e-con Systems recently launched e-CAM56_CUOAGX – a 5 MP MIPI CSI-2 camera based on a 1/1.8″ Sony Pregius S IMX568 sensor with back-side illumination. It can be integrated into the NVIDIA® Jetson AGX Orin™ development kit, producing high-quality images in uncompressed YUV format. This camera also comes with high sensitivity and a global shutter mode for capturing clear images of fast-moving objects without distortion.
One of e-CAM56_CUOAGX’s standout features is its Multi-Region of Interest (ROI) capture, along with a high frame rate. It helps achieve a maximum frame rate of up to 1164 frames per second (fps), making it easy to simultaneously monitor multiple areas within a single frame. Hence, it empowers anomaly detection, quality control, and real-time monitoring, which means it is tremendously useful for factory automation applications.
In this blog, you can explore the possibilities of multi-ROI capture and how it works. You will also discover how this feature enables users to achieve exceptional frame rates of up to 1164 fps and its implications for various industrial applications.
Let’s start with learning why a high frame rate would be required in the first place.
Need for High Frame Rate
Achieving high frame rates is crucial for cameras in embedded vision applications as it enhances the quality and detail of captured images while enabling smooth operations. Higher frame rates provide more images per second, offering a smoother video feed that can be important for accurately analyzing movements and changes over time.
For factory automation applications, this becomes even more important.
Automated manufacturing processes tend to involve rapid movements and require split-second decision-making based on accurate, real-time visual data. So, high frame rates ensure that the vision systems can capture every detail of these fast-moving parts and processes without blur. In turn, this drives superior monitoring, control, and quality assurance.
What is multi-ROI, and how does it work?
As mentioned earlier, the multi-ROI capture capability allows the capture of several specific areas of interest within a single frame. It is crucial for scenarios in which the focus is on multiple distinct areas within the field of view and there is no need to process the entire image.
Here’s how it works.
Instead of capturing the entire scene, the camera focuses on multiple predefined areas (ROIs) within a single frame. This multi-ROI capture feature consolidates the selected regions into a single image for transmission.
Furthermore, cameras with multi-ROI capabilities offer flexibility in defining the regions of interest on the sensor array. Users can define regions based on the intersection of predefined rows and columns. It means that instead of individually specifying the size and position of each region, it becomes possible to define rows and columns directly on the sensor array. Each intersection of a column and a row then creates a specific region. The maximum number of regions depends on the camera model.
Benefits of Multi-ROI Capture
Reduced Data Processing: By capturing only the designated regions of interest (ROIs), the camera transmits significantly less data. This translates to a lighter workload on the processing system, freeing up resources for other tasks.
Increased Frame Rates: With less data to handle, the camera can achieve significantly higher frame rates. This is crucial for capturing fast-moving objects or processes in real-time, such as on a factory assembly line.
Optimized Bandwidth and Storage: Since only relevant information is captured and transmitted, you can optimize bandwidth usage and storage requirements. This is particularly important for applications with limited bandwidth or storage capacity.
Exploring e-CAM56_CUOAGX’s ROI Mode
e-CAM56_CUOAGX by e-con Systems features an advanced ROI mode to improve the flexibility of image capture by focusing on specific areas within the frame. The default configuration for the e-CAM56_CUOAGX supports ROI cropping with a single region for targeted image capture.
Let’s take a closer look at how the ROI mode operates in this camera:
- Multiple Regions: The sensor’s ROI function enables the cropping and reading signals from multiple arbitrary positions. Users can define up to 64 areas for cropping, with these areas determined by selecting up to 8 horizontal and 8 vertical points as shown below.
- Flexible Cropping: Selection uses the pixel start position as the origin (0, 0) in all pixel scan mode, allowing for a high degree of customization in selecting the areas of interest.
- For the ROI mode, the horizontal period (Hmax) is fixed. This means that all cropped areas will have a consistent horizontal dimension, simplifying the configuration and ensuring uniformity across different ROI settings.
- The areas cropped based on the horizontal cropping settings (from ROI (1, y) to ROI (8, y)) are output with left justification, thus extending the horizontal blanking period.
- In the case of vertical cropping (from ROI (x, 1) to ROI (x, 8)), the output includes the number of image data lines starting from the cropping start line. The frame rate can be finely adjusted by altering the number of input XVS lines in slave mode or changing the register VMAX in master mode. This flexibility allows users to optimize the frame rate based on the application needs.
Please note that customization extends to support for multiple readout modes, including all-pixel scan mode, vertical/horizontal 1/2 subsampling mode, 2×2 FD binning mode, and various ROI settings.
Achieving a high frame rate (up to 1164 fps) with the Multi-ROI feature in e-CAM56_CUOAGX
By combining the benefits and functionalities of multi-ROI capture, e-CAM56_CUOAGX empowers users to achieve high frame rates up to 1164 fps while optimizing resource utilization in various industrial applications.
The image showcases the concept of multi-ROI capture – e-CAM56_CUOAGX. The left side represents the full sensor capturing the entire field of view as a single image. Highlighted areas on the left depict the predefined Regions of Interest (ROIs). These are the specific areas that the user wants to focus on, like parts on a conveyor belt, vehicle.
e-CAM56_CUOAGX camera captures image data only from the designated ROI areas, instead of processing the entire sensor data. This selective approach reduces the amount of required data processing, resulting in increased frame rates, as depicted in the image on the right.
Explore more about e-CAM56_CUOAGX – 5MP Sony® Pregius S IMX568 Color Global shutter Camera.
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Please write to camerasolutions@e-consystems.com if you need an expert to integrate the right camera into your applications.
Gomathi Sankar is a camera expert with 15+ years of experience in embedded product design, camera solutioning, and product development. In e-con Systems, he has built numerous camera solutions for robots, industrial handhelds, quality inspection systems, smart city applications, industrial safety systems, and more. He has played an integral part in helping hundreds of customers build their dream products by integrating the right vision technology into them.