MATRIX VISION GmbH
June 24, 1986
Gerhard Thullner and Werner Armingeon found the company Matris Datensysteme GmbH on June, the 24th in 1986 in Oppenweiler. The daily work is focused on the development of atom absorption spectrometer firmware.
1987
The first Ataris are bought and the first layouts realized. A CPU upgrade board using Motorola's MC68020 for Atari Mega ST is etched and drilled at Matris.
1988
Atari does not make any effort to satisfy users with huge displays, like Mac and PC users already have. For this reason Matris now as Matrix Datensysteme develops a graphics controller for 19 inch displays for Atari computers in just 6 weeks.
March 8, 1989
The graphics controllers and monitors are the sensation at the CeBIT and MATRIX establishes itself as graphics pionier in the Atari world.
June, 1989
1989 MATRIX moves to its new company building in Talstraße 16 in Oppenweiler. Meanwhile MATRIX become global market leader for Atari graphic cards.
1990
With ScreenEye MATRIX publishes the first frame grabber for Atari. However, Atari withdraw from the professional PC market and MATRIX loses its computer hardware. A change to PC graphic cards is not an option because the drop in prices is already in progress.
1992
With the first ISA frame grabber PCgrab the change to the industrial image processing market is completed. The new company name "MATRIX VISION Bildverarbeitung GmbH" underlines the reorientation.
1995
PC interfaces are made faster and the PCI interface comes onto the market. MATRIX VISION presents a suitable frame grabber: PCimage. The last model of this family will have been discontinued in 2013 (!).
1996
Gerhard Thullner and Werner Armingeon appoint Uwe Furtner as the third manager.
1997
With mvSIGMA and mvDELTA, MATRIX VISION adds multi-standard frame grabbers to its product portfolio. The video sources according to the standards PAL, NTSC, and SECAM are supported. These frame grabbers are still available.
1998
With the right products, MATRIX VISION grows constantly, so the office facilities reaches the limits in 1997. An extension of the existing building creates more space and MATRIX VISION is able to move into the new offices in 1998.
1999
As one of the first manufacturers, MATRIX VISION brings a smart camera to market. Smart means, that one housing contains camera, PC, and frame grabber. The development of the mvCAM is the starting point of MATRIX VISION's impressive know-how in the area of smart cameras.
2001
MATRIX VISION publishes the first version of its comprehensive image processing library mvIMPACT. The base functions are free of charge in combination with MATRIX VISION hardware. It is possible to license further modules if needed - maximum flexibility.
April, 2001
A powerful image processor is the base element of the mvTITAN series; including the CameraLink models. The mvTITAN-CL supports line scan and area scan cameras and is characterized by preprocessing algorithms, which reduce the load of the host system.
2002
MATRIX VISION expands its knowledge concerning smart camera and publishes an embedded camera based on Linux. The camera is the core of many custom-specific solutions and will have been discontinued after 13 years (!). The reason: It was not possible to get some components any more.
June, 2002
To mark its 10th industrial image processing anniversary, MATRIX VISION gets a new, modern corporate design.
December, 2003
With the new corporate design a new website is necessary. The new website goes online after six months.
2004
The success story of USB 2.0 opens more possibilities: one interface, which is available everywhere and accessories are cheap. Of course, MATRIX VISION introduces mvBlueFOX - a suitable industrial camera for USB 2.0 and - the new, modern, object oriented software interface mvIMPACT Acquire SDK.
2005
Frame grabbers - things are on the move: new slot generations offer more bandwidth. For PCI Express, MATRIX VISION published mvSIGMA-SQe - a multi-standard four video channel frame grabber.
March, 2006
Within five months, MATRIX VISION develops a camera for the German deposit system, including illumination and mechanics and becomes market leader.
June, 2006
Gigabit Ethernet also establish itself as a standard interface. MATRIX VISION introduces a new industrial camera family called mvBlueCOUGAR.
