USB 2.0 cameras target small systems
By Ann R. Thryft, Contributing Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 12/1/2008 2:00:00 AM
Machine-vision cameras with USB 2.0 interfaces are on the rise, as evidenced by recent product introductions from vendors such as Edmund Optics, The Imaging Source, and Matrox Imaging. One vendor that recently entered the USB 2.0 market is Point Grey Research, a company known for its IEEE 1394b (FireWire) cameras. Vladimir Tucakov, Point Grey’s director of sales and marketing, explained the benefits of the new product line. “The USB interface makes integrating the camera with the PC a lot easier,” he said. “You can connect a camera to virtually any computer system without adding an interface card. Not all PCs built today have 100-Mbytes/s 1394b ports, but nearly every laptop, desktop, and embedded PC has at least one high-speed USB 2.0 port, with a maximum data rate of 60 Mbytes/s.”
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When an inspection application calls for resolutions and frame rates that do not require data rates above 40 Mbytes/s (such as 1296x964 at 15 fps), then the USB bandwidth is perfectly appropriate, said Tucakov. Cameras with a USB interface are also ideal for situations that call for low-cost, compact cameras. By employing the USB interface as opposed to GigE Vision, for example, vendors can produce smaller, less-expensive cameras: The USB connector itself is much smaller than many other connectors, and low-cost components like USB cables and hubs are widely available.
Tucakov explained that USB cameras are especially useful in the offline inspection of wafers or circuit boards, where there is less need for high throughput and long cable lengths. He said that smaller USB 2.0 cameras aimed at OEMs, such as members of Point Grey Research’s Chameleon family (figure) that measure only 25.5x41x44 mm, can be included as components in small machine-vision systems. “This combination of size and connectivity is important for smaller systems,” he said.
Larger, inline AOI machines often contain a complete PC. “But if you are building an offline test and measurement station, containing optics, lighting, camera, and a motion stage,” Tucakov said, “you may not want to include an entire PC, since that raises your BOM [bill of materials] by $500. Instead, you can just plug a USB connector into a customer’s existing desktop PC or laptop.”
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