For over a quarter of a century, Matrox has provided OEMs, integrators and end-users with visionary products for the graphics, video, imaging and networking markets. But what role has Imaging played in the success of this company?

Computers with bus architecture emerged in the late 1970s and the expertise gained by Matrox during design of the Video RAM product was used to develop a broad range of alphanumeric and graphics boards. At the time, the Multibus platform was taking the industry by storm and, in 1981, Matrox responded with its first frame grabber, the FG-01. This product integrated the very first 8-bit analog-to-digital converter chip manufactured by TRW and represented a major step forward in terms of IC integration. The FG-01 was intended for use with the Matrox RGB-256 graphics display controller cards and permitted the user to digitize a standard monochrome video signal as well as, on command, write one digitized field of video information into the RGB-256 display refresh memory.

In the 1980s, the highly technical and complex Imaging products were mainly being used for academic applications. However, Imaging products also found their way into some very "down to earth" application areas. In fact, one of the first customers to incorporate the FG-01 was the well-established Japanese cosmetics manufacturer, Pola. The FG-01, combined with the RGB-GRAPH, was used to develop a product that simulated make-up application. By grabbing an image of the user's face and applying, or overlaying, "virtual" make-up, this product enabled customers to test the effect of the make-up before buying it.

Another practical application that was developed using an early Imaging product was a beer bottle inspection system developed, in conjunction with camera manufacturer i2S of France, for the German bottle-filling company, KHS. This system successfully implemented the Multibus-compatible VAF-512 frame grabber, introduced by Matrox in 1982, and detected defects in glass bottles at a rate of about 60,000 bottles per hour. About 100 of these systems were sold worldwide between 1986 and 1993.

The VAF-512 was designed to extend the performance of the Matrox RGB-GRAPH video controller and the RGB-ALPHA color alphanumeric display controller. These three boards, plus the home-grown GRAS-80 software package for these products, laid the groundwork for future Matrox technology.

"These products were really the origin of the Imaging division," says Matrox president Lorne Trottier. "Like the earliest cell in the evolution of life, these products included common design elements that eventually evolved into their own specialized functions and products for the graphics, video and imaging market sectors."

In 1984/85, Matrox began to focus its efforts towards the integration of more image processing functions on its hardware products, resulting in the MIP-512 image processing board that combined storage and display capabilities with basic image processing functions for the Multibus platform.

"IBM solicited us to build a frame grabber for its new 16-bit PC platform, called the PC-AT," explains Trottier. "We were about to go into production when the project was cancelled, so we carried on and ended up with the PIP-512. From there, we went on to develop many other products for the PC platform, always pushing the limits of PC technology."

One such product was the revolutionary MVP-AT. Built in 1986, this double-slot, hardware-accelerated image processing board set was an industry breakthrough for the time, combining color/monochrome acquisition, real-time processing and true-color display - all on a four-board set. This product launched us full force into the image processing market, providing such functions as dilation, erosion, pattern matching, feature extraction and histograms - all performed on the hardware at close-to-video rates.

"We were one of the best at finding ways to expand the capabilities of these standard chips," says Trottier. "But eventually these chips became too complicated and, economically, it made more sense for us to develop our own in-house. This was a progressive step. Chip technology was changing at a rapid rate and we had to change with the times or else be wiped out by our competitors."

The Image Series, with its 12 custom ASICs, four modules and software interface written entirely in TI-34020 assembler, was the true launching pad for Matrox's future line of popular high-end vision processor boards. Providing the same functionality as the expensive, proprietary and external Image Processor boxes on the market at the time, the Image Series led Matrox Imaging to a whole new market - semi-conductor manufacturing - where this product became a viable solution for large companies looking to outsource their image processing needs.

In the early 1990s, faced with increasing hardware complexity, multiple hardware platform support and the extremely long design-in cycles of its customers, Matrox pioneered one of its most significant products - the Matrox Imaging Library (MIL). First released in 1993, MIL built upon the company's customized software interface used for the Image Series product. Now the hardware-independent MIL, along with the popular Inspector prototyping tool, offers over 1,000 processing functions and has become the development tool of choice for the machine vision, scientific and medical imaging markets. (Click here for more MIL history. PDF - 266Kb)

"The significance of MIL is apparent today as most current imaging vendors are still trying to play "catch-up" to the industry's first truly hardware independent software library," says François Bertrand, Director of Sales and Marketing for Imaging. "MIL still gives customers the option of designing their products on either low-cost frame grabbers (starting at 195 USD for the MeteorII/1394) or our high-end vision processor products."

The innovation continued as Matrox went on to develop real-time image capture directly to PC memory with its popular Matrox Meteor and Pulsar PCI frame grabbers. These products, launched in 1994 and 1995 respectively, were designed to exploit enabling technologies like the PCI bus, as well as powerful host processors and 32-bit operating systems.

In 1996, Matrox rocked the market with its multiple award-winning line of image processors, called the Genesis Series, which combined real-time acquisition, processing and display - all on a single PCI board. Incorporating two custom ASICs - the Video Interface ASIC (VIA) and the Neighborhood Operations Accelerator (NOA) ASIC for processing - this product line set a new price and performance standard for PC-based imaging systems.

Through its offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States, as well as a network of sales representatives in more than 20 countries, Matrox Imaging has developed a strong international presence and our dynamic teams of engineers, managers, sales and marketing/communications professionals, technical support representatives, customer service agents, operations experts and production staff - both abroad and at headquarters in Dorval, Quebec - ensure the company's ongoing growth.

Matrox as a whole, including the Video Products Group, Matrox Graphics Inc. and the New Business Media Division, reinvests a large percentage of its profits in research and development (R&D), allowing the company to innovate and consistently offer breakthrough technologies. As well, having an in-house, state-of-the-art production capability speeds the initial production ramp-up of new products, plus ensures the quality and stability of Imaging products. Access to such in-house expertise and to the technological advancements made by other Matrox divisions gives Matrox Imaging a proven edge over other imaging vendors.

"The future is bright for Matrox Imaging," says Bertrand. "Our next major MIL release and a new family of vision processor boards will represent our busiest product introduction season since 1996, when we introduced the Genesis Series. These upcoming products, which also represent our largest R&D investment to date, will provide new levels of functionality as well as unmatched price/performance in the PC-based imaging industry. Finally, additional new software and hardware offerings will significantly add to the breadth of our embedded system product line. The technical prowess and bold commercial approach that has served us so well over the last 25 years will carry us through to significant commercial successes in the future!"

Click here to read more about our 25th anniversary.

About Matrox Imaging
Matrox Imaging is the only leading designer and manufacturer of PC-based hardware and software for machine vision, image analysis and medical imaging who draws on over 25 years of industry experience to meet customer needs. Headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada, Matrox is a privately held company with international offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Hong Kong. For more company information, visit About us.