PCI Frame Grabber

Description

The X64-CL iPro is a highly versatile PCI frame grabber capable

of acquiring images from two independent Base or one Medium Camera Link™ cameras

and performing image transfers at rates up to 528MB/s. Its low cost, combined with

its ability to support multiple tap configurations from both area and linescan

cameras simultaneously; in addition to its on-board FPGA based processing

(including Bayer decoding and real-time shading correction) makes the X64

-CLiPro an ideal solution to a wide variety cost-sensitive applications

where flexibility, performance and reliability cannot be compromised. The

X64-CL-iPro has been engineered within DALSA’s exacting Trigger-

to-Image Reliability technology framework to more reliably and efficiently control

and monitor the entire image acquisition sequence.

The X64-CL iPro has been built within Teledyne DALSA’s Trigger-

to-Image Reliability technology framework. High-speed in-line machine vision

applications require tight integration between the trigger, strobe, camera

exposure and frame grabber acquisition to ensure data integrity. Trigger-to-Image

Reliability leverages Teledyne DALSA’s hardware and software innovations to

control, monitor and correct the image acquisition process from the time that an

external trigger event occurs to the moment the data is sent to the PCI bus,

providing traceability when errors do occur and permitting recovery from those

errors.

The X64-CLiPro is able to acquire images from two independent

Base Camera Link cameras or one Medium camera; capturing images from both area and

line scan cameras (monochrome and RGB) simultaneously. Capable of acquisition

rates up to 255MB/s per channel (510MB total),the X64-CLi-Pro

makes image acquisition from the new generation of CMOS and multi-tap CCD cameras

more efficient and cost effective. The X64-CL iPro supports fixed

and variable size frames ranging up to 256KB horizontal pixels per line and up to

16 million vertical lines per frame for area scan cameras. One feature of

particular interest to OEMs developing web-scanning applications is the

X64-CLiPro’s ability to support both infinite and variable frame

lengths from line scan cameras, enabling 100 percent line capture as well as

repeatable accuracy and faster execution time

As a part of its standard features set, the X64-CL-iPro offers an

FPGA based image processor called the Re-loadable Processing Engine (RPE). Fast

and efficient, the RPE frees up the host CPU from performing tasks such as shading

correction and Bayer decoding while delivering images that can be readily used by

demanding vision applications without further pre-processing.

Configured to decode Bayer Mosaic Filter images, the RPE supports Base and Medium

cameras in a multitude of tap configurations. Designed with flexibility in mind,

the X64-CL iPro can handle various Bayer patterns and provides

control for gamma correction and white balance to produce accurate RGB images. To

further facilitate the needs of high performance colour applications, the

X64-CLiPro can capture and convert images from 8, 10, and 12-bit

Bayer cameras.

To overcome the image artifacts caused by non-uniform illumination, non-uniform

sensor response, dark current, and defective pixel elements, the X64-CL-

iPro can be configured to perform real-time shading correction. Capable

of supporting Base and Medium configurations, the shading correction engine is

user configurable and comes bundled with a calibration utility to generate gain

and offset maps.

The X64-CL iPro features input lookup tables for Base and Medium

monochrome and RGB cameras. Available for 8, 10 and 12-bit area and line scan

cameras, the iLUTs are dynamically loadable and are fully user programmable. The

input lookup tables can be used for image thresholding, gamma correction or basic

pixel format conversion, simplifying subsequent image processing steps.

Delivering fast and secure data transfers with zero CPU usage, the X64-CLiPro’s Data Transfer Engine (DTE) features a high speed memory

interface, multiple independent Direct Memory Access (DMA) controllers, and on-

board tap descriptors.

The DTE also performs real-time input tap adjustments for direction (tap

reversal/inversion), pixel overlap and under lap. This enables the DTE to deliver

images that are ready for processing and liberating the host CPU for image

analysis tasks. In addition, the DTE performs autonomous and robust image

transfers to ensure data integrity during continuous image acquisition in non-

real-time operating systems, such as Windows® XP and Windows® 2000.

The X64-CL-iPro further facilitates ease-of-use by utilizing

visual status LEDs, mounted on the card’s bracket, to simplify system installation

and setup. A status indicator LED provides visual feedback when the correct camera

connection is made and when a grab is in progress. These visual indicators allow

developers to instantly recognize if cabling has been correctly set up greatly

facilitating the diagnostic process.

The X64-CL iPro features two trigger inputs along with two strobe

control output signals, to synchronize image captures with external events.

The Quadrature shaft-encoder input, enables the X64-CLiPro to

acquire images from line scan cameras synchronously to the speed of the web.

Higher quality images make processing more accurate and tolerant to motion

artifacts.

The X64-CL-iPro offers optional opto-coupled input modules for

demanding industrial environments. These interrupt-driven, general-purpose input

and output controls allow X64-CL iPro boards to react to external

inputs more rapidly and predictably to increase the quality of acquired images.

The X64-CLiPro feature two independent on-board serial

communication ports that provide integrated support for camera control and setup

for machine vision applications. PC-independent in nature, this communication port

can be used with off-the-shelf communication utilities such as HyperTerminal to

control and configure Camera Link cameraswith ease and without requiring

additional external cabling.

The X64-CLi-Pro is supported by Teledyne DALSA’s SaperaTM

Essential software libraries for image acquisition and control. Compatible with

Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 and .NET development environments, Sapera
Essential applications can be developed using C classes or ActiveX controls

under Windows® 2000, and Windows® XP platforms. An integral part of Teledyne

DALSA’s stringent Trigger-to-Image Reliability technology framework, Sapera

Essential is hardware independent and supports Teledyne DALSA’s full range of

imaging boards. In addition, Sapera Essential includes powerful diagnostics and

setup utilities for application development, custom camera configurations and

system deployment.

For image processing and analysis Teledyne DALSA offers SaperaTM Processing.

Sapera Processing software library is a set of high performance C classes

specifically designed for machine vision applications. The Sapera Processing

library includes over 300 image processing functions and offers powerful pattern

matching, optical character recognition, bar code and blob analysis tools.