New Products

Camera boosts resolution The Kodak Digital Science KLI-14403 CCD camera provides a trilinear array with three rows of 14,404 photoelements that deliver 1200-dpi resolution. Using a patented pinned photodiode architecture, the 5-µm square pixels offer high sensitivity, low noise, and no image lag. Each pixel row is selectively covered with a red, green, or blue filter stripe for spectral separation at high responsivity. The camera features a saturation signal level of greater than 200k electrons, low dark current, and a dynamic range of 12 bits. Other features include electronic exposure control, a single-channel CCD shift register, two-phase register clocking, NMOS manufacturing technology, and a 40-pin, 0.600-in.-wide, dual-in-line package with a multilayer, antireflection-coated cover glass. Eastman Kodak Co.,Rochester, NY; (716) 477-4047.

Vision system places parts The SMD4 machine-vision system helps to guide the placement of surface-mount devices onto printed-circuit boards via MMX-optimized device-location and inspection software tools. It consists of vision software, a company frame grabber, and on-line documentation. The software library includes PatMax technology to locate unusually shaped devices despite changes in appearance, image contrast, or lighting conditions, GDE technology to speed up the process of training the system to locate new devices, and inspection tools. Users capture an image of the device with a video camera, and GDE automatically creates a CAD-like device representation that is saved in a device library. Price is $5000. Cognex Corp.,Natick, MA; (508) 650-3000.

Graphics card boosts video rates The Angelo PMC (PCI mezzanine card) AGP (accelerated graphics port) video graphics card targets VMEbus and CompactPCI baseboards. It provides an Intel 740 graphics accelerator, 8 Mbytes of video memory, 1600 x 1200-pixel resolution at 32 bits per pixel, and a dual-bus architecture. The 64-bit, 100-MHz memory bus accesses video memory at up to 800 Mbytes/s. The 32-MHz PCI bus and a 66-MHz AGP port pass video/graphics data without tying up the PCI bus. Software includes on-board video BIOS and drivers for windows NT/2000, OpenGL, VxWorks, QNX, Linux, and Solaris. General Micro Systems,Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730; (909) 980-4863.

Hand-held camera slows motion The hand-held MotionMeter digital video camera is a personal tool for manufacturing, maintenance, and service professionals. It allows users to record, measure, and evaluate the accuracy of production and packaging machinery. The 8.25 x 5.25 x 2.6-in. camera records and plays back at up to 1000 frames/s. Eight single-touch buttons provide complete camera control. Other features include standard frame storage to 2048 frames, antiblur technology, CCD sensor with lateral-overflow-drain antiblooming, and C-mount lens compatibility. Input/output connectors are furnished for composite video out: NTSC or PAL; event marker in; phase lock in/strobe out; phase lock out; and trigger in. Redlake Imaging Inc.,Morgan Hill, CA 95037; (408) 779-6464.

VME carrier card provides I/O interface for four I/O modules VME64-compliant connectors increase the quantity of rear I/O connections beyond standard VME capabilities to take advantage of the high channel density available with IndustryPack I/O modules. Acromag's AVME9670is a nonintelligent slave board that interfaces four IndustryPack I/O modules to the VMEbus. Mixing and matching various analog, digital, serial, or other I/O modules on this full-height (6U) carrier card provides a customizable I/O board to save card cage slots. The AVME9670 uses VME64-compliant connectors to increase the quantity of rear I/O connections beyond standard VME. Although the rear connectors are VME64, the electrical interface is standard VME A24/A16. This allows nearly all CPU products to gain full access to the IP modules. Acromag,Wixom, MI; (248) 624-1541.

Monochrome cameras are CCD-based Measuring 1.8 x 1.2 x 2.3 -in., the 1/2-in. IT CCD XC-ST50 and 1/3-in. IT CCD XC-ST30 are designed as alternatives to Sony's XC-75 and XC-73 cameras. At 3.7 oz, both one-piece camera models are 46% smaller than their predecessors, offer an image resolution of 768 x 494 pixels, and provide a signal-to-noise ratio of 60 dB. Camera sensitivity is 400 lux at f/0.8, with a minimum illumination capability of 0.3 lux. The electronic shutter control ranges from 1/4 to 1/10,000 s, and shutter-speed timing can be specified via either rear-panel switch settings or by the width of an external trigger pulse. The XC-ST50 costs $785; the XC-ST30 costs $735. Sony,Park Ridge NJ; (800) 686-SONY.

PC vision system stabilizes and fuses video The Acadia I PCI vision board allows Windows-based PCs to stabilize shaky video to within 1/10 pixel, create seamless panoramas from successive frames of video, detect and track motion, perform multisensor image fusion, and other vision processing functions with only one to two frames of latency. The Acadia I vision engine is supplied with turnkey software and an integrated software-development environment for custom applications. The PCI board features an on-board digitizer, warper, controller, memory, and display. Sarnoff,Princeton, NJ 08543; (609) 734-2507.

Putting the Pentium on PCI Offered with either Intel's Pentium III or Celeron processor, the CPBI, a CompactPCI single-board computer, features the 440BX AGPset, on-board Intel video, and Ethernet interfaces. The CPBI's 440BX AGPset supports the system/memory bus at 66- and 100-MHz speeds for transferring data between main memory/chip set and the microprocessor. The CPBI features dual PCI EIDE Ultra DMA/33interfaces that allow synchronous DMA mode transfers up to 33 Mbytes/s. Two dual in-line memory module sockets support autodetection of SDRAM up to 512 Mbytes. An Ultra2 SCSI interface bursts data to the host at full host speeds, providing connectivity with an 80-Mbyte/s data-transfer rate. Trenton Technology,Gainesville, GA; (800) 875-6031.

