COMPUTER-INTEGRATED DATA ACQUISITION, IN MATERIALS HANDLING SYSTEMS SERVE THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY AT AUTOMATED BOARD LEVEL ASSEMBLY BY: CALIBRATING, CORRELATING, IDENTIFYING, AND TESTING. IN ADDITION, THE SEMICONDUTOR COMPONENTS MANUFACTURING ARENA, SUCH AS INTEL'S, PLACES HIGH DEMANDS ON: ACCURACY, ECONOMY, AND RELIABILITY OF VISION SYSTEMS. THE FULL PALLET OF AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES IS OUTLINED, COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL ALTERNATIVES. PROFITABILITY-CONTRIBUTION ATTRIBUTES FOR EASE IN SELECTION OF VISION SYSTEMS DURING CONCEPTUALIZATION IS PRESENTED. THE OVERVIEW PAPER AND PRESENTATION IS ORGANICALLY SEGMENTED INTO: REQUIREMENTS, CONCEPTS, RELIABILITY, VALUE ANALYSIS, APPLICATIONS, ALTERNATIVES, AND TRENDS.