New Products

Click here to enlarge imageProcessor uses Pentium IIIThe PCI-based Mamba-100 embedded vision processor with a 100-MHz CPU-to-memory bus offloads critical image-processing tasks from the host computer. It incorporates a Pentium III processor with clock speeds to 1 GHz to transfer images at rates exceeding 120 Mbytes/s. Applications created by using MS Visual Studio can be executed from the host or from the on-board 48-Mbyte disk-on-chip. The device uses the Windows NT embedded operating system to run applications without peripheral components and features error recovery, boot-up support from flash disk, and remote management. Two CAB ports on each vision processor help interconnect several Mamba-100s for pipeline or parallel processing. Other features include VGA and 100Base-T network controllers, two IDE ports, one floppy-drive port, two serial ports, one parallel port, 12 opto-isolated I/O lines, and 512 Mbytes of memory. Coreco Imaging Inc., Bedford, MA 01730; (781) 275-2700.

Click here to enlarge imageLaser projects thin lineThe Laseris Micro-Focus Laser Series projects a 5.5 ± 0.75 µm line at 1/e² out of a fully operational 5° fan angle line projector (670 nm at 5 mW). It serves semiconductor, microelectronics inspection, contour mapping, and small-part-defect inspection. StockerYale Canada, St-Laurent, Canada; (514) 335-1005.

Click here to enlarge imagePortable meter measures color and lightThe CL-200 light-source chroma meter can measure tristimulus colorimetrics, chromaticity, color difference, correlated color temperature, and illuminance of light sources. It consists of a hand-held, battery-operated meter housing and a detachable receptor head. Measurements are selectable as either analog or digital. The meter features an RS-232C interface for PC-based connection. Optional accessories include a remote-sensing measurement cable that permits the receptor head to be positioned as far as 100 m from the meter. As many as 30 receptor heads can be connected to the meter housing. Data-management software is available. Minolta Corp., Instrument Systems Div., Ramsey, NJ 07446; (201) 529-6060.

Click here to enlarge imageCamera acts as systemFeaturing 8-Mbytes of RAM and 2 Mbytes of flash EPROM, the VC65/C industrial camera provides 24-bit RGB color capabilities and can measure 400 pieces/s. It uses an 800 x 600-pixel progressive-scan CCD sensor, a DSP, and shutter speeds from 1/100,000 to 20 s. Other features include an optically isolated I/O of four 12-24-V inputs and four 150-mA outputs, an RS-232 serial interface, and an SVGA video output. Vision Components, Burlington, MA 01803; (781) 229-5842.

Click here to enlarge imageFiberoptic panels shine uniformlyThe MV-150 range of woven fiberoptic panels provide uniform, shadowless, heat-free illumination for front- and backlighting in sorting, inspection, counting, and imaging applications. Available with illumination areas of 2 x 2, 3 x 3, 4 x 4, 4 x 6, and 7 x 8 in., the panels come in protective housings or in a flexible form for applications requiring curved light-emitting surfaces. Remote light sources range from 5-V and 1-A to 120-Vac and 150-W halogen lamps. The 150-W halogen source features constant color during dimming. Color change capability is achieved via interchangeable filters. Lumitex, Strongsville, OH 44136; (440) 243-8401.

Click here to enlarge imageBoard computer offers dual PentiumsWith dual Pentium III FC-PGA processors at speeds to 1 GHz, the SLE single-board computer provides dual Ethernet interfaces, an Ultra3 SCSI interface that supports a 160-Mbit/s throughput, and a ServerWorks ServerSet III LE chip set that supports a front-side bus bandwidth of 133 MHz. The computer runs on a 64-bit/66-MHz PCI local bus. Dual PCI EIDE Ultra DMA/33 interfaces can support four IDE disk drives and synchronous DMA mode transfers to 33 Mbytes/s. Two DIMM sockets provide autodetection of SDRAM memory up to 2 Gbytes. On-board features include dual 10/100Base-T Ethernet interfaces and a Super VGA video interface with 4 Mbytes of display memory. Trenton Technology, Gainesville, GA 30504; (770) 287-3100.

