Point Grey Grasshopper Technical Reference Manual

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Grasshopper®

Technical Reference Manual

Version 1.5 Revised November 26, 2010

12051 Riversi de Way • Richmond, BC • Canada • V6W 1K7 • T (604) 242-9937 • www.ptgrey.com

Point Grey Research® Inc.

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Table of Contents

FCC Compliance Information

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the l imits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful inte rference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accor dance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment i n a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

You are cautioned that any changes or modifications not expr ess ly appro ved in this manual could void your authority to operate this equipment.

Hardware Warranty

Poin t Grey Rese ar ch® In c. (Point Grey) warra nts to the Origin al Purchaser that the Camera Module provided with this package is guaranteed to be free from m aterial and manufacturing defects for a period of two (2) years. Should a unit fail d uring this period, Point Grey will, at its op ti on, repair or repl ace th e damaged unit. Repai r ed or replaced unit s will be cover ed for th e remainder of the original equipment warranty period. This warranty does not apply to units that, aft er bei ng exami ned by Po int Grey, ha ve been fou nd to have fai led due t o cus t om er ab us e, mis h andl ing, alteration , impro per in s tal la tio n or ne glig enc e . If th e or i g ina l camer a mod ule is housed within a case, rem oving the case for any purpose voids this wa rrant y.

Point Grey Research, Inc. expressly disclaim s and excludes all other warranties, express, im plied and statutory, including, but without limitation, warranty of merchantability and fitness for a

particu lar app lication or purpose. In no event shall Point Grey Research, Inc. be liable to t he Original Purchaser or any third party f or direct, indirect, incidental , consequ entia l, s pecial or accidental damages, including without limitation damages for business interruption, loss of profits, revenue, data or bodily injury or death.

WEEE

The symbol indicates that this product may not be treated as household waste. Please ensure this product is properly disposed as inappropriate waste handling of this product may cause potential hazards to the environment and human health. For more detailed information about recycling of this product, please contact Po int Grey Research.

Trademarks

Point Grey Research, PGR, the Point Grey Research, Inc. logo, Chameleon, Digiclops, Dragonfly, Dragonfly Express, Firefly, Flea, FlyCapture, Gazelle, Grasshopper, Ladybug, and Triclop s are trademarks or registered trademarks of Point Grey Research, Inc. in Canada and other countries.

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Table of Contents

Table of Contents.....................................................................................3

List of Figures ..........................................................................................5

List of Tables............................................................................................5

1 Introduction......................................................................................6

1.1. Grasshopper Overview............................................................................... 6

1.1.1. Image Acquisition...........................................................................6

1.1.2. Image Processing ..........................................................................6

1.1.3. Camera and Device Control...........................................................7

1.1.4. Mechanics and Form Factor...........................................................7

1.2. Using This Manual......................................................................................7

1.3. Camera Specifications................................................................................8

1.3.1. Spectral Response......................................................................... 9

1.3.2. Common CCD Artifacts................................................................10

1.3.3. Dual Tap Sensor Information........................................................10

1.4. System Requirem ents...............................................................................10

1.4.1. Laptop / Notebook Consider ations ...............................................11

1.4.2. Macintosh and Linux OS Support.................................................11

1.5. Contro llin g th e Camera.............................................................................11

1.5.1. FlyCap Demo Program ................................................................11

1.5.2. Custom Applications Built with the FlyCapture API.......................11

1.5.3. Third-Pa rty Software App l ica t io n s................................................11

1.6. Camera Control Command Registers........................................................12

1.7. Handling Prec autions and Camera Care...................................................12

1.7.1. Case Temperature and Heat Dissipation......................................12

1.8. Camera Accessories.................................................................................13

Table of Contents

2 Camera Physical Properties.........................................................14

2.1. Physical Description..................................................................................14

2.2. Camera Dimensions.................................................................................15

2.3. Lens Setup and Compatibility....................................................................15

2.4. Dust Protection.........................................................................................16

2.5. Mounting...................................................................................................16

2.5.1. Using the Case............................................................................16

2.5.2. Using the Tripod Mounti ng B r ac k et...............................................16

2.6. Infrared Cut-Off Filters..............................................................................17

3 Camera Interface ...........................................................................18

3.1. IEEE-1394b Connector.............................................................................18

3.1.1. Daisy Chaining.............................................................................18

3.2. Cables......................................................................................................19

3.3. Host Adapter Card....................................................................................19

3.4. Camera Power..........................................................................................19

3.5. General Purpose I nput/Output (GPIO)....................................................... 20

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3.5.1. GPIO Electrical Characteri stics....................................................21

