COGNEX INTRODUCES TWO NEW HIGH-PERFORMANCE MACHINE VISION SYSTEMS

Checkpoint 800 and Cognex 5600 Bring New Reference Levels of Performance
for Industrial Machine Vision

ROBOTS AND VISION AUTOMATION SHOW, DETROIT, MI, May 9, 1995--Cognex
Corporation, (NASDAQ - CGNX) the world's leading supplier of machine
vision systems, today announced two new high performance vision systems
designed for automated part inspection.

The Checkpoint 800--an easy-to-use box level or VMEbus-based system, and
the Cognex 5600--a C-programmable PC plug-in system, take advantage of new
hardware and software technology from Cognex to set a new reference level
of accuracy and high-speed for industrial machine vision. These systems
represent the high-end in the Cognex product family, the most
comprehensive line of vision systems currently available.

"We believe that these systems advance the state-of-the-art for machine
vision," notes Cognex CEO Robert Shillman. "Customers have told us that
they need truly flexible, high-speed automated inspection platforms that
consistently deliver accurate, reliable results on their fastest
production lines. We've engineered many of their most requested features
into the Cognex 5600 and Checkpoint 800."

Manufacturers with demanding automated inspection applications in the
pharmaceutical, electronics, bottling, printing, and packaging industries
will be the primary users of these systems. The Checkpoint 800 is ideal
for engineers with little programming or machine vision experience who
require a standalone or VMEbus-based vision system. The Cognex 5600 is
ideal for equipment manufacturers seeking to tightly integrate a flexible
machine vision system into their host PC. Typical applications include
verifying and inspecting print on consumer packaging and pharmaceutical
labels, detecting flaws and defects on glass or plastic bottles, and
inspecting for chips and cracks on tablets.

The Checkpoint 800 and Cognex 5600 both feature expanded image acquisition
and video technology. In addition, they employ the new Cognex vision
co-processor known as VC-3, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated
Circuit) that significantly improves the speed and accuracy of real-time
image processing and analysis.

Checkpoint 800--Easy-to-Use, High Performance Vision System

Checkpoint 800 is the new high-performance model in the easy-to-use
Checkpoint family of vision systems introduced in 1994. It features a new
CPU for significantly faster operation, expanding the scope of Checkpoint
applications to include consumer product inspections, bottling, and
stamping. With the system, Cognex also introduces new Checkpoint
application development software and machine vision tools. These
grey-scale vision tools are highly tolerant to typical changes in part
appearance, position, and lighting, thereby enhancing reliability and
accuracy for plant-floor applications.

Like the earlier generation of Checkpoint, the new Model 800 features a
Microsoft Windows development interface that combines ease-of-use with the
power and flexibility of a programming language. This combination enables
manufacturing engineers to create and implement advanced inspection
applications without programming expertise or in-depth knowledge of vision
technology.

Cognex has also designed the Checkpoint 800 machine vision processor to be
available in two form factors: in a stand-alone 12-slot enclosure, and as
a self-contained VME boardset for easy integration into industrial
automation platforms based on the VME bus.

A Checkpoint 800 starter system includes everything that a first time
vision user will need to develop a vision solution. The system will be
available in June 1995 for an all-inclusive price of under $33,000.
Additional deployment systems are priced under $25,000 depending upon
configuration. Cognex is also offering the original basic Checkpoint 400
starter system with the new Version 2.2 of the system software for
$23,900.

Cognex 5600--High Performance PC Plug-in Vision System

The Cognex 5600 is designed to be the highest performance "inspection
engine" available for the PC as well as the performance leader in the
Cognex 5000 series of vision systems. This single-slot PC plug-in module
takes advantage of an on-board 32 bit computer, Cognex vision
co-processors, a versatile image acquisition system, and the Cognex vision
tool library, to provide faster and more accurate inspection capabilities
than any other PC-based machine vision system currently on the market. By
performing all vision-related tasks, the Cognex 5600 frees the host PC to
become a true multiprocessing system for machine control, data
acquisition, and user operation.

The Cognex 5600 enables users to take advantage of its hardware
capabilities with the full suite of Cognex vision software, including new
tools for inspecting round objects and verifying color correctness of a
part. Through C-language programming, developers can access these
grey-scale vision tools designed for part inspection, assembly
verification, optical character recognition, and dimensional measurement.

The Cognex 5600 is available for immediate delivery. Prices range from
$10,000 to $15,000 depending upon quantity and configuration.

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine
vision systems, or computers that can "see," which are used to automate a
wide range of manufacturing processes where vision is required. Having
shipped more than 25,000 machine vision systems to date, Cognex is the
world's leader in the machine vision industry. In addition to its
headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, the company has offices throughout
the United States and Europe, and in Japan and Singapore.

Cognex Corp
One Vision Dr
Natick, MA 01760-2059
508-650-3000,  fax 508-650-3333

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