Highlights
News and Highlights from the August 2010 Machine-Vision & Inspection Test Report
-- Test & Measurement World, 8/1/2010 12:00:00 AM
Market report shows recovery in North America
A new report from the AIA (Automated Imaging Association) shows that machine-vision sales of components and systems in North America have entered a recovery phase. Overall machine-vision sales increased by 34.4% in Q1 2010 over weak sales occurring in Q1 2009, the report shows. The report, entitled "Quarterly Machine Vision Sales Tracking Report," augments the AIA's annual market studies.
The AIA says the findings are encouraging when compared with the results of its 2009 annual market study, which found that machine-vision sales in 2009 declined by 29.2% on average from 2008. The new report also showed that improvement occurred across all major machine-vision supplier markets, including cameras, lighting, optics, imaging boards, software, application-specific machine-vision systems, and smart cameras. As a whole, major vision component sales increased 57.2%, while machine-vision-system sales rose by 31.3%.
The new report also summarizes industry expectations about sales growth for the next six months. Participating companies were nearly equally split between those that expect sales to increase during the next two quarters and those that expect sales will remain more or less equal in volume to Q1 2010 sales.
"The results of the new report leave little doubt that machine-vision sales have entered a period of recovery; however, it must be recognized that the robust rates of growth for machine-vision product markets also reflect severely depressed sales in 2009," noted Paul Kellett, AIA's director of market analysis. He added, "Based on industry expectations, market growth over 2009 levels will probably continue to occur in 2010 even if growth over first quarter 2010 levels fails to materialize." www.machinevisiononline.org.
MVTec, Cognex weigh in on patent dispute
MVTec Software announced that it has received an initial determination in its favor in the ongoing dispute with Cognex regarding patents related to matching technology. Following an eight-day hearing, an administrative law judge of the US ITC (International Trade Commission) ruled in its initial determination that the Cognex patents in question before the ITC are invalid. Because the ITC found the patents invalid, MVTec's Halcon software will continue to be sold and imported into the US, MVTec reported.
"MVTec certainly respects intellectual property rights—up to the point where they turn out to be based on questionable patents," said Dr. Olaf Munkelt, MVTec managing director. "We will continue to defend ourselves as well as our customers against any complaints that we believe are without any merit," he added.
Cognex responded to the July 16, 2010, ITC determination that the importation and sale of equipment using MVTec's Halcon machine-vision software does not violate two of Cognex's patents. Todd Keebaugh, Cognex's VP of legal services, said, "We are encouraged by the judge's decision confirming that the claims of one of the patents (U.S. Patent No. 7,016,539) are not anticipated or obvious. However, we are disappointed with his initial determination that both Cognex patents in this investigation were not infringed.... Fortunately, the judge's decision at the ITC is only an initial determination, and Cognex will bring these important issues to the full Commission for an independent review."
Based on its initial determination, the ITC will make a final determination on this case in November 2010.
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