3.6. Status Indicator LED.................................................................................21

4 Camera Operations and Features................................................22

4.1. General Camera Proper ties ......................................................................23

4.2. Standard Data Formats, Modes and Frame Rates.....................................23

4.3. Frame Rates and Camera Bandwidth .......................................................25

4.3.1. Maximum Number of Cameras on a Single Bus...........................25

4.3.2. Exceeding Bandwidth Limitations Using Format_7 with Multiple

Cameras...................................................................................................

4.3.3. Calculating Maximum Pos sible Frame Rate.................................26

4.3.4. Dual Packet Mode........................................................................26

4.4. Customizable Data Formats and Modes....................................................27

4.4.1. Calculating Format_7 Frame Rate s..............................................34

4.4.2. Subsampli ng and Bi nning in Format_7.........................................34

4.5. Image Acquisiti on .....................................................................................35

4.5.1. Camera Power.............................................................................35

4.5.2. Shutter.........................................................................................35

4.5.3. Gain.............................................................................................36

4.5.4. Auto Exposure.............................................................................36

4.5.5. Extended Shutter Tim es............................................................... 37

4.5.6. Auto mat ic In te r -C amera Synchron iza tion .....................................38

4.5.7. Frame Rate Control .....................................................................38

4.5.8. Pixel Binning and Region of I nterest Modes .................................38

4.5.9. Y16 (16-bit Mono) Image Ac quisition............................................39

4.5.10. Asynchronous (Ex ternal) Trigger Modes.....................................39

4.5.11. On-Cam era Frame Buffer...........................................................41

4.5.12. High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mode.............................................42

4.6. Image Processing.....................................................................................42

4.6.1. Color and Greyscale Conversion..................................................42

4.6.2. Lookup Table and Gamma...........................................................43

4.6.3. Saturation....................................................................................44

4.6.4. Sharpness ...................................................................................44

4.6.5. White Balance..............................................................................44

4.6.6. Image Flip / Mirror........................................................................45

4.6.7. Test Pattern.................................................................................45

4.6.8. Embedded Image Inf ormation......................................................46

4.7. Camera and Device Cont rol......................................................................46

4.7.1. Voltage Sensor ............................................................................46

4.7.2. Programmable Str obe Output.......................................................46

4.7.3. RS-232 Serial Port.......................................................................46

4.7.4. Memory Channel Storage of Camera Settings..............................47

4.7.5. User Data Flash...........................................................................47

4.7.6. Camera Upgrades........................................................................47

Table of Contents

Appendix A: Spectral Response Curves..............................................48

Appendix B: Memory Channel Registers.............................................54

Appendix C: Glossary............................................................................55

Appendix D: Technical Support Resources.........................................57

Appendix E: Contacting Point Grey Research ....................................58

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Appendix F: Revision History...............................................................59

List of Figures

Figure 1: Dimensional drawing......................................................................................15

Figure 2: IEEE-1394b connector pin configuration.........................................................18

Figure 3: GPIO schem atic.............................................................................................20

Figure 4: Grasshopper external trigger timing characteristics.........................................40

Figure 5: Relationshi p between video mode change and triggering................................41

Figure 6: Test patt er n sample image (Mono and YUV formats)......................................45

List of Tables

List of Figures

Table 1: IEEE-1394b connector pin configuration..........................................................19

Table 2: GPIO pin assignments.....................................................................................20

Table 3: Status indicator LED descriptions....................................................................21

Table 4: Supported video formats, modes and frame rates............................................24

Table 5: Suppor ted partial image (Format 7) video form ats and modes for G RAS-03K2C

.............................................................................................................................

