5/28/2004 2:32:00 PM
BOTHELL, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 28, 2004–Microvision, Inc.
(Nasdaq:MVIS), a leader in light scanning technology, announced today
that it has been awarded a contract by a leading provider of bar code
scanning and auto ID products and systems to build a demonstration 2D
bar code scanner prototype to product performance specifications.
Delivery is scheduled for the 3rd quarter of this year. Details of the
contract remain confidential.
The 2D bar code scanner will utilize Microvision’s recent
breakthrough in laser camera imaging design that enables the use of a
very-low-cost analog sensor. The device is designed to deliver the
capabilities required by the customer for a specific product in the
customer’s current product line. Microvision anticipates that this
initial bar code reader design would be appropriate for both handheld
and presentation scanners that could be used in a broad range of
applications. Because the device will use Microvision’s
high-resolution microscanning technology, it is expected to be capable
of high-quality photographic image quality and to read the full range
of one-dimensional and two-dimensional bar codes in use today.
“We are aiming at a product platform that will enable enormous
flexibility for end-users,” said Todd McIntyre, Microvision’s Sr. VP
of Business Development. “A growing number of bar code users want to
“future-proof” their operations by providing the ability to migrate to
2D codes while still reading the more widely used 1D codes, but the
limited performance of existing bar code readers won’t currently allow
this. Our goal is to develop a bar code reader that will provide this
bridge to higher information density and more effective supply chain
management by providing superior performance at prices that are
comparable to many 1D scanners today.
“The market for handheld bar code scanners is large and growing
rapidly,” said McIntyre. “According to Venture Development Corp., a
market research provider, worldwide shipments of handheld scanners
was $673 million in 2003 and is expected to grow at a compound annual
rate of 8%. We believe that growth in the market for 2D solutions to
date has been constrained by the limited performance of existing
products and that a 2D scanner with the unique mix of performance and
price that we are targeting could address unmet demand in the
marketplace and act as a catalyst for accelerated growth in the market
for 2D systems.”
In imaging tests performed over the last year, Microvision’s
scanned beam system architecture has demonstrated superior depth of
field, motion blur immunity and superior performance on low-contrast
surfaces as compared to products currently in the marketplace that are
based on miniature CCD or CMOS cameras. The low-cost components and
high performance potentially enable an inexpensive 2D bar code scanner
that is as simple and easy to use as the 1D laser bar code scanners in
common use today.
About Microvision: www.microvision.com
Headquartered in Bothell, Wash., Microvision Inc. is the world
leader in the development of high-resolution displays and imaging
systems based on the company’s proprietary silicon micro-mirror
technology. The company’s technology has applications in a broad range
of military, medical, industrial, professional and consumer products.
Microvision has been working with Canon, BMW, the Electronics
Research Lab of Volkswagen of America and others to develop a number
of display and image capture product applications based on its
proprietary scanned beam technology.
Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
Certain statements contained in this release, including those
relating to contract performance, product capabilities, plans for
product development, future product benefits and applications, as well
as statements containing words like “scheduled,” “anticipates,”
“expects,” “aims,” “goal,” “believes,” “could” and “potentially,” are
forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected in the company’s forward-looking
statements include the following: our ability to raise additional
capital when needed, market acceptance of our technologies and
products; our financial and technical resources relative to those of
our competitors; our ability to keep up with rapid technological
change; government regulation of our technologies; our ability to
enforce our intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary
technologies; the ability to obtain additional contract awards and to
develop partnership opportunities; the timing of commercial product
launches and delays in product development; the ability to achieve key
technical milestones in key products; and other risk factors
identified from time to time in the company’s SEC reports and filings,
including in its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q.
CONTACT: Microvision, Inc., Bothell
Matt Nichols, 425-415-6657 (media)
Brian Heagler, 425-415-6794 (investors)
SOURCE: Microvision, Inc.