Ford's home-grown AI cameras check for defects at nearly 700 workstations

Aug. 11, 2025 — Ford has put two AI vision systems it built itself, AiTriz and MAIVS, on assembly lines to catch defects at the workstation before vehicles reach end-of-line checks, Automotive News and Business Insider reported. MAIVS runs at nearly 700 workstations in North America. Ford hasn't said what either system has saved. Here's what happened, what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of Aug. 11, 2025)

Outcome: "It absolutely has helped from an operational standpoint," Dearborn Truck engineering manager Patrick Frye told BI. "It allows for better in-station process control." No defect-rate figures were given. (Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)
Cost: Not disclosed. MAIVS uses smartphones on 3D-printed holders. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)
Scale: AiTriz at 35 North American stations and 90 worldwide, per a Ford spokesperson. MAIVS at nearly 700 workstations. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)

How the two systems work

AiTriz is named after its inventor, Beatriz Garcia Collado, an engineer at Ford's plant in Valencia, Spain. It launched in the U.S. at Dearborn Truck in December, Automotive News reported. Officials say it can see whether a connection is off by 1 millimeter, even in poor light or when workers pass through the camera's field of view, AN reported. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)

When it flags a concern, it alerts a team leader, who can stop the line or fix the problem before the vehicle moves on. It can tell vehicle variants apart, for example a regular F-150 from a Raptor. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)

MAIVS, the Mobile Artificial Intelligence Vision System, uses a smartphone on a 3D-printed holder to photograph components. It can be programmed for hundreds of inspections, AN reported. BI says it debuted in January 2024. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025; Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)

"MAIVS is quite a bit simpler and faster to deploy," said Jeff Tornabene, technology manager at Ford's Manufacturing Technology and Development Center. "AiTriz takes a bit longer, but it has a little bit more capability." (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)

MAIVS was developed by Walter LaPlante, a control and industrial connectivity supervisor, for Chicago Assembly Plant. He won Ford's Henry Ford Technology Award in 2021 for the work. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)

Why at the station

Ford says most of these issues would be caught in end-of-line checks, but fixes there often mean taking part of the vehicle apart, AN reported. Fixing those defects later often meant ripping out carpets or removing seats, BI reported, citing Frye. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025; Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)

"With our handwear to protect our hands, or the general factory noise, you don't always hear the click, or you can't always feel the snap of two connectors going together," Frye said. (Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)

Brandon Tolsma, a vision engineer at the center, told BI that some faulty connectors used to pass final inspection because they made basic electrical contact, then could jostle loose on the road. (Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)

"Before, we always did things after the fact. Now, I can look at it right now," Dearborn Truck plant manager Corey Williams told AN. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)

The recall backdrop

AN reported, citing NHTSA data, that Ford led the industry in total recalls three of the past four years and again led halfway through 2025, with 82. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)

BI, writing in August, put Ford at a record 94 recalls for the year and said it had led the industry four of the past five years. BI also cited the Detroit Free Press as saying one fuel-leak recall would cost $570 million. (Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)

Morningstar analyst David Whiston told BI that AI "done effectively could reduce recalls over the next decade and beyond," but "for now, there's no guarantee it'll work." (Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)

Ford officials said both tools are meant to assist workers, not replace them. "The definition of success isn't how many cameras I've installed," Tornabene told AN. "It's how we've affected quality and how we've impacted the customer." (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025; Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)

What went wrong

Defects found too late. Before AiTriz, many electrical issues didn't surface until final inspection, if at all, Frye told BI. (Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)
Hard-to-sense connections. Gloves and noise hid the click of a seated connector. (Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025)
Costly teardown. Late fixes meant partly disassembling vehicles, adding time, cost and new chances for error. (Automotive News via Yahoo, July 6, 2025)
What we don't know yet: defect rates, rework hours or warranty savings tied to either system. Ford has published none.

Our follow-up question for Ford

What defect-escape and rework rates have AiTriz and MAIVS stations shown against stations without them?

Sources

Michael Martinez, “In-house AI systems help Ford spot vehicle defects earlier,” Automotive News (via Yahoo), July 6, 2025. tech.yahoo.com
Ben Shimkus, “Ford's AI cameras are catching hard-to-spot manufacturing errors,” Business Insider, Aug. 11, 2025. businessinsider.com

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder