Cognex Introduces New Frame Grabber for High-Speed Analog Cameras.

Business Editors

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 3, 2003

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ - CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems and vision sensors, today unveils the MVS-8501 frame grabber. The MVS-8501 was designed for the next generation of high-speed analog cameras that use the latest progressive scan CCD sensor technology.

The MVS-8501 joins the high-performance MVS-8500 Series, which also includes the four-channel MVS-8504 frame grabber that supports up to four independent cameras. The MVS-8501 provides the high-speed acquisition capability of the MVS-8504, in cost-effective single-channel architecture that supports up to four multiplexed cameras.

In addition to supporting the new generation of double-speed analog cameras, the MVS-8501 is backward compatible with standard speed analog interlaced and progressive scan cameras. As a result, the MVS-8501 provides an economical platform for equipment builders and factory automation engineers currently migrating their PC-based machine vision systems to the new generation of 60 frame-per-second standard resolution analog cameras.

"Combined with the new high-speed analog cameras that provide twice the performance of standard cameras at a comparable price point, the MVS-8501 enables customers to cost effectively achieve higher performance in their machine vision applications," said Justin Testa, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Cognex. "Moreover, the frame grabbers come equipped with the industry's highest performance machine vision software tools, including Cognex's industry leading PatMax(R) technology for locating objects despite changes in angle, scale, and appearance."

Developers familiar with Microsoft Visual C++(R) can choose the CVL(R) (Cognex Vision Library) Software Developer's Kit to program fully customized solutions for a variety of vision applications. Alternatively, developers can choose VisionPro(R), a suite of COM/Active-X(R) based vision software tools that combine the power and flexibility of advanced programming with the ease of development that graphical programming environments provide.

The MVS-8501 frame grabber provides real-time image transfer over the PCI bus to system memory for analysis. Independent DMA (Direct Memory Access) eliminates delays by allowing captured images to be processed at the same time other images are being captured. The Cognex MVS-8501 is a half-slot frame grabber that is PCI 2.31 compliant. The MVS-8501 has an 8 MB FIFO for reliable image transfer and employs a high-speed 32-bit/33-MHz bus architecture. The MVS-8501 is available now.

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision systems and machine vision sensors, or computers that can "see." Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 200,000 vision systems, representing over $1.5 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. 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. Active-X and Visual C++ are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Visit Cognex on-line at http://www.cognex.com.