Q+A CENTER

Since its inception back in May 2006, GigE Vision has become a behemoth among other network protocols, offering several advantages over the others. Allowing for greater cable length, speed and flexibilty, it’s not hard to see why GigE is an ideal solution for the machine vision industry.

“We see a huge and fast growth of the GigE camera market. This year, we estimate that volumes of machine vision cameras with a GigE Vision interface for all vendors will be 50 percent more than in 2009,” says Dr. Joachim Linkemann, Product Manager for Basler Vision Technologies (Ahrensburg, Germany).

In combination with the advantages mentioned above, Linkemann also notes that the attractive pricing of this technology will accelerate the transition from analog to digital cameras.

Sony (Park Ridge, N.J.) has expanded its high-performance XCG GigE camera lineup with the addition of a new high-speed, IR sensitive model — the XCG-SX99E. This new GigE Vision-compliant camera incorporates a 2/3-inch CCD and features SXGA resolution. The XCG-SX99E camera is ideally suited for machine vision, security (IR wavelength coverage) and intelligent traffic applications. Compact and lightweight, the XCG-SX99E offers many attractive features, including various DSP options, IR sensitivity, and 27 frames per second at full resolution of 1,360 x 1,024. The GigE interface of the XCG-SX99E enables the cameras to transfer a large amount of data over long distances. The use of an ethernet cable and availability of a wide variety of peripheral devices contribute to significant cost-cutting benefits when designing a complete vision system. By incorporating a packet re-send mechanism, the XCG Series can securely transmit data to the host computer. www.sony.com

Toshiba Imaging Systems Division’s (Irvine, Calif.) new HD CMOS camera, the IK-HR1H, features an ultra-small remote head (only 1.18 inch x 1.37 inch x 1.41 inch) housing. For added flexibility, two controller configurations of this tiny, lightweight camera also are available for applications where space is limited. The IK-HR1CD 8-bit (RGB) model features a DVI-I connector and DVI-I with selectable outputs of 720p at 60 fps, 1080i at 30 fps, and 1080p at 60 fps. The IK-HR1CS version of the remote head CMOS camera offers HD-SDI version with 720p at 60 fps and 1080i at 30 fps. The high-def IK-HR1H is ideal for applications in life sciences and broadcast applications, such as entertainment, sports, reality TV, and 3D production. The new, affordable CMOS high-definition models also are in use in aviation, microscopy, defense and diagnostics. www.cameras.toshiba.com.