Point Grey FlyCapture 2.0 SDK supports Windows and Linux

PRESS RELEASE

Point Grey (Richmond, BC, Canada), a provider of advanced digital camera systems, has released its FlyCapture 2.0 software development kit (SDK), the next generation of its FlyCapture image acquisition and camera control library.

FlyCapture 2.0 is the result of an extensive development and beta testing process. A key feature of the new release is cross-platform support for both 32- and 64-bit Microsoft Windows and Linux Ubuntu operating systems, using a common application programming interface (API).

The SDK’s simplified object-oriented interface is designed to make application development faster and easier for software developers, and the new hardware abstraction layer (HAL) enables the seamless connection of any Point Grey FireWire or USB 2.0 camera product to the host system. The HAL will also allow FlyCapture to work with future Point Grey Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0 products. Further enhancements include support for new IIDC 1.32 features, such as frame buffering and lookup table functionality, and thunking functionality, which allows applications built using the 32-bit versions of the SDK to communicate with cameras that run on 64-bit operating systems.

“We are very excited to see a significant increase in FlyCapture 2.0 installs over the last couple of months,” says Malcolm Steenburgh, director of software development at Point Grey. “They account for more than 30% of all FlyCapture installs over the last couple of months, and the response has been very positive so far, especially when it comes to the overall stability of the new SDK. We have put substantial effort into making the migration from version 1.8 as easy as possible for our users. The numerous source code examples that we have provided in previous releases have been upgraded to the new interface, enabling users to view the parallels between versions.”

A translation layer is currently available that allows existing 1.8-based applications to run in the 2.0 interface, and additional documentation for helping developers to migrate their code is available in Point Grey’s online knowledge base. An updated version of FlyCapture 2.0 with support for Microsoft Windows 7 is planned for 2010.

The FlyCapture SDK comes free with every Point Grey camera and provides a common software interface to control all FireWire and USB 2.0 cameras using the same API. FlyCapture supports ActiveX, TWAIN and DirectShow, and includes the FirePRO low-level 1394b interface driver, which enables users to grab images at full 800-Mbit/s transfer rates. A complete software API library, ready-to-use demo programs, and comprehensive source code examples enable users to easily build custom imaging applications.

FlyCapture 2.0 is now available for download to all Point Grey users.


About Point Grey
Point Grey Research, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the development of advanced digital camera technology products for machine vision, industrial imaging, and computer vision applications. Based in Richmond, BC, Canada, Point Grey designs, manufactures and distributes IEEE-1394 (FireWire) and USB 2.0 cameras that are known for their excellent quality, performance, and ease of use. A broad range of hardware, software and mechanical engineering skills has allowed Point Grey to successfully bring many innovative and ground-breaking products to market. This drive for innovation has led to many industry firsts, including the first and smallest 1394b digital camera.

Since its founding in January of 1997, the company’s approach to product pricing, quality control, and customer service has attracted thousands of customers worldwide, and its organic growth through product sales has enabled the company to expand significantly without any outside investment. Point Grey currently employs more than 90 people worldwide and has a wholly-owned German subsidiary that provides sales and support services to customers in Europe, Africa and Israel. The company also has a strong network of distributors in Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan.

-- Posted by Vision Systems Design