IEEE 1394 invades the industrial realm

IEEE 1394 is graduating from theory into practice in the world of imaging. IEEE 1394 cameras are now used in videoconferencing, photo kiosks, multimedia, and ID badging and machine vision/scientific applications such as laboratory analysis and inspection systems. Among consumer products, it is nearly a standard for most digital camcorders and personal computers. IEEE 1394 has spawned the consumer acceptance of PC-based DV home editing.

This year Sony introduced two digital eight-bit monochrome 256-grayscale cameras specifically designed for high-resolution machine vision and scientific applications. The Sony XCDSX900 camera delivers uncompressed video image output of 1.45 million pixels (1280 x 960) at 7.5 frames per second, for use with microscopes in applications such as semiconductor inspection. The XCD-X'700 delivers 0.8 million pixels (1024 x 768) at 15 frames per second and is suitable for digital inspection of high-end machine vision applications such as the manufacture of auto parts.

Both cameras employ half inch progressive scan CCD sensors with square pixels. These cameras also have a partial-scan function that allows output selection of a smaller rectangular portion of the full image to increase the frame rate or reduce processing time. This is particularly valuable in scientific applications, where only part of the image needs to be captured before moving to the next image.

The "one cable" 1394 connection links the camera to a computer for all image transfer, camera control and status, and power. In fact, multiple cameras and compatible devices can all be connected via the IEEE 1394 bus to further extend the camera's suitability for machine vision and other industrial applications.

Into the Future

IEEE 1394 technology has brought digital bandwidth, capability, and cabling/cost savings to the high-resolution imaging market. Like Sony, other companies have brought increasingly powerful, feature-rich cameras to the technology. Now very high-resolution IEEE 1394 cameras, such as the new Sony XCD series, have the capacity to capture an entire detailed image (or a reduced field image) and send it to any other device on the network-PC, printer, storage device-in one pass, thereby eliminating the need for framegrabbers, add-in boards, or multiple passes to assemble a complete image from several smaller fields. These cameras can be externally controlled and linked to other devices or to each other.

The "glue" that brings PCs and 1394 digital cameras together is software. Matrox and National Instruments are two pioneers of application-oriented software designed to enable users to take advantage of the remote control capabilities needed to set up machine vision or laboratory analysis systems. Windows 2000 software is designed to offer complete 1394 support (Windows 98 software offers partial support, primarily for videoconferencing functions). Other vendors are sure to follow Microsoft's, Matrox's, and National Instruments' lead. As 1394 gains wider acceptance in nonconsumer applications, more off the-shelf applicationoriented software is expected.