linescan camera and frame grabber with HSLink connectivity

The new HSLink interface from DALSA has been designed in co-operation with the Camera Link 2 subcommittee to meet the needs of all machine vision applications and carries image data, configuration data and low-jitter, real-time triggering signals over a simple network topology supporting cameras, intermediate devices and frame grabbers. It combines the key strengths of Camera Link with new features and functions.

HSLink is designed from a system point of view to provide the ability to create low-cost cameras and frame grabbers, while meeting the ease of use, flexibility and data reliability demanded by end customers. HSLink delivers scalable bandwidth in 300 megabyte/second steps, from 300 to 6000 megabytes/second, while using globally available, off-the-shelf components.

The Piranha HS 12k high sensitivity linescan camera is said to herald a breakthrough in time delay and integration digital imaging technology and is available in Camera Link Full or the new HS Link output formats. With a maximum line rate of 90kHz and 12,000 pixel resolution, the Piranha HS 12k camera is claimed to be the first standard product in the marketplace capable of delivering over 1.2 gigapixel throughput. The camera is available in 1200 or 640 megapixels/second versions so that OEMs can select the model that best fits their requirements. All models are capable of bidirectional operation with up to 256 stages of selectability, while preventing overexposure with antiblooming features.

To support the Piranha HS 12k camera, the Xcelera-HS PX8 Series of frame grabbers utilises the PCI Express (PCIe) platform to provide simultaneous image acquisition and transfer with little intervention from the host CPU. For machine vision OEMs, the Xcelera-HS PX8 combines the HS-Link interface with onboard preprocessing functions such as shading correction and Bayer decoding. The Xcelera-HS PX8 is said to deliver an outstanding image acquisition bandwidth of 1.8GByte/s and host transfer bandwidth of 2GByte/s over multiple-lane PCI Express implementations. The Xcelera-HS PX8 has been built within DALSA's Trigger-to-Image Reliability technology framework to guarantee the reliability of the image acquisition system. The new frame grabbers are supported by DALSA's Sapera Essential standard machine vision software toolkit for the design and development of high-performance machine vision applications.