Table 6: Support ed partial image (Form at 7) video formats and modes for GRAS-03S3M

.............................................................................................................................

Table 7: Suppor ted partial image (Format 7) video form ats and modes for G RAS-14S3C

.............................................................................................................................

Table 8: Suppor ted partial image (Format 7) video form ats and modes for G RAS-14S5C

.............................................................................................................................

Table 9: Suppor ted partial image (Format 7) video form ats and modes for G RAS-20S4C

.............................................................................................................................

Table 10: Suppor ted partial image (Format 7) video formats and modes for GRAS - 50S 5C

.............................................................................................................................

Table 11: Extended shutter m inimum and maximum times............................................37

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Introduction

1 Introduction

1.1. Grasshopper Overview

The Grasshopper digital camera line offers high megapixel resolution and an ultra fast IEEE1394b 800Mb/s digit al interf ace. Attr activ e pricing makes the se powerf ul cameras ideal for OEMs and system int egrators who need compact systems that deliv er 1.4M, 2.0M or 5.0M im ages at high frame rates. The Grasshopper cameras are particularly effective in demanding imaging applications such as those used in electronics manufacturing, life sciences and microscopy, surveillance and security, and ITS.

Users are encouraged to download detailed information on how to transition applications from the Scorpion to the Grasshopper. Refer to IEEE-1394b standard.

Knowledge Base Arti cle 206 for a c omplete overv iew of the features and benefi ts of the

TAN2007004 from www.ptgrey.com/products/grasshopper for

All model-specific information presented in this manual reflects

functionality av ailable in firmware vers ion 0.9.1.48. To check the cam era firmware version, c onsult our knowledge base:

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=94.

1.1.1. Image Acquisition

Feature Description

IEEE-1394b Bandwidth 800Mb/s interface allows full color RGB output at high data rates Automatic Synchronization Multiple Grasshoppers on the same 1394b bus automatically sync Programmable Exposure User-programmable shutter, gain, and bl ack clamp settings via sof t ware Fast Frame Rates Fas ter standa rd frame rates plus pixel binning and ROI support Multiple Trigger Modes Bulb-trigger mode, multiple triggered exposures before readout Trigger at Full Frame Rate Overlapped trigger input, image acquisition and transfer

1.1.2. Image Processing

Feature Description

Color Conversion On-camera conversion to YUV411, YUV422 and RGB formats Image Processing On-camera control of sharpness, hue, saturation, gamma, LUT Image Flip / Mirror Horizontal image flip (mirr or ima ge) Embedded Image Info Pixels contain frame-specific info (e.g. shutter, 1394 cycle time) Test Pattern Continuous static image for testing and deve lop ment

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Introduction

1.1.3. Camera and Device Control

Feature Description

Auto White Balance Auto and one-push white balance for easy color balancing Frame Rate Control Fine-tune frame rates for video conv ersion (e.g. PAL @ 24 FPS) Improved Strobe Output Increased drive strength, configurable strobe pattern output RS-232 Serial Port Provides serial communication via GPIO TTL digital logic levels Memory Channels Non-volatile storage of camera default power-up set ti ngs Broadcast Properties Apply settings (e.g. shutter, gain) to all cameras on the same bus Voltage Sensor Monitors sensor voltages to ensure optimal image quality Camera Upgrades Firmware upgradeable in field via IEEE-1394 interface.

1.1.4. Mechanics and Form Factor

Feature Description

Compact Design 44mm x 29mm x 58mm, 104 grams Industry Standard Mechanics ASA/ISO-compliant mounting br acket and C-mount lens holder Jack Screw Connector 1394b cable jack scr ews provide secure connection

1.2. Using This Manual

This manual attempts to provi de the user with a detail ed specif ication of the Grasshopper camera system. The r eader sho uld be aware that the c amera system is a complex and dynami c system – if any errors or omissions are found during experiment ation, please contact us.

