1982: This Baby Can Read

Cognex invents DataMan, the world’s first industrial-strength optical character recognition (OCR) system that can read letters, numbers and symbols that appear on the surfaces of items ranging from car tires to semiconductor wafers where no ink is used!

1982: We Sold Something!

IBM purchased DataMan to read serial numbers laser-etched on the surfaces of semiconductor wafers. That first DataMan system read 15 characters per second while wafer ID readers from Cognex today are hundreds of times faster. Talk about progress!

1986: Searching for Success

Cognex co-founder Bill Silver develops a powerful software tool called “Search” that locates patterns very accurately and at blinding speeds, even when running on low-cost hardware. This innovation takes Cognex into a new, and very profitable, direction—selling standard products to technically sophisticated Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the semiconductor and electronics industries. Cognex’s annual revenue from SEMI peaked
at $150 million in 2000.

1988: Great Scott!

Cognex receives its first patent (for inspecting electronic components). Cognex now has a portfolio of more than 750 patents for advances in machine vision technology that are issued or pending.

1989: Many Happy Returns

Cognex goes public on NASDAQ at $0.69 per share (split-adjusted). At press time, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of Cognex stock since its IPO is more than 15%!

1995: If You Can’t Beat ’em, Then Buy ’em

Cognex completes its first acquisition, Acumen, Inc., a direct competitor that was founded by John McGarry, now Cognex’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development.

2000: Simply Outta Sight

Cognex takes machine vision a giant step forward with the introduction of In-Sight, its first compact vision system that is so easy to use that it can be set up by factory technicians without computer programming or machine vision experience. Because of this breakthrough, thousands of customers in a wide range of manufacturing industries now rely on Cognex vision systems.

2003: Ka-ching!

Cognex declares the first cash dividend in the company’s history.

2004: My Invention Worked!

Cognex re-introduces DataMan, an ID reader that is also the company’s first handheld product. DataMan is a new incarnation of the company’s original vision system, which was designed to read codes on semiconductor wafers. Cognex ID products have grown annually by more than 30% on average over the past 10 years.

2011: As Powerful as a Flux Capacitor

Cognex enters the logistics segment of the barcode reading market with the launch of the DataMan 500, a breakthrough product that uses machine vision to read barcodes more reliably than existing systems that are based on lasers.

2013: Better Than a Hoverboard

Entering the market for 3D inspection and measurement, Cognex launches the DS series of displacement sensors. Our 3D technology gives our vision systems the ability to measure heights and tilts, calculate volumes and read embossed (raised) and debossed characters from surfaces such as automotive tires.

2014: Making Sweet Music

Cognex ships its millionth vision system.

2015: The Past is a
Great Place to Start

Cognex’s first high-volume customer in life sciences deploys its new clinical diagnostics machine that features our tiny vision engine, bringing the company’s early experience serving OEMs into the life sciences market.