Basler is now shipping its new Scout series of digital video cameras. This series includes 28 different models of camera, which are sophisticated in detail, versatile, fully digital and attractively priced.
The Scout family of cameras use some of the best Sony and Micron CCD and CMOS sensors, a wide variety of resolutions and speeds, and have either Gigabyte Ethernet (GigE) or Firewire-b (IEEE1394b) interfaces. The benefits of the Scout family include:
* Resolutions of VGA to 2 megapixels with either a FireWire-b or Gigabyte Ethernet interface.
* Progressive scan.
* Up to 74 frames per second at full resolution.
* Up to 12 bit depths.
* Free drivers for FireWire or GigE.
* Small, rugged housing.
* Compatible with new industry standards including GeniCam and GigEVision,
* Up to 100 m cable length (GigE models)
* 100% quality checked and calibrated.
FireWire, also known as IEEE1394, has become a standard image data and camera command transport mechanism in the machine vision industry. Its key benefit is realtime communication between the camera and a remote computer. The original FireWire, now renamed FireWire-a, has a speed limitation of 400 Mbits/s. FireWire-b offers up to 800 Mbits/s and is backwardly compatible with FireWire-a.
This means that a far higher performance in terms of frame rate and bit depth can be achieved. FireWire integration is easy, cost-effective, and standardised. It supports plug-and-play and there is no need for a frame-grabber.
Gigabyte Ethernet (GigE) has become a synonym for the new interface technology used in machine vision systems and related industries like intelligent traffic systems and medical imaging. High bandwidth, long cable lengths (100 m), and wide usage in the consumer and industrial markets make GigE attractive. Because GigE breaks the bandwidth barrier that was set by FireWire, switching from the high-performance CameraLink to Gigabyte Ethernet is now attractive. Advantages are:
* High bandwidth of 1000 Mbits/s.
* Reduction in cost as no frame grabber is required.
* 100 m cable lengths are possible.
The goal of the GeniCam standard is to provide a generic programming interface for all kinds of cameras. No matter what interface technology (GigE Vision, Camera Link, 1394 DCAM) cameras are using or what features they are implementing, the application programming interface (API) should always be the same.
The new Basler Scout range of cameras will be GeniCam compatible, and will include an IEEE1394, GigE filter driver and a GigE performance driver.
The core of GeniCam is the description of the camera's properties in an XML descriptor file. Using this file, the translator can directly generate either a C++ API called GenAPI or the elements of a graphic user interface (GUI). This lets the user easily identify the camera type, as well as the features and functions available on the camera and the parameters associated with the camera functions. Future extensions of GeniCam will also provide mechanisms for grabbing and streaming images from the camera. The proposed GigEVision standard stipulates that cameras must provide an XMP descriptor file. A descriptor file will also be available for IEEE1394 compliant cameras.
Basler cameras are distributed in South Africa by Westplex.
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