IDS has developed and released the Ensenso B-Series, ideal for short object distances as close as 21cm. Even that close it achieves a Field of View (FOV) of 30 x 26 cm and depth values accurate to 0.1 mm. While 3D machine vision isn’t new, this camera series is.
Ensenso B compact 3D camera – Courtesy IDS Imaging
Ensenso family of cameras
We introduced IDS’ Ensenso 3D cameras in 2023, bringing new stereo and structured light solutions to the portfolio. Then later in 2023 we announced IDS Ensenso C Series, which added color capabilities. That rounded out the lineup with differentiated offerings under each of the following identifiers: C, N, S, X, and XR. See all Ensenso models.
The new Enenso B-Series
This blog focuses on the new Ensenso B-Series. The cameras are ultra-compact, and can work at close range, still delivering a large FOV.
Ensenso B mounted on robotic arm – Courtesy IDS Imaging
The compact unit contains the stereo cameras as well as the bright pattern projector used to support stereo 3D imaging. The durable housing is rate for IP65/67 protection, and is ideal for harsh industrial environments.
Maybe you need Ensenso B
Or perhaps your application would be best served by Series C, N, S, X, or XR?
IDS Imaging Ensenso 3D cameras and camera systems are built for industrial 3D imaging with a GigE interface for ease of setup. Ensenso 3D cameras are suitable for numerous 3D imaging applications including robotics, bin picking, warehouse automation and 3D measurement tasks. They are widely used for many industrial applications such as factory automation, logistics, and quality assurance.
Ensenso 3D cameras have numerous features, benefits, and options.
Please contact us for more information. We can provide you with additional technical information and help you choose the right 3D camera system for your 3D imaging application.
About you: We want to hear from you! We’ve built our brand on our know-how and like to educate the marketplace on imaging technology topics… What would you like to hear about?… Drop a line to info@1stvision.com with what topics you’d like to know more about.
Sony has evolved their successful STARVIS high-sensitivity back-illuminated sensor to the next generation STARVIS 2 sensors. This brings even wider dynamic range, and is available in three specific resolutions of 4MP, 5MP, and 12.5MP. The sensor models are respectively Sony IMX664, IMX675, and IMX676. And IDS Imaging has in turn put these sensors into their uEye cameras.
uEye USB3 C-mount camera available with any of the three Sony STARVIS 2 sensors – Courtesy IDS Imaging
Camera overview before deeper dive on the sensors
The new sensors, responsive in low ambient light to both visible and NIR, are available in IDS’ compact, cost-effective uEye XCP and uEye XLS cameras. They’re available in both the XCP housed cameras with C-mount optics and USB3 interface. And in the XLS board-level format with C/CS, S, and no-mount options, also with the USB3 interface
Choose the XCP models if you want the closed zinc die-cast housing, the screwable USB micro-B connector, and the C-mount lens adaptor for use with a wide range of multi-megapixel lenses. Digital I/O connections plus trigger and flash pins may also be connected.
uEye XCP – Courtesy IDS Imaging
If you prefer a board-level camera for embedded designs, and even lower weight (from 3 – 20 grams) select one of the XLS formats. Options include C/CS and S-mount, or no-mount.
XLS board level models – Courtesy IDS Imaging
All models across both camera families are Vision Standard compliant: U3V / GenICam. So you may use the IDS Peak SDK. Or any other compliant software.
Deeper dive on the sensors themselves
To motivate the technical discussion, let’s start with side-by-side images, only one of which was obtained with a STARVIS 2 sensor:
Left image with IMX236; right image with Sony IMX585 STARVIS 2 sensor – Courtesy Sony.
How is such a dramatic improvement possible, over Sony’s earlier sensors? The key is switching from traditional front-illuminated sensors to STARVIS’ back-illuminated design. The back-illuminated approach collects more incident light – by a factor of 4.6 times – by positioning the photo diodes on top of the wiring layer.
Substantially more light makes it to the photo diodes using back-illumination architecture – Courtesy Sony
See also a compelling 4 minute video showing images and streaming segments generated with and without STARVIS 2 sensors.
