VISION 2008 in Stuttgart, Germany Highlights New 1394b Cameras

VISION 2008 in Stuttgart, Germany Highlights New 1394b Cameras

At VISION 2008 in Stuttgart in early November, leading industrial camera and instrumentation companies delivered new products built with1394b, which can transfer data at up to 800 Mbps. This is much faster than GigE and up to four times the rate provided by USB 2.0. The significant number of new systems and cameras underlines the success 1394 has experienced in these important markets.

Allied Vision Technologies presented two new versions of its popular Stingray camera family: the 1394b-equipped Stingray F-125 and Stingray F-504 with 1.3 and 5 megapixels, respectively. Both combine the newest Sony CCD sensors with AVT’s clever Smart Features. The Stingray F-125 is equipped with the new, high-sensitivity Sony CCD sensor ICX445 with 1.3 megapixel resolution. ExView HAD technology enables the camera to deliver high light-sensitivity. With its IEEE 1394b interface, the Stingray F-125 can deliver up to 30 frames per second at full resolution.

Toshiba-Teli added to their popular FireDragon series of FireWire (1394b) machine vision cameras, the FireDragon CCSFU15CC18. The new high-speed, high-resolution industrial camera offers Progressive Scan UXGA resolution (1600 x 1200), 1/1.8" CCD sensor, 15 frames per second, full frame shutter, and backwards compatibility with 1394a. It measures only 44mm x 29mm x 44mm. Eight 1394-enabled models from Toshiba Teli were also on site. Ranging in resolution from VGA to UXGA, these FireWire cameras are available in either B&W or color.

Among many products with 1394 at its booth, Point Grey Research Inc. added four new models to the Flea2 family of the world's smallest IEEE 1394b digital cameras. The Flea2 line now offers a total of 12 different monochrome and color models that are designed to address a wide variety of industrial imaging and machine vision applications, such as 2D and 3D metrology, electronics and semiconductor inspection, medical visualization, packaging verification, and object recognition. The new models are based on the high sensitivity 1.3 MP Sony® ICX445 and the new 5 MP Sony ICX655, and offer a number of new features, including opto-isolated general purpose I/O (GPIO), an on-camera frame buffer for image storage and retransmission, flash memory for non-volatile data storage, and a new high-speed FPGA for improved performance.

Point Grey also featured its new Grasshopper2 line of digital cameras. “The Grasshopper2 was definitely our biggest draw,” said Mike Gibbons of Point Grey Research. “Its unique dual-bus architecture allows it to achieve data rates up to 160 Mbytes/second over 1394b, which enables it to run a variety of new high resolution, quad output Kodak CCDs at their full frame rates.”

Hamamatsu displayed its newly released 1394b-capable ORCA-R2 cooled CCD camera. ORCA-R2 offers high sensitivity from visible to near-infrared (NIR) light, high dynamic range, fast readout speed, and low noise, which makes it ideal for applications including microscopy (fluorescence, TIRF, and real-time confocal), red to NIR fluorescence, time lapse fluorescence imaging, ratio imaging, failure analysis, semiconductor inspection, and others. The ORCA-R2 camera is equipped with both a 12-bit and 16-bit A/D converters. Data output is via 1394b, which provides fast, easy, and reliable operation. Also included are an extended range of programmable trigger signal output options such as edge, level, start, and synchronous readout triggers.

Newnex showcased the S800 FireNEX-800™ and the S400 FireNEX-CAT5™ repeaters along with the new FireNEX-COAX, which is the first 1394b device over a single COAX cable at 800 Mbps.

Sony showed its new 1394b-enabled XCD series of cameras, which provide a full range of resolutions and frame rates. The line includes the XCD-SX-90, XCD-V60, XCD-60CR, and XCD-SX90CR. Featuring outstanding picture quality, high-speed image capturing, and the digital 1394b interface, this new XCD Series is perfect for high-quality industrial and manufacturing solutions. Unibrain’s Fire-i™ application and ubCore™ 1394b drivers are the ideal companions for controlling a single or multiple Sony 1394b cameras. The drivers support all Sony's special features like multi trap functionality, broadcast trigger, and pixel binning. The cameras ship with a Unibrain 1394b 4.5m cable with screw lock connectors.

Basler introduced new 1394b Scout light cameras, which come in a compact 29x44x73.7-mm industrial housing with screw-mount options for the 1394b connector. They are equipped with a standard C-mount lens adapter and provide progressive-scan readout with global shutter technology. The four models deliver resolutions of 752x480 pixels, 1034x779 pixels, 1392x1040 pixels, and 1628x1236 pixels with respective frame rates of 60 fps, 30 fps, 17 fps, and 14 fps. Starting prices are as low as $499. According to Henning Tiarks, product manager at Basler Components, “The Scout light camera series combines the successful and established IEEE 1394b interface standard with the most commonly used sensors at resolutions from VGA up to 2 megapixels.”

PixeLINK announced a new, smaller line of 1394b cameras, the new PL-C series of CCD and CMOS machine vision industrial cameras with new black housing; faster camera frame rates, and1394b.

More than 62,000 people attended VISION 2008 in Stuttgart.