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Vitana Announces Creation Of Subsidiary To Focus On 3D Digitizing Technology

ShapeGrabber^® Incorporated Will Expand 3D Digitizing Product Line to Include New Digitizing Components and Turnkey Systems

Ottawa – November 1, 2000 -- Joel Bisson, President and CEO of VITANA Corporation announced today that VITANA Corporation has created a wholly owned subsidiary, ShapeGrabber^® Incorporated, which will focus its efforts extensively on the design and development of 3D digitizing components and systems. The new company derives its name from VITANA’s successful line of ShapeGrabber^® 3D Scanning Systems.

In making his announcement, Mr. Bisson indicated that Mr. Marc Bisson has been appointed as the CEO of ShapeGrabber^® Incorporated. "In his previous position as CFO at VITANA, Marc witnessed the development of the ShapeGrabber^® technology. As a result, he has an excellent understanding of the product and how it must evolve to best meet growing market requirements".

ShapeGrabber^® Incorporated has been given the mandate to expand the existing line of turnkey 3D digitizing systems to include:

an indexing scanner, the AI 2400, which will provide automated scanning and alignment capabilities for rapid inspection applications;
a foot scanner, which can digitize a human foot in seconds for customized footwear/insole applications and data gathering; and
a line of 3D components, which can easily be integrated into niche applications requiring high quality 3D data by OEMs and Systems Integrators.

Marc Bisson stated that, "ShapeGrabber^® 3D digitizing technologies offer an excellent combination of performance versus price. The AI 2400 indexing scanner, the foot scanner and the new components package represent exciting new offerings that will ensure that we can continue to meet our customers’ expanding 3D requirements." ShapeGrabber^® Incorporated is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. More information is available at www.ShapeGrabber.com.

About ShapeGrabber

ShapeGrabber^® was designed for manufacturers and designers that need to rigorously inspect and develop complex parts in three dimensions. The tightly integrated ShapeGrabber^® system provides the customer with everything needed but the part. It includes the scanning head, translation stage, acquisition software, training, and the computer. Software for inspection and reverse engineering applications is available to meet the customer’s requirement.
System performance is highlighted by:

acquisition of 15,360 points/second digitized with patented laser scanning technology;
interchangeable scanning heads with variable scan width and range;
a choice of scan platforms enabling parts of virtually any size to be scanned;
no-fixture scanning;
ast and user-friendly data acquisition; and
powerful, easy-to-use software.

ShapeGrabber^® 3D Scanning System customers include the Ford Research Laboratory, the Proton Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Centre, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Navistar Corporation (manufacturer of International Trucks) and the National Research Council of Canada.

About VITANA Corporation

Founded in 1992, VITANA Corporation is an Imaging Solutions Company that is dedicated to supplying simple, flexible and scalable digital imaging systems. It currently designs and manufactures three distinct products. The ShapeGrabber^® 3D Scanning System is a non-contact 3D laser scanning systems with which industrial clients can generate 3D models of "real-world" parts. The ShapeGrabber^® FootScanner is a 3D foot digitizing scanner. PixeLINK™ is a family of imaging modules that offers a universal means of bringing video images to the PC using industry standard communication protocols. PixeLINK™ and ShapeGrabber^® provide original equipment manufacturers with products and platforms upon which they can build new applications – quickly and easily. VITANA is a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation located in Ottawa, Canada.

For more Information

Vitana Contact:
Rhona Scoffield
Marketing Communications Manager
Vitana Corporation
Tel: (613) 247-1211 ext. 161
rhona.scoffield@vitana.com

ShapeGrabber^® Incorporated Contact
Gary Roberts, P.Eng.
Director - Marketing
ShapeGrabber
Tel: (613) 247-1707 Ext. 130
gary.roberts@shapegrabber.com