Time-of-flight camera captures images in 3-D
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS; Erlangen, Germany) have developed an embedded multisensor camera system that can be used for making time-of-flight (ToF) measurements and performing 3-D data analysis.
The so-called Vempire system incorporates a high-definition and ToF sensor as well as a multicore digital signal processor (DSP) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be programmed to execute image-processing algorithms without the need for an external computer. It also sports an accelerometer that can be used to compensate for the motion of the camera in mobile applications.
The ToF camera has a frame rate of 40 frames/s, a measurement range up to 40 m, and an accuracy of less than 1 cm.
Like most other ToF cameras, the resolution of 200 x 200 pixels is lower than a standard 2-D video camera. Nevertheless, the researchers believe that the Vempire system will find uses in video surveillance, industrial, and medical applications.
-- By Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design