Exhibit 99.1


   Cognex Corporation Mourns Death of Board Member William Krivsky


    NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2007--Cognex Corporation
(NASDAQ: CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision sensors
and systems, reported today that William A. Krivsky, a member of the
company's Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee, died
on Saturday, December 23, 2006 after a recent illness.

    Mr. Krivsky was elected to the Board of Directors in September of
1985 when Cognex was a private company. In his initial years at the
company, he helped guide Cognex from a small enterprise with only $5
million in revenue to a successful public offering on The Nasdaq Stock
Market in 1989. Following that, Bill provided sound counsel on
expanding the Board of Directors; he assisted in the process of adding
experienced senior executives to the management team, and he provided
seasoned insight into growth strategies and new market opportunities.
His contributions helped grow Cognex's revenue from $15 million in the
year that it went public to well over $200 million in 2006. As
Chairman of the Audit Committee, Mr. Krivsky provided strong
leadership in appointing and overseeing the company's independent
public accounting firm.

    "Bill has been at my side for the past 21 years, and, in that
time, he has offered solid and objective advice on many business
issues, which ranged from alternative ways to better organize the
company to business expansion in the international arena," said Dr.
Robert J. Shillman, Cognex's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "At
our meetings, he was never afraid of being politically incorrect or of
speaking his mind on any business-related issue. He was a great
Cognoid, and he will be missed by all who knew him."

    Dr. Shillman continued, "Perseverance is one of Cognex's core
values, and Bill certainly exhibited that throughout his life until
the very end. Although he was critically ill and aware of his
condition, he nevertheless attended our most recent board meeting
where he was an active participant. And, only days before his passing,
he was on the telephone with me from his hospital bed enthusiastically
discussing future opportunities for Cognex."

    Mr. Krivsky (actually, Doctor Krivsky, because he earned a
doctorate degree from MIT) was an accomplished pilot, and in 2004 his
love of flying led him to become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of Keyson Airways Corporation, an airplane service company located in
Nashua, NH that he owned and operated. Mr. Krivsky had a distinguished
career; since 1994, he was a Principal of Kellogg, Krivsky & Buttler,
Inc., a consulting company specializing in business management. From
1986 to 1994, he was Executive Vice President of Bird Corporation, a
manufacturer and distributor of building materials and products and a
provider of environmental services. Previously he was Chief Executive
Officer of Velcro Industries, N.V. Mr. Krivsky was also a member of
the Board of Directors of Hitchiner Manufacturing.

    Cognex has not named a replacement for Mr. Krivsky's board seat,
as it is currently in the search process.

    About Cognex Corporation

    Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets
machine vision sensors and systems, or devices that can "see." Cognex
vision sensors are used in factories around the world to automate the
manufacture of a wide range of items and to assure their quality.
Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having
shipped more than 350,000 machine vision systems, representing over $2
billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981.
In addition to its corporate headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts,
Cognex also has regional offices and distributors located throughout
North America, Japan, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Visit Cognex
on-line at http://www.cognex.com/.

    CONTACT: Cognex Corporation
             Susan Conway, 508-650-3353
             Director of Investor Relations
             susan.conway@cognex.com