RVSI Anticipates Lower than Expected Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2000 Results

CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS - September 14, 2000 -Robotic Vision Systems, Inc. (RVSI) (Nasdaq: ROBV) today said it anticipates lower than expected revenues and earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2000.  The world's premier machine vision company said it currently believes revenues will be in the range of $60 to $63 million and net income will be $0.06 to $0.09 per share.  Analysts currently forecast that RVSI will earn $0.18 per share on revenues of $68 to $70 million.

The company attributes the lower than anticipated revenues to temporary order deferrals for semiconductor inspection equipment.   The company believes orders should resume a more normal pattern in the quarter that begins October 1, 2000.

"Based on the evidence at hand, we believe certain orders are 'moving to the right' by a month or two," said Pat V. Costa, Chairman and CEO of RVSI.  "If that is the case, we should see a recovery of bookings in our December quarter.  We believe we are seeing a momentary pause in orders caused by the industry's inability to bring large amounts of back-end capacity on stream, coupled with two other factors: over-purchasing of test equipment that strained capital budgets and a need on the part of back-end subcontractors to see clear evidence of additional wafer starts at front-end facilities.  We are continuing to see orders for technology changeover and additions to capacity at certain back-end companies.  For the present time, we are proceeding on the basis that this is the case."

Mr. Costa said that the industry trend favors a quick return to growth.  "Overall chip demand continues to grow.  There is new front-end capacity coming on stream and the percentage of chips requiring inspection is rising.  We are seeing several requests for extremely fast delivery on product." 

RVSI Acuity CiMatrix is expected to perform on plan for the quarter.  "Unit level traceability using Data Matrix continues to grow as a concept and as a contributor to revenues," Mr. Costa said.  "Sales to electronics companies, including three of Europe's largest communications equipment manufacturers, accelerated dramatically. Machine vision sales are also rising with the introduction of several new members of the Visionscape™ family.  We have made excellent penetration of end user accounts in electronics, semiconductor, automotive, pharmaceutical, medical devices, and material handling." 

Mr. Costa said that for the present, the company intended to take no extraordinary action to pare costs. "Based on what we currently see, we believe we can achieve overall bookings of up to $70 million in the first fiscal quarter.  If those bookings come to pass and we continue to see requests for rapid delivery and installation in semiconductor inspection products, it is not unreasonable to expect that RVSI's revenues and earnings will be back on track in the December quarter." 

The company acknowledged that its expectations for fourth-quarter fiscal 2000 results are preliminary. RVSI plans to announce its final results for the fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2000 on November 2, 2000.

Analyst Teleconference and Simultaneous Webcast
RVSI will host an analyst teleconference to discuss its preliminary fourth-quarter fiscal 2000 results and outlook this morning at 8:45 a.m. EDT. Internet users will be able to access a simultaneous, listen-only webcast of the teleconference through StreetFusion.com. An archive of the webcast will also be available at this site for 30 days.

Tape Replay
A taped replay of the analyst teleconference will be available at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT today. This replay will be available for one week. To listen to the teleconference replay, please dial 402-998-1569.

About RVSI
Robotic Vision Systems, Inc. (RVSI) has the most comprehensive line of machine vision systems available today. Headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, with offices worldwide, RVSI is the world leader in vision-based semiconductor inspection and media transfer equipment. Using leading-edge technology, RVSI joins vision-enabled process equipment, high-performance optics, lighting, and advanced hardware and software to assure product quality, identify and track parts, control manufacturing processes, and ultimately enhance profits for companies worldwide. Currently serving the semiconductor, electronics, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical and packaging industries, RVSI holds approximately 100 patents in a broad range of technologies.

Additional information for shareholders
Except for the historical information herein, certain matters discussed in this release include forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary significantly based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: the historical cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, risks in products and technology development, market acceptance of new products and continuing product demand, the impact of competitive products and pricing, changing economic conditions, both here and abroad, timely development and release of new products and strategic suppliers and customers, the effect of the company's accounting policies and other risk factors detailed in the Company's most recent registration statement, annual report on Form 10-K and 10K/A, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For further information contact:
Neal H. Sanders (781) 302-2439