Cognex enlists major camera suppliers for strategic alliance

Cognex® Corporation (NASDAQ - CGNX), the producer of the world’s most widely used vision software and vision tools—VisionPro® software—today announced the launch of the Cognex Acquisition Alliance. Through the Acquisition Alliance, Cognex establishes strong technical and marketing relationships with major camera manufacturers. This strategic partnership program provides our mutual customers with best-in-class, integrated machine vision solutions.

Benefits of the Acquisition Alliance program include rapid integration and qualification of new partner cameras with Cognex VisionPro software through vendor self-verification and enhanced customer service due to product cross-training.

The following suppliers have already joined the Acquisition Alliance: Allied Vision Technologies, Basler AG, DALSA Corporation, e2V, Imperx Incorporated, JAI, Point Grey Research® Inc., and Prosilica Inc. “We are excited to have these premier camera vendors taking part in this initiative and expect additional partners to be added shortly,” says Markku Jaaskelainen, Executive Vice President and Vision Software Business Unit Manager. He added, “Discussions for expansion have already begun.”

“We are honored to be part of the Cognex Acquisition Alliance, which effectively formalizes the strong relationship that we have built with their organization over the last several years,” says Michael Gibbons, Product Marketing Manager at Point Grey Research, a world leader of advanced imaging products and one of the Acquisition Alliance partners. "We strongly believe that this program will yield valuable benefits for our mutual customers. By providing a process for fast and easy delivery of Cognex Configuration Files (CCF) for all supported Point Grey cameras, we can maximize product compatibility and minimize integration issues.”

Advanced “vision power tools” such as PatMax®, PatInspect®, PatFlex®, IDMax®, and OCVMax™, accurately guide, identify and inspect parts with reliable and repeatable results, despite variations in part appearance due to the manufacturing process. The powerful acquisition software in VisionPro provides pre-configured, tightly integrated acquisition support for the complete range of industrial cameras and video formats. This allows cost-effective image acquisition using GigE VisionTM, FireWire®, Camera Link®, high-speed analog, and many other image sources. The Acquisition Alliance ensures that more manufacturers will have access to the top vision software on the market.

For more information, please visit www.cognex.com/alliance.

About Point Grey Research Inc.
Point Grey Research, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the development of advanced digital camera technology products for machine vision, industrial imaging, and computer vision applications. Based in Richmond, BC, Canada, Point Grey designs, manufactures and distributes IEEE-1394 (FireWire) and USB 2.0 cameras that are known for their excellent quality, performance, and ease of use. A broad range of hardware, software and mechanical engineering skills has allowed Point Grey to successfully bring many innovative and ground-breaking products to market. This drive for innovation has led to many industry firsts, including the first and smallest 1394b digital camera.

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 450,000 machine vision systems, representing over $2,5 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.