Posted to News on 22nd Apr 2015, 15:09
Low-cost line scan cameras with GigE and 2k or 4k resolution
Stemmer Imaging is introducing Teledyne DALSA Linea line scan cameras with a GigE Vision interface and 2k or 4k resolution. These offer an excellent range of capabilities to keep performance high and costs low, opening up even more applications to line scan imaging. TurboDrive technology enables both Linea GigE cameras to utilise the full speed of the advanced CMOS sensor (up to 80kHz line rate) with no loss of image quality. Other features such as burst mode, multiple regions of interest (ROI), cycling mode and extended dynamic range imaging add exceptional process and image flexibility to the benefits of 100m data transmission distances offered by the GigE Vision interface. These exciting new capabilities are highlighted on a video on the Stemmer Imaging website.
The compact, lightweight and robust Linea GigE line scan cameras benefit from breakthrough data transfer technology. The proprietary and patent-pending TurboDrive innovation overcomes the GigE bandwidth limitation by allowing line rates to be accelerated from the standard 52kHz for the 2k version and 26kHz for the 4k version to the full 80kHz allowed by the sensor.
In addition, the burst mode maximises system data throughput by capturing images in high-speed bursts faster than is allowed by GigE and buffering them for transfer during idle times. Further data handling efficiencies are provided by the multiple ROI capability. Only the important areas of the image need to be captured, allowing data transfer and processing load to be reduced, all of which helps to boost performance and reduce system cost.
Exceptional processing flexibility is offered by the cycling mode, which enables users to choose different settings for each line and cycle through up to five different user-controlled configurations. Every line can therefore be set for a different light source, lighting angle, exposure time, gain and more, so more information can be obtained from a single pass with a single camera. In this way, Linea cameras can replace more expensive and multiple camera sets, or camera and frame grabber combinations, thereby reducing overall system cost and complexity.
Linea offers excellent image quality through its in-house manufactured CMOS sensors with high quantum efficiency and low noise. In addition, the cycling mode offers extended dynamic range imaging by combining short and long exposures to reveal details in bright and dark areas of the image at the same time, simplifying lighting requirements and reducing cost. Other features of the cameras include fully fledged flat-field correction, smart triggers through programmable GPIO and calibration coefficients for various lighting conditions.
The new Linea GigE line scan cameras take full advantage of the Sapera LT Software Development Kit (SDK) and the field-proven Trigger-to-Image-Reliability framework for image acquisition and control, non-intrusive monitoring and tracking images throughout the acquisition process. Go to www.stemmer-imaging.co.uk for further details or watch the video on the Stemmer Imaging website.