Click here to enlarge imageDetector targets spectroscopyDesigned for high-resolution spectroscopy applications, Princeton Instruments Spec-10:2K CCD detection system features a 2048 x 512-pixel format, dual outputs, and thermoelectric (-70°C) or liquid-nitrogen (-120°C) cooling. The 16-bit system can be configured with a front- or a back-illuminated CCD and runs under the company's WinSpec 32-bit Windows software package. The detector also can be coupled with Acton Research's spectrometers. Roper Scientific, Tucson, AZ 85706; (520) 889-9933.

Click here to enlarge imageMicroscope improves images Isis accessory can be retrofitted to existing microscope instruments by attaching to standard eyepiece tubes. The device uses a patented multilenticular optical technology to increase the effective viewing distance to 38 mm from the instrument to the operator, allowing operators to wear glasses. It enhances the amount of usable optical information available by viewing the outer edges of the optical field. For life sciences, Isis eliminates the effects of "floaters" within the human eye. Vision Engineering, New Milford, CT 06776; (860) 355 3776.

Click here to enlarge imageColor camera runs at 24 frames/s Combining megapixel resolution with RGB color definition at 24 frames/s, the CV-M7 color camera offers 1300 x 1030-pixel resolution. It uses S/H and CDS techniques to achieve double-speed readout without sacrificing dynamic range or image fidelity. The camera incorporates a 2/3-in. color CCD sensor with a Bayer pattern RGB primary mosaic filter. Images are grabbed from the camera using a monochrome digital frame grabber. Bayer-to-RGB decoding can be performed in a host 800-MHz Pentium II processor or with the on-board frame grabber for acquiring, processing, and displaying full-color images. Other features include asynchronous trigger, partial scanning, 8-bit video output, RS-232C gain control, and Camera Link interfacing. JAI America, Laguna Hills, CA 92653; (949) 472-5900.High-speed camera Incorporating a CMOS 1.5-Mpixel sensor, the SpeedVision digital video camera can run from 50 to 10,000 frames/s with full 1536 x 1024-pixel resolution up to 1000 frames/s. At 10,000 frames/s, resolution is 500 x 200 pixels. Using a proprietary interface, the camera transfers 30-bit color and 10-bit monochrome images to the company's Link Module, which can support up to four cameras at distances to 50 ft. Once captured, images can be transferred from the Link Module to a host PC. The camera measures 80 x 100 x 170 mm, weighs 4 lb, and consumes 15 W. Visual Intrumentation Corp., Lancaster, CA 93534; (661) 945-7999.

Click here to enlarge imageCamera stresses reliability The GP-MF802 progressive-scan machine-vision camera incorporates a 1/3-in. CCD with 330,000 effective pixels to produce monochrome images with 480 lines of horizontal resolution. Features include progressive scanning for a full-frame image output in 1/60 s, a square pixel array that eliminates dimensional corrections when used with a PC, a shutter trigger function that activates the shutter with an external sensor, and electronic shutter speeds from 1/100 to 1/8000 s. Panasonic Industrial/ Medical Group, Secaucus, NJ 07094; (888) 880-VISION. Camera acquires at 100 frames/s For machine-vision, inspection manufacturing, and metrology applications, the quad-speed XC-HR300 1/2-in. CCD video camera comes with dual ports that enable the output of odd and even fields simultaneously. In dual-port mode, the camera can acquire images at 100 frames/s. By reducing its vertical line readout, the camera can achieve acquisition speeds to 440 frames/s. It measures 33 x 44 x 75 mm and weighs 180 g. Other features include a C-mount, external switches, a computer-controlled trigger-pulse exposure width, 600 horizontal lines of resolution, and a 12-pin Hirose connector. Sony Electronics, Park Ridge, NJ 07656; (800) 686-SONY.

