Derived from 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and adapted to GigE Vision standards, Teledyne DALSA has continued buildout of the Nano series from 1GigE, 2GigE, 5GigE, and now 10GigE.
The Genie Nano series is now extended from 1, 2.5 and 5GigE with new 10GigE camera models M/C8200 and M/C6200. These are based on Teledyne e2v’s 67Mp and 37Mp monochrome and color sensors. These high resolution sensors generate a lot of image data to transfer to the host computer, but at 10GigE speeds they achieve frame rates to:
15fps – for the 67Mp cameras
20fps – for the 37Mp cameras
There are four new models offered, in color and monochrome versions for each sensor variant. All are GenICam, GigE Vision 2.0 compliant. They are multi ROI with up to 16 x Region of Interest (ROI). The cameras have all-metal bodies and 3 year warranties.
Further, the M/C8200, at 59 mm x 59 mm, is the industry’s smallest 67M 10GigE Vision camera, for those needing high-resolution and high-performance in a comparatively small form factor.
These 10GigE models share all the other features of the Teledyne DALSA Genie Nano Series, for ease of integration or upgrades. Such features include but are not limited to:
Power over Ethernet (PoE) – single cable solution for power, data, and control
Precision Time Protocol (PTP) synchronization of two or more cameras over GigE network, avoiding the need for hardware triggers and controllers
Verify critical imaging events such as lost frames, lines, or triggers
Tag images for traceability
Trigger to Image Reliability (T2IR) – courtesy Teledyne DALSA
Across the wide range of Teledyne DALSA (area scan) cameras shown below, the Genie Nano 10GigE cameras are at the upper end of the already high-performance mid-range.
Genie Nano 10GigE area scan cameras in the Teledyne portfolio – courtesy Teledyne DALSA
Who needs another 2.8Mpix camera? In this case it’s not about the pixel count per se, but about the frame rates and the dynamic range.
Falcon™4-CLHS – courtesy Teledyne DALSA
With more common interfaces like GigE and 5GigE we expect frame rates from a 2.8 Mpix camera in the range 20 – 120fps, respectively. But with the Camera Link High Speed (CLHS) interface, Teledyne DALSA’s new Falcon4-M2240 camera can deliver up to 1200fps. If your application demands high-speed performance together with 2.8Mpix resolution, this camera delivers.
Besides speed, an even more remarkable feature of the Falcon4-M2240, based on the Teledyne e2v Lince 2.8 MP, is a pixel well depth, or full well capacity, of ~138 [ke-]. THAT VALUE IS NOT A TYPO!! It really is ~138 [ke-]. Other sensors also thought of as high quality offer pixel well depths only 1/10th of this value, so this sensor is a game changer.
Why does pixel well depth matter? Recall the analogy of photons to raindrops, and pixel wells to buckets. With no raindrops, the bucket is empty, just as with no photons quantized to electrons, the pixel well is empty and the monochrome pixel would correspond to 0 or full-black. When the bucket, or pixel well, becomes exactly full with the last raindrop (electron) it can hold, it’s reached it’s full well capacity – the pixel value would be fully saturated at white (for a monochrome sensor).
The expressive capacity of each pixel admits the widest range of values in correlation to the full well capacity before charge overflows, so the camera is calibrated by the designer according to the sensor’s capabilities. Sensors with higher full well capacity are desirable, since they can capture all the nuances of the imaging target, which in turn gives your software maximum image features to identify.
This newest member of the Falcon4 family joins siblings with sensors offering 11, 37, and 67 Mpix respectively. The Falcon4 family represents continues the success of the Falcon2 family, all of which share many common features: These include:
CMOS global shutter
High dynamic range
1000x anti-blooming
M42 to M95 optics mount
Camera Link or Camera Link HS interface
Falcon family members share many features
Even before the new firmware update (V1.02), Falcon4 cameras already offered:
Now with Firmware 1.02 the Falcon4 family gets these additional features:
Multi-ROI
ROI position change by sequencer cycling
Digital gain change by sequencer cycling sequencer cycling of Digital Gain
Exposure change by sequencer cycling
Sequencer cycling of output pulse
Meta Data
Multi-ROI
Higher FPS by sending only ROIs needed – courtesy Teledyne DALSA
Region Of Interest (ROI) capabilities are compelling when an application has defined regions within a larger field that can be read out, skipping the un-necessary regions, thereby achieving much higher framerates than having to transfer the full resolution image from camera to host. It’s like having a number of smaller-sensor cameras, each pointed at their own region, but without the complexity of having to manage multiple cameras. As shown in the image below, the composite image frame rates are equivalent to the single ROI speed gains one might have known on other cameras.
Sequencer cycling of ROI position:
Each trigger changes ROI position – courtesy Teledyne DALSA
Cycling the ROI position for successive images might not seem to have obvious benefits – but what if the host computer could process image 1, while the camera acquires and begins transmitting image 2, and so forth? Overall throughput for the system rises – efficiency gains!
