RVSI Demonstrates Convergence of Machine Vision and Automatic Identification Technologies at Frontline Solutions Expo

CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS - October 3, 2000 - Robotic Vision Systems, Inc. (RVSI) (NASDAQ: ROBV) today unveiled a new line of high resolution, ultra-fast scanning products designed to facilitate e-commerce-driven material handling and package sortation operations.  The product suite, brought to market by the company's RVSI Acuity CiMatrix division, will be demonstrated beginning today at Frontline Solutions Expo in Chicago.

At that trade show, RVSI will also demonstrate its product family and technology for unit level traceability. 'The machine vision and the bar code worlds are merging with a speed that could not have been imagined even a few years ago,' said Pat V. Costa, RVSI' s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  'More than any other company, RVSI stands at the intersection of these two technologies; offering customer solutions that bridge the two worlds.  With the products RVSI is introducing at Frontline Solutions, automatic identification, bar code, and machine vision become individual strands of a common technology.'

RVSI will demonstrate two categories of products at the trade show: high-speed bar-code-scanning products built around CCD technology for package sortation; and unit level traceability solutions based on Data Matrix, the international direct-part-marking standard developed by RVSI, read by RVSI's family of fixed-mount and mobile imagers. A new generation of package sortation solutions

'RVSI's new scanning products provide unprecedented capabilities in camera- and laser-based reading solutions for managing the types of high speed material handling and package sortation operations that are blossoming from the huge increase in e-commerce activities,' said Tom Chisholm, General Manager of Material Handling. 'Our new MHV-1000 and MHV-2000 products provide mega pixel and line scan CCD cameras for high speed, robust, omni-directional decoding of 2-D and 1-D bar codes in these highly demanding environments. Also, our new OMNI-2000 omni-directional laser-based scanner adds new capabilities to our already robust offering of laser scanners used in material handling applications and parcel sortation.'

These e-commerce enabling products include software and middleware to provide data collection and communication capabilities to an enterprises' resource planning system. 'Supporting e-commerce companies demands instantaneous response and support,' Mr. Chisholm said, 'Our CiView™ and CiTunnel™ software brings 24/7/365 remote online diagnostics and analysis capabilities to provide maintenance support for our material handling products.' Unit level traceability becomes reality

RVSI Acuity CiMatrix will also demonstrate complete traceability solutions for the aerospace and automotive markets. RVSI will showcase its Mark, Verify, Read, and Communicate (M/V/R/C) solution for parts that require 2-D bar codes to be directly applied to their surfaces. The Mark solution is supported by RVSI Acuity CiMatrix's research facility in Huntsville, Alabama, the Symbology Research Center (SRC).

'The Symbology Research Center provides direct part mark consulting services to the aerospace, automotive, and government markets,' said Don Roxby, Director of the SRC. 'We work with all principal vendors of marking systems and all marking techniques.  Our goal is to offer fast turnaround on solutions to our customer's marking problems.'

The Read solution comes from the MXi Hand Held direct part mark reader, which reads low contrast and damaged codes on metal and plastic parts that are produced by laser, chemical etch, ink jet, and dot peening marking technologies. This product line also includes the HT-200 and HT-250 products, which provide low cost, robust image reading for label and other high contrast applications. Verification comes from the DMx Verifier+™, RVSI's in-line real-time verification product, which provides, for the first time, the ability to verify the quality of the matrix bar code directly marked on a part.

In addition to its own proprietary solutions, RVSI Acuity CiMatrix has a strategic partnership with a leading automatic data collection company to provide the communication portion of this solution through their broad offering of hand-held data collection devices, RF networks, applications, and systems integration services.

RVSI Acuity CiMatrix is at Booth No. 1229 at Frontline Solutions Expo 2000 in Rosemont, Illinois, October 3-5. 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.

DMx Verifier+™, CiView™ and CiTunnel™ are trademarks of RVSI.

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