Cognex Enters Into Product Development Agreement With Accu-Sort Systems

Natick, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 2002--Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, announced today that it has entered into a multi-year product development and OEM agreement with Accu-Sort Systems, a worldwide provider of automation systems.

Under the agreement, Cognex will develop new machine vision products to be used by Accu-Sort to automatically acquire images of packages moving by at high speeds on material handling lines, and then analyze those images in order to perform a variety of tasks. For example, these new systems will be used for determining various physical package features, positioning, OCR, OCV and pattern matching.

The materials handling industry has historically used laser scanning systems to read bar code labels on products and packages in order to track them through manufacturing, warehousing, and shipping processes. However, the industry is increasingly turning to the use of video camera-based scanning technology because it can provide additional information on the products that cannot be included in linear or two-dimensional barcodes. Video scanning systems are capable of 'seeing' the entire product or package--not just the bar code label. With this added information, the scanner can even check the condition of the package or product to ensure that it is not damaged.

'Accu-Sort is the leading supplier of camera-based systems for bar code reading and dimensioning in the material handling industry, and Cognex is the world leader in developing robust machine vision software in a wide range of industries,' said David Wurz, Chief Operating Officer of Accu-Sort. 'The combination of two vision system leaders brings unmatched experience and expertise to manufacturing, packaging and other industries. We look forward to leveraging Cognex's leading edge vision technology to provide new services and capabilities to our customers.'

'We are very excited to be working with Accu-Sort on this project, which builds on Cognex's proven expertise in pattern-recognition in high speed applications,' said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Cognex's President, CEO, and Chairman. 'This opportunity is an indication of how machine vision is continuing to expand into new industries and application areas as the technology develops and as the costs come down.'

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Accu-Sort Systems provides engineered solutions for automatic identification and material handling. The company is the world leader in industrial fixed-position line and omnidirectional laser bar code and 2D scanning equipment and RFID-based solutions. Through it's AccuVision® line of CCD cameras, the company offers the world's leading technology for 2D scanning, OCR, dimensioning and image capture. Also offered is the latest in RFID technology. Accu-Sort's Integrated Systems Group provides a range of comprehensive solutions for distribution, warehousing, manufacturing and data management.

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 more than 150,000 machine vision systems, representing over $1 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, plastics, and nonwovens. 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.

Contact:
Cognex Corporation
Robin Pratt, (508) 650-3384