Coreco, Inc. (TSX: CRC), a leading developer of high-performance machine vision components and services, today announced the availability of the Anaconda(TM), a flexible and programmable, high performance image acquisition and processing board specifically designed for real-time image acquisition, processing, and analysis. PCI-X compliant, the Anaconda is ideally suited for embedded vision applications where large amounts of image processing is required in fields such as diagnostic X-Ray, flat-panel display and semiconductor wafer inspection, and where the host resources are running at capacity or are unavailable.

The Anaconda combines high-speed image acquisition with a fully configurable FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and user programmable PowerPC to deliver increased processing performance and high bandwidth data streaming on a single platform. The core of the Anaconda is the Image Processing Unit (IPU) that allows developers to implement algorithms directly in hardware. It is comprised of three elements; user configurable FPGA hardware for rapid application development, general-purpose RISC processor with SIMD architecture ideal for signal and processing applications and an optimized memory architecture that dramatically accelerates processing speeds.

"The Anaconda offers an open platform for custom programming, allowing users the opportunity to protect, preserve and prolong their investment in algorithmic intellectual property at a fraction of the cost and time of ASIC-based solutions," comments Inder Kohli, Product Manager, at Coreco Imaging.

Key Features:
-Autonomous program execution
-FPGA accelerated real-time image processing
-PowerPC-based embedded pattern search engine
-Powerful camera interface technology
-Engineered with Coreco Imaging's Trigger-to-image reliability framework for enhanced image acquisition control

Comparable to other image acquisition boards from Coreco Imaging, the Anaconda has been engineered within Coreco Imaging's Trigger-to-Image Reliability framework to ensure highly reliable and efficient acquisition control throughout the entire image capture sequence. This exacting technology framework leverages Coreco Imaging's hardware and software innovations to control and monitor the image acquisition process, from the time that an external trigger event occurs at the moment the data is transmitted to the PCI bus.

The Anaconda is supported by Software development toolkits by Coreco Imaging that include the following: Sapera(TM) LT software for acquisition and control; FPGA development specifications; image processing libraries for the PowerPC and several third-party development tools, enabling application development on Windows 2000 and Windows XP. FPGA and PowerPC applications on the Anaconda can be developed using standard third-party development tools.

The Anaconda is available immediately.