October, 2006
In October, MATRIX VISION is certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001. Among other things, the auditors are delighted by the digital ISO documentation.
2007
The building in which the founders Gerhard Thullner and Werner Armingeon got to know each other, is bought and extended to become the development department. From now on, MATRIX VISION has two locations in Oppenweiler: the headquarters G1 in Talstraße 16 and the development department G2 in Murrwiesenstraße 18.
September, 2008
Consumer interfaces make one thing clear - there is a need for standards in the image processing market: GenICam, GigE Vision, and USB3 Vision are very successful image processing standards by now. Since 2008, MATRIX VISION is an active and important designer in the standard committees.
May, 2010
Tiny, uncompromising and full range of functionality - for OEMs MATRIX VISION develops a board-level camera with USB interface. The mvBlueFOX-MLC offers an image memory, digital inputs and outputs as well as a unique micro-PLC sequencer. These are all features you will not find in other cameras of the same price range.
June, 2011
Together with the employees and their families, MATRIX VISION celebrates its 25th anniversary in Ludwigsburg Palace. At the same time Erhard Meier becomes business manager.
November, 2011
"2 links for more speed" is the slogan of the new mvBlueCOUGAR-XD. With two linked Gigabit Ethernet channels the camera is suitable for sensor with higher resolutions and higher frame rates.
February, 2012
A lot of power per Watt and volume - the new ARM Cortex processors offer an efficient performance. With a power consumption of 5 Watts, the mvBlueLYNX-X with a 1 GHz processor, 800 MHz DSP, huge main memory, and wide range of interfaces is predestined for a multitude of green automation applications.
2013
The consumer interface USB 2.0 is replaced by a successor, USB 3.0 which increases tenfold the bandwidth. With the mvBlueFOX3, MATRIX VISION offers an industrial USB 3.0 camera with high resolution and high speed CMOS sensors.
May, 2014
After eleven years, the website is relaunched. New structures, better overview, and more information make the MATRIX VISION website more attractive.
January, 2015
The new industrial 3D camera mvBlueSIRIUS interprets the 3D image acquisition with 6D technology in a new way. It is comparable with human vision. The camera perceives objects and classifies them according to the characteristics (shape, motion, color). This new approach is honored as "Top Innovation 2015" by the inVISION magazine.
July, 2015
Markt & Technik awarded "Manager of the Year 2015". Technical General Manager Uwe Furtner is placed among the three winners in the category "Automation".
December 21, 2015
Using wizards, the mvBlueGEMINI offers a news way to create applications without programming. Even image processing knowledge is not necessary, because the camera looks for the right algorithms and sets the right parameters.
July 28, 2016
30 years after the foundation, MATRIX VISION is still innovative and flexible, like the first day.
March 12, 2017
For a scientific experiment the smart camera mvBlueLYNX-X is sent to space.
July, 2017
Markt & Technik awarded "Manager of the Year 2017". Technical General Manager Uwe Furtner is placed among the three winners in the category "Automation".
July 14, 2017
MATRIX VISION will still operate independently and with an unchanged brand in the field of image processing, whereby Balluff now holds 75 percent of the shares in the company, with the remaining 25 percent being retained by the previous shareholders.
December 6, 2017
MATRIX VISION scoops award for Industry 4.0 solution. “With the mvBlueGEMINI smart camera and mvIMPACT Configuration Studio (mvIMPACT-CS for short), MATRIX VISION is making it easier for people to get into industrial image processing and enabling pretty much anyone to set up inspections.
For over 30 years, MATRIX VISION has been developing industrial image processing components and customized solutions. Special emphasis is devoted to the commercialization of high-quality digital and smart industrial cameras for various industrial sectors.
Quality

Since 2006 MATRIX VISION is accredited complying with the requirements of DIN EN ISO 9001.
Your Opinion
We want your opinion on our website. Comments, wishes and improvements to webmaster@matrix-vision.de