Cognex Corp. Introduces Video Camera Designed Specifically for Industrial Machine Vision Applications.

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 1999--

Cognex Partners with Sony Corp. to Develop World's First Camera

to Offer High-Speed Image Acquisition, Enhanced Image Quality,

Compact Size, Flexible Control, and Direct Interface to

Cognex's Machine Vision Systems

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, today introduced the Cognex CVC-1000, a progressive scan video camera developed specifically for industrial machine vision applications. Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, the leading manufacturer of industrial cameras, developed the camera to Cognex's machine vision requirements and will manufacture the CVC-1000 exclusively for Cognex.

The Cognex CVC-1000 is the first camera for industrial machine vision applications that combines high-speed image acquisition, enhanced image quality, compact size, and flexible control options. Until now, these features have been available only in larger, more expensive cameras. In addition, the camera is designed specifically to interface to Cognex products.

"This is an exciting development for Cognex and for our customers," said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of Cognex. "As machine vision processing power increases, image acquisition can become a weak link in the overall solution. By combining Sony's expertise in camera design and Cognex's knowledge of the unique video requirements for machine vision, we can offer an industrial camera that enables our customers to take full advantage of the increased performance of our latest vision systems."

"We were very pleased to work with Cognex on this unique camera. Cognex has an excellent engineering team, and the company is clearly both a business and technical leader in the machine vision industry," said Shunzo Ura, General Manager of Image Sensing Products Sales for the Broadcasting and Professional Systems Company of Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. "The camera we have developed will significantly benefit Cognex's machine vision users, especially since it offers progressive scan video technology which means, in simple terms, that it can capture more image data in less time."

The CVC-1000 captures images at 60 frames per second, which is twice the speed of most cameras. This is a significant benefit in applications such as can and bottle cap inspection, where objects are moving quickly by the camera and the results must be reported instantly. In addition to higher image acquisition speed, the CVC-1000 provides higher quality images, which means that the machine vision system has better image data for making more accurate decisions, such as where an object is located and whether it is defective. And, the camera is built in a compact enclosure, which enables it to fit on most robotic arms and moving X-Y stages used in industrial machine vision applications.

The CVC-1000 also provides flexible options for setting up each vision application, such as allowing the user to configure the camera to capture a small area of interest within a larger field of view; this helps increase throughput in high-speed applications such as razor blade inspection in which the vision system only needs to inspect the long and narrow edge region of the razor. In addition, the camera will integrate directly to Cognex's MVS-8000 and Checkpoint 900 machine vision systems, which allows camera configurations, such as shutter speed, to be controlled through the machine vision system's software. "This camera will provide our customers with advantages over their competitors, and it will provide an additional barrier to Cognex's competitors," said Dr. Shillman.

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision systems, or computers that can "see." Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped to date more than 75,000 machine vision systems. Cognex's Modular Vision Systems Division, headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, specializes in machine vision systems which are used for automating the manufacture of a wide range of discrete items and for assuring their quality. Cognex's Surface Inspection Systems Division, headquartered in Alameda, California, specializes in machine vision systems which are used for inspecting the surfaces of products manufactured in a continuous fashion, such as metals, paper, and plastics. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, Cognex also has regional offices located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Visit Cognex on-line at http://www.cognex.com.