Machine Vision

 

Gigabit Ethernet and FireWire-b Might be the Answer

With the launch of the new Basler scout and Basler pioneer camera families at the Vision Show East in Boston, Basler will introduce two new interface technologies to the market - Gigabit Ethernet and FireWire-b™. These new technologies push the limits of the two most important demands when dealing with industrial image processing, cable length and bandwidth. Both technologies have the potential to change the interface landscape in machine vision and related applications such as medical imaging and intelligent traffic systems. In this article, we will focus on Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) and its features and advantages.

Due to the bandwidth limitations of FireWire-a, cameras with high data transfer rates are commonly equipped with a Camera Link® interface. GigE breaks the FireWire-a bandwidth barrier and switching from Camera Link to GigE will now be attractive for a variety of customers. Because a frame grabber is not required with GigE as it is with Camera Link, making the switch from Camera Link to GigE has the advantage of a quantifiable reduction in the cost of a total vision solution. No less important is the 100 meter cable lengths offered by GigE. These expanded capabilities open exciting new possibilities for vision system design and break through existing limitations to reach a new level that is especially beneficial for factory floor applications.

As it applies to the machine vision industry, GigE is a revolutionary new technology. To leverage this new technology for the special demands of vision applications, some unique design considerations must be taken into account. What’s the current status on that?

Until now, GigE in machine vision and related industries has been defined by only the physical implementation of an interface, such as cables and connectors. For the machine vision industry, the logical implementation of an interface is far more important and is the premise that will make GigE applicable to vision systems. This means that standard definitions of real-time capability, error handling procedures, and secure image transfer (no image loss) methods are an absolute necessity.

Only a well defined combination of the physical and logical implementation of GigE can meet the challenging demands of the machine vision and related industries. To achieve this goal, an AIA committee is working on the standardization of GigE for vision applications. Basler is pushing this effort forward by contributing personnel and technical know-how to realize a standardized interface for the vision industry that defines both the physical and the logical implementation. This standard will be known as GigE Vision.

Once the standard has been defined, the advantage of commonly available cables, connectors, network switches, hubs, and routers will make it easy and cost effective to use cameras compliant with the GigE Vision standard. On the PC side, GigE ports will be widely available, even in industrial and factory automation computers. To help our customers achieve the maximum performance and minimum CPU load with a GigE Vision solution, Basler will qualify, recommend, and support commonly available interface cards to assure maximum performance and reliability and to maintain an exceptional price/performance ratio.