IDS has launched version 3.30 of its uEye driver. Besides boosting the performance of the camera/software combination, the driver has increased support of many hardware features. This applies in particular to the Gigabit Ethernet models. The camera's RS232 interface, for example, now allows full use as the standard COM port for controlling a pan/tilt unit or a light controller.
The GigE versions of the uEye series benefit most from the release, which now support a colour depth of up to 12 or 36 bits, depending on the sensor. The maximum frame rate of the 5 Megapixel versions has increased to 15fps. In addition colours can now be calculated either in the PC or in the camera. The scope of this functionality goes significantly beyond the capabilities of simple de-Bayering and makes it possible, for example, to convert from raw Bayer format to the RGB and YUV formats.
Sensors that do not support binning and subsampling can use a post-processing function provided directly in the camera, e.g. horizontal subsampling for CCD sensors. Further features of the latest driver include hotpixel correction, free gamma, continuously adjustable colour correction and colour saturation, and a 12-bit RGB LUT. The new RGBY format allows the simultaneous transmission of both an RGB and a monochrome image.
The driver has enabled numerous CMOS models to achieve up to 50 per cent higher frame rates when using the subsampling and binning functions.
