Upgrade Package supports optical sorting systems.

Press Release Summary:



Suited for updating electronics and optics in Key legacy sorters up to 20 years old, G6 Upgrade Package includes advanced vision engine, color and VIS/IR cameras, as well as CameraLink, FireWire, and Ethernet broadband connectivity standards. Image Processing Module features FPGA chipset, which puts power of entire electronic rack in single chip. GUI resides locally on system's controller but can also be accessed remotely via network or Internet.




Original Press Release:




Key Technology Introduces G6 Upgrade Program to Extend Support of Legacy Optical Sorting Systems



Applications: a variety of food products such as fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, potatoes and potato strips, snack foods, confections, and seafood as well as tobacco and recycled plastics

November 8, 2005 - Key Technology introduces the G6 Upgrade Program to support customers using a wide assortment of Key's legacy optical sorting systems. The G6 Upgrade Program aims to eliminate the risk of obsolescence that customers with early generation sorters face as replacement parts become scarce. By updating the electronics and optics in legacy sorters with Key's new G6 system, processors extend the life of their sorters and maximize their long-term return on investment.

Key's comprehensive migration path is available to customers with Key sorters up to 20 years old, including VHS-OPTISORT®, KROMA-SORT®, Opti-Sort® II, ColorSort® II, ADR® II, ADR® III, Prism®, and Tobacco Sorter(TM) II systems. Processors using more recent sorting systems, such as pre-G6 generations of Tegra®, Optyx®, ADR® 4, Prism® 2, and Tobacco Sorter(TM) 3 can also benefit from the operational versatility inherent in G6, but customers with sorters more than ten years old are expected to experience the greatest advantages of the G6 Upgrade Program.

Compared to replacing an entire sorter, upgrading is less expensive and less disruptive, yet achieves like-new sorter performance. Installation of the G6 Upgrade in the field does not require the removal of the existing system or changes to the current product conveying and distribution system.

The modular electro-optical G6 foundation includes Key's advanced vision engine and an array of new, high-performance color and VIS/IR cameras. The G6 platform features broadband connectivity standards including Camera Link, FireWire, and Ethernet, which maximize the underlying technology's flexibility and prepares users for future improvements that enhance defect removal and recovery rates. In addition, the G6 platform enables communication of system status and sorting statistics to plant networks.

Customers upgrading legacy sorters with G6 will have the most advanced image processing in the industry. The new G6 Image Processing Module features Key's proprietary FPGA (field-programmable gate arrays) chipset technology, which puts the power of an entire electronic rack in a single chip. With twice the number of filter stages, G6 enables more subtle feature identification and more robust detection of defects. Many customers will benefit immediately from enhanced performance capabilities, such as sorting based on product size or shape or defining a defective product based on where the defect lies on the product.

The G6 Upgrade includes an intuitive color touchscreen control panel that reduces operator training requirements and simplifies optimum operation of the sorter. The graphical user interface (GUI) resides locally on the system's controller but can also be accessed remotely via network or Internet, enhancing the flexibility in the operating environment and easing access for remote factory troubleshooting and application assistance. Sophisticated real-time and on-demand diagnostics help avoid costly downtime and detect conditions that could compromise inspection.

About Key Technology, Inc.
Key Technology, an ISO-9001 certified company, is a leading designer and manufacturer of process automation systems, integrated electro-optical inspection and sorting systems, and processing systems. Key® systems help processors to improve quality, increase yield, and reduce cost. With worldwide sales representation, the company maintains demonstration and testing facilities at its headquarters and manufacturing divisions in Walla Walla, Washington, USA, and at Key Technology BV in Beusichem, the Netherlands. The company's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market tier of The NASDAQ Stock MarketSM under the symbol: KTEC.

Reader Inquiries To:
Anita Funk, Corporate Communications Manager
Key Technology, Inc.
150 Avery Street
Walla Walla, WA 99362 USA
Tel: 509 529 2161
Fax: 509 527 1331
Email: afunk@key.net
URL: www.key.net

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