NIR as well as VIS sensitivity
The STARVIS 2 sensors are capable of not only conventional visible spectrum performance (VIS), but also do well in the NIR space. If the subject’s NIR sensitivity is sufficient, one may avoid or reduce the need for supplemental NIR lighting. This is useful for license plate recognition applications, security, or other uses where lighting in certain spectra or intensities would disturb humans.
Left image from sensor with no NIR response; right image with STARVIS 2 sensor – Courtesy Sony.
Performance and feature highlights
The 4 MP Sony IMX664 delivers up to 48.0 fps, at 2688 x 1536 pixels, with USB3 delivering 5 Gbps. It pairs with lenses matched for up to 1/1.8″.
Sony’s IMX675, with 2592 x 1960 pixels, provides 5 MP at frame rates to 40.0 fps, via the same USB3 interface.
Finally, the 12.62 MP Sony IMX676,is ideal for microscopy with square format 3552 x 3552, but can still deliver up to 17.0 fps for applications with limited motion.
While there are diverse sensor features to explore in the data sheets for both the uEye XCP and uEye XLS cameras, one particularly worth noting is the High Dynamic Range (HDR) feature. These feature controls are made available in the camera, permitting bright scene segments to experience short exposures, while darker segments get longer exposure. This yields a more actionable dynamic range for your application to process.
No HDR in left image; with HDR feature enabled in right image – Courtesy Sony.
Direct links to the cameras
In the table below one finds each camera by model number, family, and sensor, with link to respective landing page for full details, spec sheets, etc.
About you: We want to hear from you! We’ve built our brand on our know-how and like to educate the marketplace on imaging technology topics… What would you like to hear about?… Drop a line to info@1stvision.com with what topics you’d like to know more about.
Inspect the inner sides and bottom of hollow objects simultaneously with Opto Engineering’s HC 360° hypercentric lenses.
HC 360° hypercentric lenses – Courtesy Opto Engineering
The optical path of the rays pass through the narrow openings of hollow objects (pipes, bottles, cans, vials, etc.) without the need to rotate an object, use a probe, or use multi-camera configurations. HC hypercentric lenses are used in diverse inspection applications including beverage, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries.
Courtesy Opto Engineering
See landing page for all 8 members of the Opto Engineering HC family
…including part number, image circle size and sensor pairings, FOV, and spec sheet links. And corresponding quote-request links.
Example of a glass bottle inspections with HCSI lens – Courtesy Opto Engineering
IF one didn’t know about 360° hypercentric lenses…
… one might attempt a muti-camera or line scan solution. But there are drawbacks to each of those approaches.
Drawbacks of a multicamera solution – Courtesy Opto Engineering
OK, what about linescan? Linescan is know to be good for high resolution images of elongated objects. Yes, but one would need a separate camera for each of the sides vs. the bottom of the object. Most significant, however, is the requirement for motion essential to a linescan design, as the camera or object must rotate to expose all “slices”, while the object is concurrently progressing down the line.
Linescan continuous motion requirement not compatible with 360° view requirement – Courtesy Opto Engineering
Opto Engineering 360° lenses check all the boxes
Since line scan really isn’t a solution, and a multicamera approach is complex at best, for comprehensive inspection of the inner sides and bottom of hollow objects, these Opto Engineering 360° lenses offer an attractive solution.
About you: We want to hear from you! We’ve built our brand on our know-how and like to educate the marketplace on imaging technology topics… What would you like to hear about?… Drop a line to info@1stvision.com with what topics you’d like to know more about.
New interface options arrive so frequently that trying to keep up can feel like drinking water from a fire hose. While data transfer rates are often the first characteristic identified for each interface, it’s important to also note distance capabilities, power requirements, EMI reduction, and cost.
Which interfaces are we talking about here?
This piece is NOT about GigE Vision or Camera Link. Those are both great interfaces suitable for medium to long-haul distances, are well-understood in the industry, and don’t require any new explaining at this point.
