USB still favored over faster, more expensive interfaces including GigE, CameraLink and FireWire

Plug n play simplicity, inexpensive and extremely mobile…USB cameras are still highly effective and an overwhelming favorite for industrial camera seekers and an ideal choice for applications that require image capture and/or recording when there’s little to no budget.

In today’s economy people are cutting costs on every level from Executive all the way down to Warehouse operations. If you need or want a camera and do not have a large budget or any budget at all, look to USB cameras to see if they will meet your needs.

USB cameras are available at a fraction of the cost of newer, faster interfaces including Gigabit Ethernet (GigE), FireWire (IEEE.1394) and CameraLink (CL) and they are MUCH SIMPLER TO OPERATE! One cable, one camera, one computer..that is all you need to get yourself up and running.

Why industry professionals look at USB cameras because:

• USB cameras are “plug n play”, meaning plug the camera into the computer with a single cable and you are virtually ready to go.
• USB cameras only use one USB cable versus cameras that require several cables (one for power, one for control, etc).
• Extremely low power consumption
• Small Form Factor
• Mobility – since this camera can be hooked directly to the computer with only a cable it is easier to transport and operate via a laptop while you are on the road

Microscopy and Inspection applications are slowly beginning to migrate away from the “old school” look though the microscope methods that typically strains people’s eyes and may not be 100% accurate and are starting to take interest in USB camera systems as a first step on their way to a new and improved system of operations.

The #1 factor of why USB cameras are the preferred choice though? COST.  Once again, USB cameras are a fraction of the cost of newer, faster cameras with Gigabit Ethernet (GigE), FireWire (IEEE.1394) and CameraLink (CL) interfaces and are ideal if your application is simply capturing and/or recording.  One cable, one camera, one computer…

At an inspection show last year there were three systems set up that I had a chance to take an up close and personal look at. One system was FireWire, the other a Smart Camera and the third set-up sitting alone and off to the side was a USB camera connected to a laptop.

Most people would assume that the smart camera or the firewire camera would have received the most fanfare, but to everyone’s shock and amazement the USB camera stole the show.  These cameras received more attention because the average price tag was less than $500 whereas the other cameras ranged from $2k – $10k.

When you have no budget or a very limited budget for such things including R&D purposes, these cameras suddenly seem ideal and make sense. Ask any consumer if $500 for a USB camera is expensive and they will tell you absolutely. This is where I am going to clarify this misconception…people get what they pay for. If you only want to spend $100 on a USB camera from Best Buy then you shouldn’t be surprised when the life span of this camera comes to an abrupt end quicker then you anticipated.

Industrial cameras are industrial grade, meaning they are built to withstand tougher than normal operations while having a longer life expectancy. In the industrial world…$500 is extremely inexpensive and highly effective.

Aegis Electronic Group, Inc. to present new Camera Solutions at IPC/ APEX in April

Sony’s new FCB-H11 HD Block Camera with custom housing, Toshiba’s new IK-HR1S HD/SDI One-piece Camera, Sony’s XCD-SX90CR Raw Color FireWire B Camera, PixeLINK’s PL-B782U 6.6MP USB Camera and a CIS America Analog Camera (TBD)  will be among the industrial imaging systems on display when Aegis Electronic Group, Inc. returns to exhibit at IPC/Apex 2009 in Las Vegas from March 31-April 2.

Located at Booth 549 in Mandalay Bay’s Hotel Exhibition/Convention center, Aegis will present industrial cameras solutions featuring different camera technologies from Camera Link and Firewire 1394.b to Analog and USB solutions.  The above referenced industrial camera technologies will be featured in full system set-up and will feature Tamron lenses, Bitflow Camera Link frame grabbers, Intercon 1 cabling, Orion monitors and more.

The small system set-ups with high resolution, high frame rate capabilities make Aegis’s integrated camera solutions a preference for those looking for an inexpensive vision system. The Aegis integrated systems can also be customized based on customer requirements. The Aegis vision system can also be integrated with NI Vision Builder to offer an even more sophisticated yet still inexpensive solution for your inspection purposes.

Please visit our booth 549 to say hello! Or please contact us at 888-687-6877, www.aegis-elec.com.

USB 3.0 Specifications now available – Anticipated late 2009

According to an announcement made yesterday by the USB Implementers Forum, the next USB specification is finally complete. Known as USB 3.0 and/or SuperSpeed USB (the official trademark), the new spec promises both ten times the bandwidth of USB 2.0 and backwards compatibility with current devices.

Now that the completed spec is available to developers, the USB Implementers Forum expects SuperSpeed USB-capable consumer products to follow within a year or two:

“It is anticipated that initial SuperSpeed USB discrete controllers will appear in the second half of 2009 and consumer products will appear in 2010, with adoption continuing throughout 2010. The first SuperSpeed USB devices will likely include data-storage devices such as flash drives, external hard drives, digital music players and digital cameras.”

Intel’s original announcement said the USB 3.0 spec would feature optimizations for low power consumption, “improved protocol efficiency,” and support for optical connections. With a top theoretical transfer speed of 4.8Gbps, USB 3.0 might enable file transfer speeds of a few hundred megs per second. That could make it an interesting competitor to external Serial ATA for hooking up speedy external storage among other things. Both Serial ATA and FireWire should get speed boosts by the time SuperSpeed USB devices start showing up, though.

According to the official USB 3.0 specifications, USB 3.0 is the next evolutionary step for wired USB.  The USB 3.0 specification includes many advancements for both consumers and adopters, including higher speeds and enhanced power efficiency. Full Developer Specifications can be downloaded from USB.org

New USB 3.0/SuperSpeed USB Technology to Debut at Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco Next Week

According to yesterday’s press release from Intel, its “Extensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) draft specification revision 0.9 in support of the USB 3.0 architecture, also known as SuperSpeed USB” is now available.” Industry rumors indicate that we should be seeing USB 3.0 demonstrations at next week’s IDF in San Francisco.

