EXHIBIT 99


                           FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
                              CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

         Statements regarding the future prospects of the Company must be
evaluated in the context of a number of factors that may materially affect its
financial condition and results of operations. Disclosure of these factors is
intended to permit the Company to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions
of the PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. Most of these factors
have been discussed in prior filings by the Company with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Although the Company has attempted to list the factors that
it is currently aware may have an impact on its operations, other factors may in
the future prove to be important and the following list should not necessarily
be considered comprehensive.

         INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION AND CYCLICALITY. Substantially all of the
Company's revenue is directly or indirectly related to capital expenditures in
the electronics industry. This industry is highly cyclical and has historically
experienced periodic downturns which often have had a severe effect on capital
expenditures. Several of the Company's customers have recently reported that the
market for the capital goods they sell and that incorporate the Company's
sensors has softened and that they may not maintain the same order rate for such
sensors during the next few quarters. For the foreseeable future, the Company's
operations will continue to be dependent on the capital expenditures in this
industry which, in turn, is largely dependent on the market demand for products
containing integrated circuits. Although the Company's products have been, and
continue to be, used in a variety of industries outside the electronics
industry, the Company's current product development and marketing is focused on
electronics and its business and results of operations would be significantly
and adversely affected by a slowdown in this industry.

         DEPENDENCE UPON PRINCIPAL OEM CUSTOMERS. For the year ended December
31, 1997, two of the Company's customers, Juki Corporation ("Juki") and Philips
Electronics N.V. ("Philips"), accounted for approximately 35% of the Company's
revenue. In addition, the Company's five principal customers (including Juki and
Philips), in the aggregate, accounted for approximately 53% of the Company's
revenue for such period. Although the Company believes that orders from other
new OEM customers may compensate for a decrease, if any, in orders from existing
OEM customers, it can give no assurances that historical rates of OEM sales will
increase or can be maintained. The loss of, or a significant curtailment of
purchases by, any one or more of these OEM customers would have a material
adverse effect on the Company's results of operations.

         DEPENDENCE ON OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS. The Company currently
contracts with third party assembly houses for a substantial portion of the
purchase and assembly of components of its products. Although the Company
endeavors to inspect and internally test most components prior to final
assembly, reliance on outside contractors reduces its control over quality and
delivery schedules. The failure by one or more of these subcontractors to
deliver quality components in a timely manner could have a material adverse
effect on the Company's results of operations. In addition, a number of the
components used in the Company's products are available from only a single
supplier or from a limited number of suppliers. Some of these components have
relatively long order cycles, in some cases over one year, and the timely
availability of these components to the Company is dependent on the Company's
ability to develop accurate forecasts of customer volume requirements. Any
interruption in or termination of supply of these components, or material change
in the purchase terms, including pricing, of any of these components, or a
reduction in their quality or reliability, could have a material adverse effect
on the Company's business and results of operations. See "Business
--Manufacturing."

         PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. The Company relies
heavily on its proprietary hardware designs and software technology. Although
the Company uses a variety of methods to protect its technology, it relies most
heavily on patents and trade secrets. There can be no

<PAGE>


assurance that the steps taken by the Company will be adequate to deter
misappropriation of its technology, that any patents issued to the Company will
not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, or that the rights granted
thereunder will provide a competitive advantage to the Company. In addition,
there remains the possibility that others will "reverse engineer" the Company's
products in order to determine their method of operation and introduce competing
products or that others will develop competing technology independently. Any
such adverse circumstances could have a material adverse effect on the Company's
results of operations.

         As the number of its products increases, the markets in which its
products are sold expands, and the functionality of those products grows and
overlaps with products offered by competitors, the Company believes that it may
become increasingly subject to infringement claims. Although the Company does
not believe any of its products or proprietary rights infringe the rights of
third parties, there can be no assurances that infringement claims will not be
asserted against the Company in the future or that any such claims will not
require the Company to enter into royalty arrangements or result in costly
litigation.

