This landscape maps 157 published records dated between 2015 and 2026 that combine surface defect detection, machine vision inspection or automated optical inspection language with technical qualifiers such as illumination geometry, false rejection rate or data augmentation. That is a filtered, purpose-built count rather than every patent that mentions machine vision, so it should not be compared directly to broader computer-vision patent counts. The filtering is what makes the 157 figure useful for competitive analysis rather than a raw keyword hit count.

The ranked leader holds 13 of the 157 records in scope, with the top 5 assignees combined reaching 19.7% of all records — a real lead but not a dominant one. The field includes automotive component makers, optical hardware vendors, semiconductor equipment firms and university labs, and the ranking runs to 100 companies, most holding only a handful of records each. That spread means tracking a single incumbent misses most of the competitive activity in this space.

Filings grew from 15 records in 2021 to 30 in 2024, a documented doubling over three years and the clearest growth signal in this dataset. Counts for 2025 and 2026 appear lower in the raw trend, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication, not an actual slowdown. Any read of the most recent one to two years should be treated as provisional until later publications catch up.