Basler has launched new features and new sensor front-ends for its Scout and Pilot camera families. New features include gamma correction, binning, and debouncer.
Gamma Correction
The gamma correction modifies image brightness by calculating a correction value for each pixel in the image. The correction improves perception of the image by the human eye. By activating and adjusting the gamma feature, a user can make the image appear brighter or darker. The result is usually perceived by the human eye as more detailed and sensitive.
Binning
Binning is now available in Basler's Scout and Pilot cameras. The main advantage of binning is that it increases the camera's response to light by summing the charges from adjacent pixels.
For binning in the vertical direction, Basler makes use of the imaging sensor's native analogue charge transfer functionality. This functionality has a direct effect on noise and on the amount of charge that can be collected from adjacent pixels. Compared to cameras in the marketplace without analogue gain, this approach allows a reduction in noise.
Due to the architecture of the CCD sensor, there is no native analogue functionality for binning in the horizontal direction. However, Basler has included a horizontal binning function in its high-performance FPGA. This allows a combination of analogue vertical binning and horizontal digital binning to achieve the best imaging results with the lowest noise levels. Binning of up to four pixels in the vertical direction and four pixels in the horizontal direction is possible.
Debouncer
The debouncer discriminates between a valid and an invalid signal on the camera's digital inputs. It specifies a minimum time that an input signal must remain high or remain low in order to be sensed by the camera as valid. The fact that the minimum time is adjustable makes this feature exceptionally flexible. The debouncer is especially useful in eliminating the 'ghost triggering' problems often encountered in tough industrial environments.
