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Graphic Programming of FPGAs with VisualApplets 3
The graphic approach of FPGA programming through dataflow models makes it easy for software developers and application engineers to create individual designs for complex image processing sequences intuitively in just a few steps – even without hardware programming skills.
The basic version of VisualApplets includes its full functionality, which can be further upgraded with special extensions and individual licenses.
- VisualApplets Version 3
- VisualApplets Embedder
- VisualApplets Expert
- VisualApplets Libraries
- VisualApplets Protection
High variety of features in VisualApplets – easy to use
VisualApplets Embedder – Flexible Cameras and Vision Sensors Through Integrated FPGA Programming
The future belongs to embedded vision – networked, decentralized image processing by hardware and software in one housing. This is already possible today with VisualApplets Embedder. The solution for real-time image processing in FPGA devices like industrial cameras and vision sensors is easy to integrate and operate. With Embedder, manufacturers of image processing hardware and end customers program software applets customized for their applications and industry within a short time directly on the device’s FPGA.
Your Benefits with VisualApplets Embedder

Custom camera with high investment security
- Easily configure FPGA hardware with VisualApplets technology
- Improve throughput and reduce system costs with preprocessing tasks in real time, including image optimizations, data reduction and process control
- No expertise in FPGA hardware programming needed – attractive for end user programming
- Stay flexible in case of changes to requirements with the ability to program FPGA devices
- End users benefit from increased protection of their know-how, since the image processing functions can be implemented independently of the camera manufacturer

Benefits for manufacturers – Tap into new markets
- Program inputs and outputs and connections to external peripherals with VisualApplets directly from the device
- Accelerate own internal development to offer device series with extended additional functions
- Use in-house development to offer customers a device with application-specific additional functions
- Port fully developed applications to different camera series
- Tap into new customer segments whose requirements go beyond standard products and conventional OEM solutions

Benefits for end users – Your personal path to an individual camera
- Quickly and flexibly adjust proprietary image processing designs to the corresponding market requirements
- Extend camera features yourself with little effort and no hardware programming skills
- Use image pre-processing to reduce the image data amount and reduce the load on the PC during the final analysis – see a significant improvement in the robustness of the image analysis and inspection speed
- Secure intellectual property with a sophisticated encryption system – this makes data hacking with reverse engineering virtually impossible
VisualApplets Expert – Use Advanced Functions in VisualApplets
VisualApplets Expert features many new functions for experienced system builders: the custom library with the option of creating one’s own operators for use in the VisualApplets design, as well as the debugging and parameters libraries. This offers developers new possibilities for the design and review of the created image processing application.
The libraries can also be acquired individually.
VisualApplets Expert Libraries for Greater Functionality

Custom Library
Import/export of the operator’s XML definition makes it possible to import and export individual custom operators. System builders continue to implement their know-how and existing hardware code in the programming of the FPGAs--for example, to integrate an existing IP core into new applications in just a few steps. This significantly shortens the time to market of their products.

Debugging Library
The expanded debugging capabilities include image analysis, image statistics, stream analysis, image flow control and monitoring, among others. The operators can be used to debug VisualApplets designs in real runtime as well as custom operators that are still in development. In the latter case, the debugging library makes it possible to analyze how new custom operators influence the designs.

Parameters Library
Changes in the parameters of a VisualApplets design made by the system builder, even in protected hierarchical boxes, are consistently and automatically updated during the runtime. This eliminates an elaborate and error-prone manual change of parameters throughout the whole design and/or the use of additional software. Additionally, new values can be calculated from different parameter values and transferred to other parameters in the entire design.

TCL Console
Complex processes, such as the simulation of thousands of images with different parameter settings, can be performed automatically via a script. It is also possible to connect external image processing software to easily transfer design parameters or images.
VisualApplets Libraries with Special Additional Functions
VisualApplets libraries comprise multiple operator libraries which expand the operators’ scope with valuable image processing functions, such as those for segmentation, classification and compression.
The libraries can also be acquired as individual licenses.
Secure protection of applets and frame grabbers
To prevent the use of proprietary applets on external frame grabbers and thus protect intellectual property from outside access, the applets and frame grabbers can each be securely encoded with a lock.
The protection consists of two security mechanisms that must match:
- Applets are coded and locked with a unique security identifier code. Silicon Software frame grabbers are configured with a security license.
- An applet that is safeguarded like this will only be executed on the corresponding Silicon Software frame grabber with an appropriate security license.
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Frame grabbers for high-performance applications in real time
Select the right board for your image processing task from one of the most extensive frame grabber ranges in the market. The boards excel with robust image capture, image pre-processing, minimal latencies and top speeds for all conventional camera interfaces.
More about the frame grabbers
Frame Grabber Trigger Boards – and Everything Runs in Sync
High-performance signal processing controls the image acquisition with minimal latencies and synchronizes the hardware peripherals of the image processing system – such as cameras, lighting, light barriers, rotary encoders, etc. – in real time. The Opto and TTL trigger boards extend the frame grabbers and enable a series connection of frame grabbers, triggers or peripherals.
More about the trigger boards
Frame Grabber Software – the Perfect Tool for the Frame Grabber
Software solutions for the configuration, testing and activation of the entire image processing system – easy and flexible with microDiagnostics, microDisplay X and the frame grabber SDK. Components such as cameras can be exchanged and the entire system can be enhanced with additional features.
More on the frame grabber software