As the shaper gets closer to release I really think cameras are the future of cnc. The glowforge will use them extensively, the shaper will depend on them for its very existence, and now it is rumored that there may be camera support coming to the handibot with the new control card and software.
The handibot rumor has me the most excited as it is a great machine but it’s biggest downfall has been indexing beyond its 6x8" window.