparable as a competitor in factory-floor inspection, though with a vastly larger portfolio and direct-sales model across flat, 3D, and surface inspection applications overlapping with VUCIS and Shape-from-Shading CIS.
• Omron Corporation: Japanese industrial automation giant offering machine vision systems, sensors, and quality inspection solutions globally. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping inspection capabilities in factory automation, semiconductor, and automotive quality control.
• Teledyne DALSA: Canadian industrial digital imaging and semiconductor specialist offering line-scan, area-scan, and X-ray detectors used in inspection, with strong position in semiconductor and flat-panel inspection. Overlaps directly with Tichawa's WaferCIS and web inspection applications.
• SICK AG: German global leader in industrial sensors and machine vision, including 2D and line-scan inspection cameras used across factory automation. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering machine vision inspection with much wider product portfolio and global reach than Tichawa's niche CIS focus.

Emerging players

• MVTec Software GmbH: German machine vision software vendor (HALCON, MERLIC) commonly integrated with industrial cameras including CIS. Complementary rather than direct competitor — Tichawa CIS outputs are processed via Halcon, making MVTec a key ecosystem partner and adjacent peer in the German machine vision stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@tichawavisiongmbh1148
• Xx.com/tichawavision
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tichawa Vision