IEEE 1394 invades the industrial realm

NASA Tech Briefs, Jul 2000

As of this writing, IEEE applicationspecific software development has not yet caught up to high-end industrial/ scientific hardware, such as the Sony 1394 cameras. The user will need to work with available off the-shelf software solutions, or seek out a consultant or fellow early adopter to create an application-specific high-resolution digital imaging solution.

Because 1394 is so new to the highend imaging marketplace, these consultants are still relatively few in number. With the introduction of Windows 2000 and more application-specific 1394 software, this situation should reverse itself.

Like many new technologies, IEEE 1394 imaging technology in the machine vision/scientific arenas may at present be the province of users who demand a digital solution, who need digital imaging for specific applications, or who may want to try it just to "get their feet wet" with a prototype while waiting for the next generation of improved devices and shrinking costs.

That next generation is not far off. As was said above, Windows 2000 software offers full IEEE 1394 support, and other software vendors are following suit. In all likelihood, 1394 adoption will mirror the development of the Internet: as a technology comes of age and the marketplace gains critical mass, hardware and software manufacturers will rush to support it.

The benefits of IEEE 1394 are clear. In the high-resolution industrial imaging world, they translate into improved image capture and data transmission capabilities, both in sensitive real-time applications, such as video streaming or high-end machine vision inspection, and delivery-sensitive applications, such as microscopic and scientific inspection.

Clearly the world is going digital, and the machine vision/scientific imaging world will follow. How long before this happens? It is hard to say. But one thing emerges clearly: in the industrial and scientific arenas, the IEEE 1394 serial bus is the bandwidth of the future.

This article is based on a white paper delivered by Jerry Fife, product manager, Visual Imaging Products, Broadcast and Professional Company, Sony Electronics Inc. at SPIE's Photonics West 2000 conference. For further information on Sony imaging products, contact Sony Electronics, 1 Sony Drive, Park Ridge, NJ 07656; phone 1-800-686SONY.