USB 3.0’s software and hardware interface, (xHCI), will give manufacturers and developers the opportunity to prepare their current USB devices and computers for the 3.0-transition. The new interface will conveniently retain the same architecture as USB 2.0, making the ports backward compatible. Delivering 10 times the bandwidth of its predecessor, USB 3.0 will achieve speeds of up to 4.8 Gb/s, which translates to 600 megabytes per second.

Given the increasing size of data files and storage devices consumers and professionals are dealing with today, USB 3.0 is being released at a crucial time because Intel directly competes with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and their FireWire technology. Two weeks ago, the IEEE said that it has approved the IEEE 1394-2008 specification, which increases the interface bandwidth of IEEE1394, also known as Firewire and i.Link, to 3.2 Gb/s. The speed boost to FireWire is anticipated to be released at the end of this year. Commercial USB 3.0 products are not expected to be released until late 2009.

In an official statement from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), “The Future” of computing and consumer devices is increasingly visual and bandwidth intensive,” said Phil Eisler, AMD corporate vice president and general manager of the Chipset Business Unit. “Lifestyles filled with HD media and digital audio demand quick and universal data transfer. USB 3.0 is an answer to the future bandwidth need of the PC platform. AMD believes strongly in open industry standards, and therefore is supporting a common xHCI specification.”

Aegis partners with Lumenera Corp. ~ USB 2.0 and Ethernet CCD and CMOS Industrial Cameras now available

Aegis Electronic Group, Inc. is pleased to announce their new partnership with Lumenera Corporation. This strategic partnership will offer clients more industrial imaging solutions for applications in need of high-performance USB 2.0 and Ethernet Megapixel industrial cameras.

Why Megapixel?

The superior image quality of megapixel resolution represents the new era of industrial imaging, providing;

• More precise measurement
• Detection of Smaller Defects
• Better Location Accuracy
• Faster Scanning of Large Objects

Why Digital?

USB 2.0 and Ethernet represent a more efficient means to interface your vision system to a host computer. With all new computer providing native support for both USB 2.0 and 10/100baseT Ethernet, there is no need for 3rd party frame grabbers and bulky cables. One USB 2.0 cable provides power, video, and camera control.

Additional Benefits:

• Higher Resolution for Increased Image Detail
• Progressive Scan for High Speed Capture
• Low System Cost
• Time-to-market with Ease of Integration

Lumenera industrial camera applications include:

Automated Optical Inspection, Biomechanics, Food & Beverage, Barcodes, Robotics, Military, Metrology, Pharmaceutical, Aerospace, Semiconductor, 3-D Imaging, Document Reading, Packaging, Automotive, UAV, Flat Panel Inspection, Material Handling, Traffic Management, Photo ID, Astro Imaging, Biometrics.

Sentech STC-C33USB – A Better Inspection Alternative vs. the Microscope

Inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activity. The results are usually compared to specified requirements and standards for determining whether the item or activity is in line with the specified targets. Pretty basic definition.

For hundreds of years, microscopes have been the instrument of choice when it comes to most types of inspections due to its ability to see what the naked eye cannot. Today, with advancements in technology there are definitely more “user friendly” inspection systems available in order to makes visual data immediately available for more in depth studying and analyzation.

Microscope/inspection cameras are growing in popularity due to their ability to capture, control and store a high-resolution image on a computer through a cable. As with most digital pictures, once the picture is captured, the user then has the ability to enlarge and edit according to their needs in addition to having the capability of emailing to other parties or even using images for presentations. Another benefit of using an inspection camera is that it is typically purchased with a user specified lens that has been designed to meet the user’s requirements. Whether you need a 10X zoom varifocal lens that gives you 7 inches of working space or a fixed lens, a customized lens will help the user control the size and focus of the image. Depending on the lighting, a light ring or illuminator can also be added to the end of the lens to increase the lighting for the image.

For a user who is looking for an inexpensive industrial inspection camera that has the ability to capture, control and display, Sentech’s STC-CS33USB camera is a great solution. Not only is it a USB camera (plugs directly into your computer via USB cable) but the people at Sentech include the USB driver in addition to a free SDK (Software Development Kit) which can save you several hundred dollars right there.

Sentech’s SDK Functions include:

• Bayer Filter Color Interpolation
  • Nearest Neighbor Replication
  • Bilinear (Bilinear Interpolation)
  • BiCubic (Cubic Convolution)
• White Balance (Auto/Manual/One Shot)
• Electronic Shutter Control (Auto (Electronic Iris)/Manual (Fixed Shutter)
• Image Filing
• Others

For those who didn’t have a chance to stop by the Aegis Electronic Group booth at the APEX show last week in Las Vegas, one of Sentech’s USB 2.0 camera was up and running, giving people a chance to see this inspection camera in action. The camera was displayed with a Computar 10X Zoom, Varifocal lens (MLH10X) and a Schott Fostec light ring…a big hit with quite a few attendees of the convention, who were looking for a low cost, user friendly solution to “save their people’s eyes” by getting them out of their microscopes.

Aegis can also help create a customized SDK based on the user’s function requirements.

Digital images of a “good part” and a “bad part” are stored in the computer and the SDK can be customized to determine whether the images taken during the inspection of your products contain certain contaminants by comparing the characteristics of the objects in the image with the known characteristics of the contaminants.

These cameras have made the inspection process much more convenient and will give your inspector’s eyes a well deserved break. Evals are available from Aegis Electronic Group for qualified customers.