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. 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. The Company's revenue levels
continue to be largely dependent on the order rates of its large OEM customers.
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 six months, 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.


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         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 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.

         One of the Company's OEM customers, Yamaha Motor Company, Ltd., has
filed patent applications in Japan, the United States and several other foreign
jurisdictions on technology proprietary to the Company, or on applications of
such technology that the Company believes are incremental or obvious in a
practice known as "patent flooding." Several United States patents have been
issued to Yamaha on such technology. The Company has filed suit against Yamaha
in United States District Court for the District of Minnesota for theft of its
trade secrets, breach of contract and to transfer ownership of several of such
patents. The Company intends to vigorously pursue such litigation, but the costs
of this, and other action to protect its intellectual property, could have an
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, President,
Chief Executive Officer 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, the loss
of the services Dr. Case or other key personnel would 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. 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.

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         INTERNATIONAL REVENUE. In the years ended December 31, 1994, 1995, and
1996 and the nine months ended September 30, 1997, sales of the Company's
products to customers outside the United States accounted for approximately 57%,
68%, 70% and 71%, 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. 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 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.

         LITIGATION AND LITIGATION COSTS. The Company is currently engaged as
plaintiff in a lawsuit it filed in the Federal District Court in the State of
Minnesota against Yamaha Motor Company, Ltd. for fraud and theft of technology
related to its LaserAlign sensor and its applications. The Company is asking the
court to reassign several United States Patents that Yamaha obtained by falsely
claiming to be inventor, to award the Company damages for the harm Yamaha's
patents have already done and to order Yamaha to stop filing patents relating to
the Company's inventions. In response, Yamaha filed suit against the Company in
Japan claiming defamation and infringement of certain patents filed by Yamaha in
Japan.

         The Company believes that the LaserAlign technology is central to its
business operations and intends to pursue its claims against Yamaha until it is
clear that the Company will be able to continue to utilize the technology that
the Company has created and market its products on the basis of such technology.
Such litigation is costly and will likely have an adverse impact on the
Company's results of operations during its pendency. Further, although the
Company believes that it has basis for collection of damages and its costs in
instituting such litigation, their can be no assurances that it will be awarded
such damages or costs or that it will be able to collect the same.