New transfer mode allows direct control by USB camera

May 28, 2009
MAY 28, 2009--Master Mode for USB uEeye cameras is driver software that allows the camera itself to control the data exchange.

MAY 28, 2009--Master Mode for USB uEeye cameras is driver software that allows the camera itself to control the data exchange. The new master mode removes USB protocol constraints. By passing control of image data transfer to the connected cameras, it makes maximum use of the USB 2.0 bandwidth and allows the triggered frame rate to reach the same level as in live mode, where the camera continuously transfers images. In area-of-interest (AOI) mode, in which the sensor transfers only a specific part of the image, USB cameras can now process several hundred trigger pulses per second. The USB master mode is included in the latest driver version 3.33 and is available as an update for all USB uEye cameras. Customers can download the new driver version for free from the manufacturer's web site.
IDS Imaging Development Systems
Obersulm, Germany
www.ids-imaging.de

-- Posted by Carrie Meadows, Vision Systems Design, www.vision-systems.com

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PRESS RELEASE

Obersulm 05/20/2009

Maximizing performance in triggered USB cameras

Master Mode for USB uEye Cameras

With the introduction of a new transfer mode, the machine vision specialist IDS Imaging Development Systems has boosted the performance of the USB 2.0 connection for its uEye cameras. A new driver software allows operating USB cameras in master mode, so that the camera itself controls the data exchange. This way, significantly higher frame rates can be achieved in triggered cameras.

When two devices are connected via USB, the USB architecture requires one of them to act as the master controlling data traffic on the bus. That is usually done by the PC. Peripherals, such as cameras, run in slave mode: they can only transmit data when the host PC requests it. Consequently, a USB camera in trigger mode previously had to be set to ready state first before each image capture.

The new master mode offers a solution that removes these USB protocol constraints. By passing control of image data transfer to the connected cameras, it makes maximum use of the USB 2.0 bandwidth and allows for very high frame rates with external triggering: the triggered frame rate now reaches the same level as in live mode, where the camera continuously transfers images. In Area-of-Interest (AOI) mode, in which the sensor transfers only a specific part of the image, USB cameras can now process several hundred trigger pulses per second.

The USB master mode is included in the latest driver version 3.33 and is available as an update for all USB uEye cameras. Among the many new features and enhancements of this software package are new API functions, sample programs with source code, and additional subsampling and binning modes. The new USB uEye ME models are also supported by this driver version.

Customers can download the new driver version for free from the manufacturer's web site (http://www.ids-imaging.com/go/ueyedrivers).


IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH
Dimbacher Str. 6-8
74182 Obersulm
Germany
Web: www.ids-imaging.de

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