Common Vision Blox and TurboDrive: faster than GigE Vision

According to the specification, the Ethernet-based GigE Vision interface allows data transfer rates of up to 100Mbytes per second. However, current industrial cameras often generate much larger data volumes due to the ever-increasing resolutions and speeds. Users who have been working with the GigE Vision interface so far have reached the limit of the GigE Vision bandwidth and have had to adjust their systems to faster interfaces such as CameraLink or CoaXPress. These interfaces, however, cannot guarantee a safe data transmission, quite contrary to GigE Vision, offering integrated Packet Resend functionality. Moreover, CameraLink and CoaXPress interfaces require an additional acquisition card and cable lengths are limited when using CameraLink.

Thanks to the TurboDrive technology, the image data can be transferred for processing at rates exceeding the constraints of Gigabit Ethernet. This increases the effective throughput (between 120 per cent and 235 per cent of normal bandwidth) in typical vision applications without losing the data transmission reliability of GigE Vision.

This is enabled by TurboDrive's advanced data encoding techniques, which look at the redundancy in the data coming out of the sensor. It uses image entropy based encoding to model pixel information with no loss of information. This allows faster data transmission on the link as each pixel comprises fewer bits for encoding. More details can be found in a video.

The latest versions of Stemmer Imaging's Common Vision Blox (CVB) programming library and the corresponding CameraSuite already have integrated drivers which support TurboDrive technology. Teledyne Dalsa's current GigE Genie Nano and Linea camera series are already designed for the use of TurboDrive. Thus, users will now experience all the benefits of the proven Ethernet interface with extra high data volumes.

For more information about the Common Vision Blox (CVB) software library please go to www.stemmer-imaging.co.uk.