We’re talking about embedded and short-haul interface considerations
Before we define and compare the interfaces, what’s the motivation? Declining component costs and rising performance are driving innovative vision applications such as driver assistance cameras and other embedded vision systems. There is “crossover” from formerly specialized technologies into machine vision, with new camera families and capabilities, and it’s worth understanding the options.
Alvium camera with FPD-Link or GMSL interface – Courtesy Allied Vision Technologies
How shall we get a handle on all this?
Each interface has standards committees, manufacturers, volumes of documentation, conferences, and catalogs behind it. One could go deep on any of this. But this is meant to be an introduction and overview, so we take the following approach.
Let’s identify each of the 4 interfaces by name, acronym, and a few characteristics
While some of the links jump to a specific standard’s full evolution (e.g. FPD-Link including Gen 1, 2, and 3), per the blog header it’s the current standards as of Fall 2024 that are compelling for machine vision applications: CSI-2, GMSL2, and FPD-Link III, respectively
Then we compare and contrast, with a focus on rules of thumb and practical guidance
If at any point you’ve had enough reading and prefer to just talk it through:
FPD-Link has subsequently become widely adopted in the automotive industry, for backup cameras, navigation systems, and driver-assistance systems. FPD-Link exceeds the automotive standards for temperature ranges and electrical transients, making it attractive for harsh environments. That’s why it’s interesting for embedded machine vision too.
GMSL2 – Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link
GMSL – Courtesy Analog Devices
GMSL is widely used for video distribution in cars. It is an asymmetric full duplex technology. Asymmetric in that it’s designed to move larger volumes of data downstream, and smaller volumes upstream. Plus power and control data, bi-directionally. Cable length can be up to 15m.
CSI-2 – Camera Serial Interface (Gen. 2)
CSI-2 registered logo – Courtesy mipi alliance
As the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) standard for communications between a camera and host processor, CSI-2 is the sweet spot for applications in the CSI standards. CSI-2 is attractive for low power requirements and low electromagnetic interference (EMI). Cable length is limited to about 0.5m between camera and processor.
USB – USB3 Vision
USB3 Vision registered logo – Courtesy Association for Advancing Automation
USB3 Vision is an imaging standard for industrial cameras, built on top of USB 3.0. USB3 Vision has the same plug-and-play characteristics of GigE Vision, including power over the cable, and GenICam compliance. Passive cable lengths are supported up to 5m (greater distances with active cables).
Compare and contrast
In the spirit of keeping this piece as a blog, in this compare-and-contrast segment we call out some highlights and rules-of-thumb. That, together with engaging us in dialogue, may well be enough guidance to help most users find the right interface for your application. Our business is based upon adding value through our deep knowledge of machine vision cameras, interfaces, software, cables, lighting, lensing, and applications.
CABLE LENGTHS COMPARED(*):
CSI-2 is limited to 0.5m
USB3 Vision passive cables to 5m
FPD-Link distances may be up to 10m
GMSL cables may be up to 15m
(*) The above guidance is rule-of-thumb. There can be variances between manufacturers, system setup, and intended use, so check with us for an overall design consultation. There is no cost to you – our sales engineers are engineers first and foremost.
BANDWIDTH COMPARED#:
USB3 to 3.6 Gb/sec
FPD-Link to 4.26 Gb/sec
GMSL to 6 Gb/sec
CSI-2 to 10 Gb/sec
(#) Bandwidth can also vary by manufacturer and configuration, especially for MIPI and SerDes [SerializerDeserializer], and per chipset choices. Check with us for details before finalizing your choices.
RULES OF THUMB:
CSI-2 often ideal if you are building your own instrument(s) with short cable length
USB3 is also good for building one’s own instruments when longer distances are needed
FPD-Link has great EMI characteristics
GMSL is also a good choice for EMI performance
IF torn between FPD-Link vs. GMSL, note that there are more devices in the GMSL universe, so that might skew towards easier sourcing for other components
About you: We want to hear from you! We’ve built our brand on our know-how and like to educate the marketplace on imaging technology topics… What would you like to hear about?… Drop a line to info@1stvision.com with what topics you’d like to know more about.