Dual Pentium III processor goes PCI Featuring either single or dual 600-MHz Pentium III processors, the ZT 5522 CPU CompactPCI board includes a 100-MHz front-side bus and dual memory bus channels. In addition, the board is equipped with dual 64-bit PCI bridges allowing it to drive up to 14 CompactPCI peripheral boards. The ZT 5522 runs under Windows NT, Linux, and VxWorks. The board supports ECC SDRAM memory configurations up to 4 Gbytes and peripherals including dual 10/100-Mbyte/s Ethernet network interfaces, USB, dual serial ports, an AGP controller, and rear I/O connections. Ziatech,San Luis Obispo, CA; (805) 541- 0488.

Imaging software improved The updated Global Lab Image/2, version 2.5, software addresses the scientific image-analysis industry and general-purpose imaging applications. Among the additions are a picture tool that supports more company frame grabbers and features an AVI capture capability; a tool that imports TWAIN images from most raster-based imaging devices; an enhanced measurement tool that offers more than 40 new gauging and measurement capabilities; an improved filter tool that provides more than 20 new filter operations; and an edge-finder tool that extracts edges and contours from images for precise gauging and measurement. Data Translation Inc., Marlboro, MA 01752; (418) 657-5000.

PowerPC boards aim for tough applications Based on the 250-MHz Motorola MPC8240 PowerPC, the CP320 3U CompactPCI board features up to 128 Mbytes SDRAM with ECC and up to 8 Mbytes direct soldered flash. Options for 2-Mbyte NVRAM and up to 288-Mbyte disk on chip are also provided. Achieving a computing performance of 6.6 SPECint95, 5.5SPECfp95, and 375 Dhrystone MIPS, the board includes on-board serial I/O, fast Ethernet, and a PCI expansion connector. PEP Modular Computers,Pittsburg, PA; (412) 921-3322.

Line arrays provide cool light A range of fiberoptic line arrays features an aperture length as small as 0.382 in. and is supplied in a NEMA-12 rated extruded housing. Standard apertures range from 1.5 to 12 in. in length. Custom-designed industrial-grade line arrays measuring up to 110 in. in length are also available. Stocker & Yale,Salem, NH; (800) 843-8011.

Vision system detects color The CV-301 series machine-vision system provides true RGB color detection via a hand-held controller and a thumb-operated joystick. No PC is needed. The system camera offers 16.77 million-color resolution, 240,000 pixels, 1/60-s processing time, 1/10,000-s synchronizing shutter, and an RS-232C output. Interactive on-screen menus aid programming and operation to selectively detect an object based on its color. Keyence Corp. of America,Woodcliff Lake, NJ; (888) 539-3623.

Chip set targets 1394 The 1394-based PC video-camera chip set comprises the TSB15LV01 ASIC, video signal processor, and 1394 link-layer chip; the TSB411LV01 physical-layer chip; and the TLV990 analog front-end and analog-to-digital converter. The addition of a CCD sensor and driver chip plus company software enables the development of a 1394-PC camera. These integrated chips support 640 x 480-pixel resolution without compression, 30 frames/s, and 400-Mbit/s data rate. They adhere to the IEEE-1394 specification and the 1394 Trade Association camera specification 1.04. Texas Instruments,Dallas, TX 75265; (800) 336-5236.

IC processors handle mixed signals The VSP2210 10-bit and VSP2212 12-bit IC video signal processors accommodate digital video and still CCD cameras. They provide signal conditioning and analog-to-digital conversion for interfacing the CCD array and the digital-signal processor. The ICs offer low voltage (2.7-3.6 V), low power consumption (97-99 mW), and low noise (79-dB signal-to-noise ratio). Other features include two on-chip, 8-bit digital-to-analog converters, a -6- to +42-dB gain range to handle varying illumination conditions, a 20-MHz conversion rate, and a single 3-3.3-V supply. Burr-Brown Corp.,Tucson, AZ 85734; (800) 548-6132.

Camera is hidden The EB-S300 series camera fits into a single gang box, is capped with an optical-acrylic window-type switch plate, and functions as a hidden surveillance unit. It provides a proprietary 1/3-in. infrared-optimized CCD camera that offers 420 lines of resolution. The camera comes with an f/2.0 board lens that features focal lengths of 2.5-16 mm. Other features include a metal frame, a pan/tilt mount, a dark-red optical window, and a voltage regulator for 12- or 24-Vdc operation. Derwent Extreme Technologies Inc.,Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 3A8; (604) 533-6644.

Vision software locates parts The updated SMART Search, version 5.0, software adds the ability to locate a part's position regardless of the degree of rotation from 0° to 360°, the capability to measure a part's size within 2%, and the flexibility to eliminate unstable contours by editing the training model. A GeoSearch engine creates geometric-based models that are intelligent representations of the contours extracted from an image. The search technique looks for the image using only contour information and reports the size (scale) variation of the part. It comes as a stand-alone library of C/C++ machine-vision tools. Imaging Technology Inc.,Bedford, MA 01730; (781) 275-2700.

Minicameras produce color The CV-L103 and CV-L105 three-CCD, prism-based color linescan cameras focus on industrial web inspection. Both cameras offer 2048-pixel resolution with 14-µm-square pixels, 24-bit LVDS interfacing, and Nikon F-mounts and link to a variety of image-capture and image-processing boards. The CV-L103 suits slower conveyor applications, operates at 4-MHz pixel frequency, and scans at 2000 line/s. The CV-L105 serves high-speed web applications, operates at a 30-MHz pixel frequency, and scans at 14 kHz. JAI America Inc.,Laguna Hills, CA 92653; (949) 472-5900.

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