13MP Camera RDK for Cypress® CX3™ THine® ISP

Ascella (See3CAM_CX3ISPRDK) is an USB Video Class (UVC) USB 3.0 reference design kit developed using Cypress® Semiconductors' EZ-USB® CX3™ and THine® Electronics, Inc.'s THP7312 Image Signal Processor (ISP). This kit uses 13MP Autofocus camera module based on OmniVision OV13850 CMOS image sensor. The Cypress EZ-USB® CX3 is a USB 3.0 peripheral controller that enables developers to add USB 3.0 connectivity with any image sensor compliant with Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Camera Serial Interface Type 2 (CSI-2) standard. e-con has already developed a Reference Design Kit called Denebola using this CX3 controller with a OV5640 SoC image sensor which does not require any external ISP.

The Ascella kit leverages the THP7312 ISP to bring out the best-in-class video quality at UltraHD 4k2k, 1080p and 720p resolutions and 13MP Still Image resolution from the 13MP Autofocus camera.

  • Five-board solution containing a base board based on CX3, an Image Signal Processor board, a camera daughter board based on OV13850, LED Board and a debug board.
  • THine®'s ISP, a powerful Image Signal Processor, interfaced in between Image Sensor and CX3, processes High Speed signals with special circuits for Auto Focus, Auto Exposure and Auto White Balance
  • OmniVision OV13850 Image sensor interfaced through a four-lane MIPI CSI-2 interface, thus making it suitable for High speed video applications - HD and Full HD at 60 fps
  • Plug and Play device
  • Standard USB2.0 Micro-B connector for debugging through UART and JTAG Interface
  • SPI Flash for firmware storage
  • High Intensity LED Board for Low light environment
  • Backward compatible – Supports USB2.0
  • Still Image Capture - 13MP
  • Board Size (lxbxh) : 40mm x 46mm x 60mm
  • Frame Rate:
  • USB 3.0 USB 2.0
    YUV422 MJPEG YUV422 MJPEG
    VGA 30 fps 30 fps 30 fps 30 fps
    HD (720p) 60 & 30 fps 60 & 30 fps 5 fps 30 fps
    Full HD (1080p) 60 & 30 fps 60 & 30 fps 5 fps 30 fps
    Ultra HD (3840x2160) 15 fps 30 fps 1 fps 6 fps
    13MP (4160x3120) 6 fps 21 fps 1 fps 6 fps
  • Launched on: 12 Aug 2015
  • Please click here for the other Supported frame rates and resolutions
  • Note: The above mentioned frame rates are subject to change with lighting of the surroundings, different renderers and PC configuration. Maximum possible frame rates could be achieved only by disabling low light compensation mode.

The Ascella is a Reference Design Kit based on THine® THP7312 an high-end Image Signal Processor chip from THine® Semiconductors that offers unmatched video and image quality through its adaptive image signal processing capabilities. On the Ascella kit the THP7312 ISP is well-optimized for OmniVision OV13850 based camera module to support uncompressed YUV422 format video streaming and also compressed MJPEG format video streaming. The OV13850 sensor is interfaced to the THP7312 through 4-lane MIPI CSI-2 interface and the THP7312 is interfaced to the CX3 through 4-lane MIPI CSI-2 interface. The THP7312 is a high-end ISP chip that performs adaptive image signal processing functions, auto controls (Auto-exposure, Autofocus and Auto-white-balance) along with wide range of standard UVC controls and customized features through UVC Extensions.

Ascella CX3 THine ISP RDK BlockDiagram Click to view larger image
  • Supported OS - Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 & Linux
  • The Ascella camera application supports the following features,
    • Brightness
    • Contrast
    • Hue
    • Saturation
    • Sharpness
    • Gamma
    • White Balance (both manual and automatic)
    • Backlight compensation
    • Power Line Frequency (Anti Flicker)
    • Focus (both manual and automatic)
    • Exposure (both manual and automatic)
    • Roll
    • Low Light Compensation

Please contact sales@e-consystems.com for any customization requirements.

Kit Contents:

    • Cypress® CX3 THine® ISP 13MP reference design kit with Enclosure
    • USB 3.0 Type-A to Micro-B cable
    • Quick Start Guide

Developer Resources:

  • Other documents Available with Purchase of Ascella:
    • e-CAMView Windows Application Installation manual
    • e-CAMView Windows Application User Manual
    • Linux Application User Manual

RDK Customization


  • Do you want to use different sensor?
  • Do you want different form factor?
  • Do you want to change in Optics?

contact Ascella RDK