PC technology in the early 1990s, with the first frame grabbers, was powerful enough to automate optical coordinate measuring machines. With a management buyout in 1993, now 25 years ago, business autonomy was reclaimed and Werth Messtechnik was the first European manufacturer to introduce a coordinate measuring machine with image processing based on PC technology, the VideoCheck®. It enabled automatic measurement using incident light and measurements in 3D with autofocus points.  The decision by Werth to embrace image processing on the PC and Windows operating system platform was considered a mistake by many experts at the time.  Today this solution is the standard.  In the following years, image processing sensor development continued to advance.  The WerthZoom® made it possible for users to adjust not only the magnification but also the working distance for different measurement tasks. The MultiRing® can be sued to adjust the lighting angle over a wide range to meet the requirements of the work piece for reliable measurements.