This document is subject to change without notice. Many of t he operati onal descript ions incl uded in t his manual are int ended as general ov erv iews,

and may not pres ent the detailed i nf ormation required f or developi ng specific applications. F or additional details and operational descriptions, refer to the following resources that can be downloaded fr om our website at

• Point Grey Digital Camer a Regis ter Reference

FlyCapture User M anual

•

• TAN2004004: Synchr onizing to an external signal using DCAM 1.31 Trigger Mode_0

• TAN2004001: Configuring and testing the RS-232 ser ial port

• TAN2005002: Setting a GPIO pin to strobe using DCAM 1.31 Strobe Signal Out put

• TAN2005003: Setting a GPIO pin to output a strobe signal pulse patter n

• TAN2005004: Buffering a GPIO pin output signal to drive an exter nal dev ic e

• TAN2007004: A guide to trans itioning from Scorpion

• TAN2007004: Acces s i ng the On-Camera Frame Buffer

www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads/:

to Grasshopper®

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Introduction

1.3. Camera Specifications

Specification 03K2 03S3 14S3 14S5 20S4 50S5

1/3”

Sony® ICX414 1/2” progressive scan CCD

Imaging Sensor

Kodak®

KAI0340ABB/CBA-CBAA-Dual

progressive scan CCD

Maximum Resolution

Sensor Pixel

640(H) x 480 (V)

648(H) x 488(V)

7.4 x 7.4µm 9.9 x 9.9µm 4.65 x 4.65µm 6.45 x

Size Maximum FPS See sections 4.2 and 4.4 for more information Digital

Interface Transfer

Dual bilingual 9-pin IEEE-1394b for camera control, video data transmission and dai sy chaining

100, 200, 400, 800 Mbit/s

Rates A/D Converter Analog Devices 14-bit analog-to-digital converter Max Pixel

40 MHz 26 MHz 40 MHz 28 MHz 67 MHz 32 MHz

Clock Video Data

8, 16 and 24 -bit digital data (see Supported Data Formats)

Output Image Data

Formats Partial Image

Y8, Y16 (all models), RGB, YUV411, YUV422, YUV444, 8-bit and 16-bit raw Bayer data (color models)

Pixel binning and r egion of interest modes available via Format_7

Modes General

Purpose I/O

Gain

8-pin Hirose HR25 general purpose input/output connect or 4 pins for external trigger, strobe or serial data / 1 pin +3.3V / 1 VEXT pin to externally power th e camer a

Automatic / manual / one-push gain modes 0dB to 24dB Automatic / manual / one-push shutter modes

Shutter

Programmable through soft ware or through input trigger signal

0.01ms to 66.63ms @ 15 FPS Extended shutter modes for exposure times longer than 5 seconds

Image Processing

On-board raw Bayer color interpolation, hue, saturation, sharpness, gamma, programmable LUT, horizontal image flip, test pattern output

Gamma 0. 50 to 4.00 Trigger Modes DCAM v1.31 Tr i gger Modes 0, 1, 3, 14, and 15 * Signal To

Noise Ratio * Peak QE

56 dB 64 dB 60 dB 65 dB 59 dB 57 dB 460 nm 500 nm 459 nm 470 nm 460 nm 520 nm

Wavelength * Peak QE

46 % 45 % 52 % 64 % 60 % 56 %

alue

* Full Well

19426 e- 31370 e- 9159 e- 16964 e- 13942 e- 6486 e-

Depth * Dark Noise 21.57 e-/s 13.61 e-/s 0.53 e-/s 6.38 e-/s 9.39 e-/s 3.19 e-/s * Dark Current 187 e-/s 331 e-/s 1.84 e-/s 175 e-/s 122 e-/s 34 e-/s * Read Noise 84 e- 41 e- 59 e- 33 e- 61 e- 78 e- * Av erage

46 °C 37 °C 45 °C 36 °C 42 °C 38 °C

Sony® ICX267 1/2” progressive scan CCD

1384(H) x 1032(V)

Sony® ICX285 2/3” progressive scan CCD

1384(H) x 1036(V)

6.45µm

Sony® ICX274 1/1.8” progressive scan CCD

1624(H) x 1224(V)

