In developing high-speed mobile recording systems, manufacturers must offer their customers systems based around different camera types, speeds and camera interfaces. To do so, such systems must accommodate numerous camera types with interfaces ranging from GigE, Camera Link and CoaXPress that can be easily configured to run over different types of coax cables (in the case of 10 and 25 GigE and CoaXPress) and custom cables (in the case of Camera Link).
In some cases, where electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a problem and/or cameras are required to be placed at very long distances from host or portable computers, fiber interfaces are required. Added to these requirements, the software used in such systems must be intuitive, easy to use and often based around a graphical user interface (GUI).
Addressing these needs while remaining cost-competitive, NorPix has developed a high-speed mobile recording system that can accommodate a number of off-the-shelf frame grabbers and host interface adapters to ensure compatibility with 10 and 25 GigE, CoaXPress and Camera Link standards.
The Thunderbolt adaptor used in the system is capable of supporting 10 and 25 GigE, CoaXPress (CXP) and Camera Link PCIe frame grabbers and transferring data from these interfaces over a Thunderbolt interface at speeds of up to 10Gbps to the host PC or laptop.
As images are captured, they can then be processed using NorPix’s StreamPix, TroublePix or StreamTouch software. This can be used for high-speed digital video recording, viewing and reviewing captured image data, multiple camera acquisition and factory floor troubleshooting.
In tests performed at NorPix, the system has been shown to capture 1920 x 1080 uncompressed images using CXP cameras at 1,000 frames/s (or a data rate of approximately 2,000 Mbytes/s). The system has also been shown to work with two 10GigE Cameras with pixel formats of 2088 x 1080 both running at 330fps. For long distance image capture, the system supports camera to fiber interfaces from Kaya Instruments.
With a storage capacity of 4 TBytes, recording time is dependent on the number of cameras used and the frame rate of each camera. For a single camera capturing data at 2GBytes/s, this results in a recording time of approximately 30 mins.
By supplying such systems, NorPix offers a modular, flexible camera-to-computer interface that is compatible with the NorPix’s established high-speed imaging software. Better still, the modular approach taken in the system’s design, means that customers can use a number of different camera-to-computer interfaces and multiple cameras as required.
