In the early days of machine-vision systems, getting individual pieces of equipment from a range of different manufacturers to connect with one another was a nightmare because they all used their own connectors. This created a serious problem for machine-vision system manufacturers and led to the development of Camera Link specification standards by the Automated Imaging Association and the Machine Vision Global Trade Group.

The thought behind the creation of this standard was to make it possible for a company like Fast Vision to use any manufacturer's equipment in their machine-vision system without the need to purchase multiple adaptors and software to make it all work and play well together. The camera-link specification turns all of the different brands of equipment into plug and play, so that each type can be carried from one location to another and still be connected into place.