Cognex will acquire RealSense, a robotics and computer vision startup spun off from Intel, in a deal valued at $600 million.
SiliconAngle reported on Monday that Cognex plans to use the acquisition to strengthen its push into the robotics market beyond its existing machine vision business.
Cognex has sold optical character recognition technology used in barcode readers and ID tag readers, sensor cameras that detect minute defects on factory production lines, and systems that guide robotic arms and sorting robots on assembly lines and in warehouses.
RealSense's main product is the depth camera. The camera measures distance to objects using stereo vision, structured light and time-of-flight technology. Robots and drones use this to build 3D maps of their surroundings and move while avoiding obstacles. RealSense also has scanning technology that creates 3D models of objects and spaces, and gesture and facial recognition technology for non-contact devices and security.
RealSense began in 2014 as an internal Intel research project. It later spun off during a restructuring under former CEO Pat Gelsinger, and has been led by Chief Executive Nadav Orbach (나다브 오르바흐).
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr