Cognex Vision Sensors Selected by Leading Japanese Industrial Robot Manufacturer.

NATICK, Mass. -- Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision sensors and systems, announced today that a major Japanese supplier of industrial robots has standardized on Cognex In-Sight[R] vision sensors for their 3-axis and SCARA robots.

The manufacturer will produce certain robot models with the In-Sight sensor integrated directly into the robot, and other models will be provided with specially designed firmware to optimize direct connection between In-Sight and the robot's controller. This partnership is expected to generate more than $300,000 in annual revenue for Cognex.

Vision-guided robots offer manufacturers increased flexibility and significant cost savings by eliminating the need for part fixturing, making it possible for a variety of different items to be manufactured on the same assembly line. This "mass customization" enables manufacturers to customize products very efficiently, without the need for a dedicated line for each version of the product.

"Industries such as automobile manufacturing have long used vision-guided robots, but recent breakthroughs in cost, ease of use, and reliability by Cognex have led to wider acceptance by other industries," said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Cognex's Chairman and CEO. "In-Sight is designed to provide the best possible performance for robotic applications at the lowest possible price. In addition to its extraordinary ruggedness, In-Sight comes with the option to use Cognex PatMax[R] software, which can locate and identify parts with extremely high accuracy, despite variations in orientation, size and appearance. Software tools such as PatMax have made In-Sight the preferred choice for many industrial applications, and now, with this win, In-Sight should soon become the standard for robot guidance, too."

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision sensors and systems, or devices that can "see." Cognex vision sensors are used in factories around the world to automate the manufacture of a wide range of items and to assure their quality. Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 350,000 machine vision systems, representing over $2 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, Cognex also has regional offices and distributors located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Visit Cognex on-line at http://www.cognex.com.