Smart Camera Integrates into Factory for Fast Inspection

Vision Components GmbH

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• shutter down to 5 μs
• 1-GHz, 8000-MIPS processor
• PLC inputs and 100-Mb Ethernet

Vision Components GmbH has a new smart camera called the VC4438 for stand-alone image processing in industrial automation applications. It integrates into the production line and is particularly suited to the capture of images from fast-moving products in tasks such as quality control that require real-time computation.

The 1/3-in. CCD sensor produces 640 × 480-pixel resolution and operates at 63 fps and at 126 fps in binning mode. A shutter with a speed of up to 5 μs, asynchronous external trigger with constant capture delay, and the full-frame progressive-scan format enable the camera to acquire images that are unblurred by the motion of the product or the timing jitter. The Texas Instruments TMS320C64xx processor runs at 1 GHz and performs 8000 MIPS (million instructions per second) on the 10-bit data, and the standard 64-MB SDRAM stores images during processing. The user can extend this to 128 MB if necessary. The image display is monochrome, but look-up tables enable the generation of pseudocolour to highlight particular grey-scale levels to improve contrast discrimination. The multitasking internal operating system speeds up the device by parallel processing, and the optimized acquisition process allows exposure, readout and image processing to proceed in parallel.

The camera comes in a robust industrial housing that measures approximately 110 × 50 × 35 mm and weighs about 400 g. It has four digital PLC inputs and four outputs, an RS-232 serial interface and a 100-Mb Ethernet connection to facilitate integration into existing automation and factory network environments.

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Published: April 2008