In the ever-changing vision market, more consolidation. Cognex bought DVT last year and put an end to one of the most interesting and intense competitive battles in automation. Now Cognex is expanding into an entirely new market--vehicle detection.
It has acquired AssistWare Technology Inc., a privately-held developer of Lane Departure Warning (LDW) systems for the heavy truck market. AssistWare's LDW system uses a small video camera and machine vision technology to watch the road ahead and alert drivers if they unintentionally leave their lane, or if their driving pattern becomes erratic.
In a recent U.S. Department of Transportation study, AssistWare's LDW technology was shown to significantly reduce unintended lane departures, which are known to be a major cause of truck accidents. The technology can also alert drivers when they are wandering excessively within a lane, a symptom of driver fatigue and another significant cause of highway accidents.
In addition to providing LDW products to commercial trucking fleets, AssistWare is playing a major role in federally-funded research on driver assistance technologies. AssistWare, along with partners at The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), Eaton Corp., Visteon Corp., Honda R&D Americas Inc., Battelle Memorial Institute, and the Michigan Department of Transportation, was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to take part in a $25 million program to develop, deploy, and test a new integrated vehicle warning system to help drivers avoid accidents.
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