Cognex Corporation
Encyclopedia
Cognex Corporation is a manufacturer of machine vision
systems, software and sensors used in automated manufacturing to inspect and identify parts, detect defects, verify product assembly, and guide assembly robots. Cognex is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA. It has offices in more than 20 countries.
Cognex was one of the first companies to explore commercial applications for machine vision in the early 1980s. In the 1990s, Cognex’s business grew rapidly due to the demand for machine vision tools to help automate semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. While semiconductor manufacturing remains an important market for Cognex vision, today the company receives a greater portion of its revenue from general manufacturing applications in areas such as pharmaceutical, automotive, healthcare, packaging, aerospace and consumer products manufacturing.
The company’s product portfolio includes In-Sight, a vision system that combines a camera, software and processor into one compact unit; VisionPro vision software; Checker, a single-purpose vision sensor used to provide high performance at certain common vision tasks, such as checking for the presence or absence of parts and features; DataMan, a family of fixed mount and handheld ID readers used to identify and track items by reading 1D and 2D Data Matrix codes; and SmartView, a vision system used to detect defects in materials such as metal, paper, and nonwovens that are manufactured at high speeds on a web.
The company's first vision system, DataMan, was introduced in 1982. DataMan was an optical character recognition (OCR) system designed to read, verify, and assure the quality of letters, numbers, and symbols printed on products and components. The company's first customer was a typewriter manufacturer that purchased DataMan to read letters on typewriter keys and ensure that they were located in the correct position.
In 1985, Cognex made the first of many acquisitions when it purchased Acumen, a U.S. based developer of wafer identification systems. Acquisitions have played an important role in the company’s growth and enabled Cognex to enter new markets for machine vision such as surface inspection and vehicle vision.
In 1989, Cognex went public on the NASDAQ
exchange for $1.38 per share—within a year, the stock price had tripled.
In 2004, the company won an intellectual property
victory when a federal judge ruled in Cognex's favor in a patent lawsuit brought against the estate of the inventor Jerome H. Lemelson
, who had filed dozens of submarine patent
s, some of which purported to cover machine vision processes. The patents were held invalid. The ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Cognex sold off its in-vehicle product in 2007, citing concerns about profitability and intellectual property issues.http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS212893+02-Jul-2008+BW20080702
Machine vision
Machine vision is the process of applying a range of technologies and methods to provide imaging-based automatic inspection, process control and robot guidance in industrial applications. While the scope of MV is broad and a comprehensive definition is difficult to distil, a "generally accepted...
systems, software and sensors used in automated manufacturing to inspect and identify parts, detect defects, verify product assembly, and guide assembly robots. Cognex is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA. It has offices in more than 20 countries.
Cognex was one of the first companies to explore commercial applications for machine vision in the early 1980s. In the 1990s, Cognex’s business grew rapidly due to the demand for machine vision tools to help automate semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. While semiconductor manufacturing remains an important market for Cognex vision, today the company receives a greater portion of its revenue from general manufacturing applications in areas such as pharmaceutical, automotive, healthcare, packaging, aerospace and consumer products manufacturing.
The company’s product portfolio includes In-Sight, a vision system that combines a camera, software and processor into one compact unit; VisionPro vision software; Checker, a single-purpose vision sensor used to provide high performance at certain common vision tasks, such as checking for the presence or absence of parts and features; DataMan, a family of fixed mount and handheld ID readers used to identify and track items by reading 1D and 2D Data Matrix codes; and SmartView, a vision system used to detect defects in materials such as metal, paper, and nonwovens that are manufactured at high speeds on a web.
History
Cognex Corporation was founded in 1981 by Dr. Robert J. Shillman, a lecturer in human visual perception at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and two MIT graduate students, Bill Silver and Marilyn Matz. Cognex stands for Cognition Experts.The company's first vision system, DataMan, was introduced in 1982. DataMan was an optical character recognition (OCR) system designed to read, verify, and assure the quality of letters, numbers, and symbols printed on products and components. The company's first customer was a typewriter manufacturer that purchased DataMan to read letters on typewriter keys and ensure that they were located in the correct position.
In 1985, Cognex made the first of many acquisitions when it purchased Acumen, a U.S. based developer of wafer identification systems. Acquisitions have played an important role in the company’s growth and enabled Cognex to enter new markets for machine vision such as surface inspection and vehicle vision.
In 1989, Cognex went public on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
exchange for $1.38 per share—within a year, the stock price had tripled.
In 2004, the company won an intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
victory when a federal judge ruled in Cognex's favor in a patent lawsuit brought against the estate of the inventor Jerome H. Lemelson
Jerome H. Lemelson
Jerome "Jerry" Hal Lemelson was a prolific American engineer, inventor, and patent holder...
, who had filed dozens of submarine patent
Submarine patent
A submarine patent is a patent whose issuance and publication are intentionally delayed by the applicant for a long time, such as several years. This strategy requires a patent system where patent applications are not published. In the United States, patent applications filed before November 2000...
s, some of which purported to cover machine vision processes. The patents were held invalid. The ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Cognex sold off its in-vehicle product in 2007, citing concerns about profitability and intellectual property issues.http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS212893+02-Jul-2008+BW20080702