         DEPENDENCE ON KEY PERSONNEL. The Company is highly dependent upon the
technical expertise, management and leadership of Dr. Steven K. Case, Chairman
and a director of the Company and Steven M. Quist, President and a director of
the Company, as well as other members of the Company's senior management team,
many of whom would be difficult to replace. Although the Company has a
$5,000,000 key-man insurance policy on Dr. Case and has retained other
experienced and qualified senior managers, it has no such insurance on Mr.
Quist, and the loss of the services Dr. Case, Mr. Quist or other key personnel
could have a material adverse effect on the Company.

         TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. The market for the
Company's products is characterized by rapidly changing technology. Technologies
employed in the circuit board production industry, and particularly the surface
mount portion of this industry, continue to change rapidly and new technology
could cause a portion of the Company's products to become obsolete at any time.
Accordingly, the Company believes that its future success will depend upon its
ability to continue to develop and introduce new products with improved price
and performance. In order to develop such new products successfully, the Company
is dependent upon close relationships with its customers and their willingness
to share information about their requirements and participate in joint
development efforts with the Company. There can be no assurance that the
Company's customers will continue to provide it with timely access to such
information or that the Company will be able to develop and market such new
products successfully and respond effectively to technological changes or new
product announcements by others.

         INTERNATIONAL REVENUE. In the years ended December 31, 1997, 1996, and
1995, sales of the Company's products to customers outside the United States
accounted for approximately 69%, 70% and 68%, respectively, of the Company's
revenue. The Company anticipates that international revenue will continue to
account for a significant portion of its revenues. The Company's operating
results are subject to the risks inherent in international sales, including, but
not limited to, various regulatory requirements, political and economic changes
and disruptions, transportation delays, difficulties in staffing and managing
foreign sales operations, and potentially adverse tax consequences. Although the
Company's operation have not been affected by the economic downturn in Asia,
there can be no assurances that such operations would not be adversely affected
by a more severe economic crisis. In addition, fluctuations in exchange rates
may render the Company's products less competitive relative to local product
offerings. There can be no assurance that these factors will not have a material
adverse effect on the Company's future international sales and, consequently, on
the Company's operating results.

         COMPETITION. The Company competes with other vendors of optical
sensors, with vendors of machine vision systems, and with the internal
engineering efforts of the Company's current or prospective customers, many of
which may have greater financial and other resources than the

<PAGE>


Company. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to compete
successfully in the future or that the Company will not be required to incur
significant costs in connection with its engineering research, development,
marketing and customer service efforts to remain competitive. Moreover, the
Company's principal customers operate within the electronics industry, which is
highly competitive and highly dependent upon its suppliers' ability to provide
high quality, cost efficient products. Competitive pressures may result in price
erosion or other factors which will adversely affect the Company's financial
performance.

         QUARTERLY FLUCTUATIONS. The Company has experienced quarterly
fluctuations in operating results and anticipates that these fluctuations will
continue. These fluctuations have been caused by various factors, including the
capital procurement practices of its customers and the electronics industry
generally, the timing and acceptance of new product introductions and
enhancements, and the timing of product shipments and marketing. Future
operating results may fluctuate as a result of these and other factors,
including the Company's ability to continue to develop innovative products, the
introduction of new products by the Company's competitors, the Company's product
and customer mix, the level of competition and overall trends in the economy.

         POSSIBLE VOLATILITY OF STOCK PRICE. The Company believes that factors
such as the announcement of new products by the Company or its competitors,
market conditions in the electronics and precision measurement industries
generally and quarterly fluctuations in financial results could cause the market
price of the Common Stock to vary substantially. In recent years, the stock
market has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have particularly
affected the market prices for many high technology companies and which often
have been unrelated to the operating performance of such companies. The market
volatility may adversely affect the market price of the Company's Common Stock.