Sequencer cycling of output pulse:
Courtesy Teledyne DALSA
For certain applications, it can be essential to take 2 or more exposures of the same field of view, each under different lighting conditions. Under natural light, one might take a short, medium, and long exposure duration, to hedge on which is best, let the camera or object move to the next position, and let the software decide which is best. Or under controlled lighting, one might image once with white or colored light, then again with an NIR wavelength, knowing that each exposure condition reveals different features relevant to the application.
Metadata:
Metadata structure – courtesy Teledyne DALSA
Metadata may not sound very exciting, and the visuals aren’t that compelling. But sending data along for the ride with each image may be critical for quality control archiving, application analysis and optimization, scheduled maintenance planning, or other reasons of your own choosing. For example, it may be valuable to know at what shutter or gain setting an image was acquired; or to have a timestamp; or to know the device ID from which camera the image came.
The Falcon2 and Falcon4 cameras are designed for use in industrial inspection, robotics, medical, scientific imaging, as well as wide variety of other demanding automated imaging and machine vision applications requiring ultra-high-resolution images.
Representative application fields:
Applications for 67MP Genie Nano – courtesy Teledyne DALSA
The smallest board-level cameras in the IDS portfolio, the uEye XLS cameras have very low power consumption and heat generation. They are ideal for embedded applications and device engineering. Sensors are available for monochrome, color, and NIR.
XLS board-level with no lens mount; with S-mount; with C-mount – courtesy of IDS
The “S” in the name means “small”, as the series is a compact version of the uEye XLE series. As small as 29 x 29 x 7 mm in size! Each USB3 camera in the series is Vision Standard compliant, has a Micro-B connector, and offers a choice of either C/CS lens mount, S-mount, or no-mount DIY.
IDS uEye XLS camera family – courtesy of IDS
Positioned in the low-price portfolio, the XLS cameras are most likely to be adopted by customers requiring high volumes for which basic – but still impressive – functions are sufficient. The XLS launch family of sensors include ON Semi AR0234, ON Semi AR0521, ON Semi AR0522, Sony IMX415, and Sony IMX412. These span a wide range of resolutions, framerates, and frequency responses. Each sensor appears in 3 board-level variants per the last digit in each part number corresponding as follows: 1 = S-mount, 2 = no-mount, 4 = C, CS-mount.
Sensor
Resolution
Framerate
Monochrome
Color
NIR
ON Semi AR0234
1920 x 1200
102 fps
U3-356(1/2/4) XLS-M
U3-356(1/2/4) XLS-C
ON Semi AR0521
2592 x 1944
48 fps
U3- 368(1/2/4) XLS-M
U3- 368(1/2/4) XLS-C
ON Semi AR0522
2592 x 1944
48 fps
U3-368(1/2/4) XLS-NIR
Sony IMX415
3864 x 2176
25 fps
U3-38J(1/2/4) XLS-M
U3-38J(1/2/4) XLS-C
Sony IMX412
4056 x 3040
18 fps
U3-38L(1/2/4) XLS-C
XLS family spans 5 sensors covering a range of requirements
XLS dimensions, mounts, and connections – courtesy of IDS
Uses are wide-ranging, skewing towards high-volume embedded applications:
Example applications for XLS board-level cameras – courtesy of IDS
In a nutshell, these are cost-effective cameras with basic functions. The uEye XLS cameras are small, easy to integrate with IDS or industry-standard software, cost-optimized and equipped with the fundamental functions for high-quality image evaluation
The Lucid Vision Labs Helios2+ Time of Flight (ToF) 3D camera features High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode, and High-Speed Time-of-Flight mode, and a Sony DepthSense™ IMX556PLR 1/2″ global shutter CMOS back-illuminated ToF sensor.
Lucid Helios2+ Time of Flight 3D cameras
Do I need a Time of Flight (ToF) 3D camera? It depends. If you can achieve the desired outcome in 2D, by all means stay in 2D since the geometry is simpler as are the camera, lensing, lighting, and software requirements. But as discussed in “Types of 3D imaging systems – and benefits of Time of Flight (TOF)”, some applications can only be solved, or innovative offerings created, by working in a three dimensional space.
Robots doing pick-and-place, aerial drones, and patient monitoring are three examples, just to name diverse applications, that may require 3D ToF imaging. Some 3D systems use structured light or passive stereo approaches to build a 3D representation of the object space – but those approaches are often constrained to short working distances. ToF can be ideal for applications operating at working distances of 0.5m – 5m and beyond, with depth resolution requirements to 1 – 5mm.
Lucid Vision Labs has been a recognized leader in 3D ToF systems some time, and we are proud to represent their Helios2 and new Helios2+ cameras, the latter with high speed modes achieve frame rates of 100fps+.
Besides the high speed mode in the video above, another feature is High Dynamic Range mode, combining multiple exposures to provide accurate 3D depth information for high contrast, complex objects containing both highly reflective and low reflectivity objects. Sensing and depth measurement applications to sub-mm (< 1mm) precision. Click here to see examples and further details.
1st Vision’s sales engineers have over 100 years of combined experience to assist in your camera selection. With a large portfolio of lenses, cables, NIC card and industrial computers, we can provide a full vision solution!