Click here to enlarge imageProcessor accelerates imaging When used with the company's Viper image-capture and Mamba vision-processor boards, the Advanced Pixel Processor multifunction piggyback board speeds intensive image-processing tasks, such as FFTs and run-length encoding. It operates on pixel data at rates to 200 Mbytes/s, performs real-time color decoding at 30 frames/s, and features a reprogrammable processing core and two independent frame buffers to hold reference images, incoming camera images, and intermediate results. Applications include preprocessing for machine vision, image enhancements for radiological imaging, and noise reduction for SEM imaging. The board converts image-processing algorithms to hardware-descriptive language and maps to approximately 800,000 gates within its processing core. It ships with a library of image-processing functions that are accessible from the company's Sapera image-processing library and WiT visual programming environment. Coreco Imaging Inc., Bedford, MA 01730; (781) 275-2700.

Click here to enlarge imageBoard computer packs SDRAM Powered by a Pentium III 850-MHz processor, up to 1 Gbyte of SDRAM, and two MPEG encoders, the SBC-Multi single-board computer can capture and compress dual audio/ video data streams. These data can be saved to a hard drive via the on-board Ultra2 LVD SCSI controller. The computer interfaces directly to a CRT or flat-panel display. For remote communication, it works with a 10/100Base-T Ethernet interface. Data can be stored on an on-board 24-Mbyte solid-state disk and a hard-disk drive. Other on-board I/O functions include four RS-232 ports, a printer port, keyboard and mouse ports, dual USB ports, and a floppy-drive controller. Computer Dynamics, Greenville, SC 29615; (864) 627-8800. Camera detects infrared ThermaCAM SC 3000 infrared focal-plane-array camera captures and stores thermal images and data at rates to 900 Hz NTSC or 750 Hz PAL. A quantum-well infrared photodetector sensor delivers 320 x 240-pixel resolution and a thermal sensitivity of less than 20 mK at 30°C. Longwave (8-9 µm) imaging aids thermal imaging from -20°C to +1500°C. The rugged camera housing resists dust and moisture. Stored images and data on PC cards can be exported to Excel, MatLab, and other analysis software and interfaced to NI LabView. Coupled with the company's ThermaCAM Researcher HS Windows-based software, the camera's 14-bit digital output feeds real-time data directly to a PC for recording and analysis. FLIR Systems, N. Billerica, MA 01862; (978) 901-8000.A/D converters do CMOS The 8-bit TSA0801 and 10-bit TSA1001 and TSA1002 analog-to-digital converters are fabricated in 0.25-µm CMOS technology. Each device has a pipeline structure, uses digital error correction, operates from a single 2.5-V supply, and offers a 2-V p-p differential input range. The TSA0801 provides a 40-Msample/s sampling frequency and a power consumption of 40 mW and delivers 7.9 effective bits. The TSA1001 offers a 25-Msample/s rate and a power consumption of 50 mW and delivers 9.8 effective bits. The TSA1002 has a 50-Msamples/s rate and a power dissipation of 50 mW and delivers 9.4 effective bits. Each device comes in a 7 x 7-mm, 48-pin, TQFP package with a built-in voltage reference. STMicroelectronics Inc., Lexington, MA 02421; (781) 861-2650.

Click here to enlarge imageCamera supports Camera Link With resolution of 1392 x 1040 pixels, the DT1100-Plus progressive-scan digital color camera incorporates AccuColor interpolation, an embedded microcontroller, and in-line signal-processing architecture. Its correlated double sampling provides 10-bit sensitivity at 12 frames/s and multiple triggering modes control acquisition timing. Programmable control of image-plane multiplexing enables display and output of a composite image, any single color plane, raw pixel data, or various combinations. Camera Link data interface supports the latest digital frame grabbers; EIA-644 and RS-422 parallel options are also available. A DirectView analog video option adds images to be previewed or recorded in S-Video, NTSC, PAL, or progressive-scan RGB format at resolutions to 1280 x 1024 pixels. DTControl software offers an RS-232 interface for camera control on Windows 95/98/NT platforms. DuncanTech, Auburn, CA 95603; (530) 888-6565.