USB 3.0 cameras to incorporate auto focus liquid lenses

PixeLINK and Varioptic have announced joint production of industrial USB 3.0 cameras with electronic, focus-controllable liquid lenses that enable auto focus with no moving parts.

Liquid lenses from Varioptic will be incorporated into industrial USB 3.0 camera models from PixeLINK. Varioptic’s Caspian C-39N0-16 liquid lenses feature a 16 mm effective focal length and are compatible with up to 2/3" sensors. The lens also features an image circle diameter of 11 mm, built-in driving electronics, and an integrated Arctic 39N0 liquid lens. The electrowetting liquid lens technology is designed to deliver noiseless controllable autofocus from 10 cm to infinity.

The following industrial USB 3.0 camera models from PixeLINK will feature the Caspian liquid lens:

• Prometheus PL-D721, which features a 1/2” 1.3 MPixel CMOS image sensor form ON Semiconductor with a 150 fps frame rate.
• Prometheus PL-D722, which features a 2/3” 2.3 MPixel CMOS image sensor form ON Semiconductor with a 92 fps frame rate.
• Hyperion PL-D775, which features a 1/2.5” 5 MPixel CMOS image sensor from Aptina with a 15 fps frame rate.
• Titan PL-D7715, which features a 1/2.2” 15 MPixel CMOS image sensor from Aptina with a 13.7 fps frame rate.

"We are extremely proud to be the first C-Mount machine vision camera manufacturer to provide auto focus control via a liquid lens, and are excited to deliver this technology to OEMs and industrial camera users in medical, inspection, and security markets around the world,"said William Lesniowski, CEO of PixeLINK in a press release.

Typical mechanical lenses have a lifespan of approximately a few hundred thousand cycles, but liquid lenses have been tested in more than 100 million cycles, according to the press release.

Also check out:
Machine vision content collections: USB 3.0 , medical imaging, and smart cameras
PixeLINK expands USB 3.0 camera family with launch of Titan CMOS camera
ON Semiconductor to acquire Aptina Imaging

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