Point Grey Research, a manufacturer of advanced digital camera systems, has added two models to its line of Grasshopper IEEE-1394b (FireWire) 800Mb/s digital cameras.
The models are based on the addition of monochrome and colour Kodak KAI-0340 640 x 480 1/3-inch CCDs to the current line of Sony progressive scan CCD image sensors available in the Grasshopper range. Offering 200fps full-resolution VGA readout, low noise, high quantum efficiency, and sensitive 7.4μm square pixels, the models are suitable for applications in machine vision, astronomy and life sciences, high-speed test and measurement, industrial inspection, and motion detection.
The cameras are housed in a lightweight and compact 44 x 29 x 57.5mm enclosure with dual IEEE-1394b ports, general purpose I/O connector, and industry standard C-mount lens holder.
Key features include a frame buffer for image storage and retransmission, high-speed 14-bit analogue-to-digital converter for data precision, memory channels for defining custom power-up settings, gamma and programmable LUT, and a data flash for non-volatile memory storage. Other standard features include multiple trigger and strobe modes, regions of interest and pixel binning, and in-field-updatable FPGA that controls all camera functions.
The cameras are compatible with third-party software packages, such as those from Cognex, Matrox, MVTec, and National Instruments. Also included with every camera is the FlyCapture SDK — a full software package for image acquisition and advanced camera control — and the FirePRO driver, which enables users to grab images at full 800Mb/s transfer rates.
