'Say cheese' in compact spaces with finger-sized camera

21st February 2017

Alice Matthews

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Three ZYNQ platforms have been offered by EVT for the EyeVision machine vision software. With this variety of ZYNQ cameras, the software user is given a hardware platform for every application of the software. The systems are based on a DualCore ARM with FPGA. Therefore even challenging image evaluation in real time can be solved by programming the FPGA.

The tiniest member of the ZYNQ family is hardly bigger than a finger. With only 20x20x50mm housing size, the EyeCheck ZQ smart camera can also be used for applications where there is not much space for the camera. The S-Mount adapter and the integrated illumination, allows the user to realise even challenging image evaluation. The EyeCheck ZQ has ten freely programmable IOs and interfaces such as Ethernet, RS485 and CAN.

In cases where the space is not limited, a bigger ZYNQ smart camera can be used, such as a camera of the EyeCheck 4xxx, or EyeCheck 9xxx series. With a C-Mount lens adapter and more I/O interfaces the cameras are suitable for almost all applications. Also because of the C-Mount adapter all C-Mount lenses can be used: telecentric, endocentric and hypercentric lenses.

For OEM clients, EVT offers also a compact board series, which can be directly integrated into the machine. For this board (IoCap) various sensor modules are available. Matrix as well as line scan sensors and thermal imaging sensors, can be selected. The sensor heads can be mounted directly onto the board or else can be connected with a flat cable to the computing module. Especially for line scan and thermal imaging sensors a powerful FPGA core from the ZYNQ is valuable.

For all systems there is the EyeVision software available. With the easy drag-and-drop programming, the EV Lib and the SoftCore for the FPGA, the user themself can program the FPGA. The efficiency of the EyeVision software can be tested easily, because it runs on all hardware platforms on Windows and Linux. The solutions created on the PC can also run on all smart cameras and embedded hardware.

Aside from the 2D algorithms for measurement technology, OCR, DMC, bar code, pattern matching and color imaging, also a 3D set of commands is available. And additionally a plugin system allows the user to integrate C/C++ routines in the EyeVision software.