Sony® ICX625 2/3” progressive scan CCD

2448(H) x 2048(V)

4.4 x 4.4µm 3.45 x 3.45µm

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Introduction

Operating Temperature

Dimensions 44mm x 29mm x 58mm (excluding lens holder, without optics) Mass 104 grams (without optics) Lens Mount C-mount Camera

Specification Voltage

Requirements Power

Requirements (max)

Emissions Compliance

Operating Temperature

Storage Temperature

Warranty Two years Operating

Relative Humidity

Storage Relative Humidity

* Measurements ta ken under the fol lowing condi tions: Gain: 0 d B; Pixel For mat: Format_7 Mode 0; Resolution: Max; Fram e Rate: Max; Shutter: 1 ms;

IIDC 1394-based Di git al Camera Specification v1. 31

8-30V, via IEEE-1394b interface or 8-pin GPIO connect or

3.9W 2.9W 3.0W 3.1W 3.4W 3.8W

Complies with CE rules an d Part 15 Class A of FCC Rules

0° to 40°C

-30° to 60°C

20 to 80% (no condensation)

20 to 95% (no condensation)

1.3.1. Spectral Response

All color models are equipped with an optical filter that prevents

For spectral response curves, see

infrared light from reaching the image sensor. This filter is discus s ed in the section on Infrared Cut-Off Filters.

Appendix A: Spect r al Response Curves.

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1.3.2. Common CCD Artifacts

The following sec tion describes issues typical of CCD senso r s and poss ible solution s.

• Dead / Hot Pixels It is possible for one or more pixels in the CCD sensor array to stop responding. This will result in a situation where the pixel will al ways appear black (dead), or white (hot/stuck). This is generally not an issue except in very rare cases.

• Bright Pix els Cosm ic rays have the ability to cause images to have artifacts which look like hot pixels which are randomly distributed throughout the image. This is most apparent when th camera is running at a high temperature or the gain is set to a high amount. It is impossible to prevent cosmic rays from reaching the C CD.

• Vertical Smear When a strong light source is shot on the camera, there may be a vertical smear above and below the position of the actual light source. This is a byproduct of the interline transfer s ystem used to extract data from the CCD.

1.3.3. Dual Tap Sensor Information

Introduction

The Grasshopper 50S5M/C and 03K2M /C m odels feature dual tap CCDs. This means that the CCD has two outputs runni ng sim ultaneousl y i n order to prov ide a l arger data rat e, thus resul t ing in a higher frame r ate. However, the CCD i s generally unable to pr ovide the l eft and right halv es of the image at an equal int ensit y. Theref ore i n order to m ai ntai n image qual ity, the Grasshopper has been calibr ated to correct for imbalances bet ween the left and right halv es. However, there may be situati ons wher e the boundary between the lef t and right halves of the im ages can be seen, such as images with high gain values.

1.4. System Requirements

• Processor

R e c o m m ended – Intel Pe ntium Mi nimum – Int el Pent ium III 800 MHz or compatible pr oces sor

• Memory

R e c o m m ended – 2GB Minimu m - 256MB

• AGP vi deo card w ith 64 MB video me mory ( 128 MB r ecommended)

• Bus Configuration

Recommended – PCI Express (PCI-e card not included) or 64-bit PCI s lot Mi nimum – 32- bit st andard PCI slot for the IEEE -1394 card

• Mi c r os oft Windows XP Se rvic e P ac k 1

• Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 (to compile and run example code)

4 2.0 GHz or compat ible proc ess or

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Introduction

1.4.1. Laptop / Notebook Considerations

Some 1394 PCMCIA cards for laptop / notebook computers require a 4-pin cable. A 4-pin cable does not provide powe r and will t herefore not work with Point Grey cameras, which require a 6-pin connector (the additional two pins provide power). For suggestions on how to provide power in these circumstances, con sult th e fo llowing knowledge base arti c le:

KB Article 93: www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=93

1.4.2. Macintosh and Linux OS Support

Users wishing to operate their Point Grey camera on the Macintosh OS/X or Linux operating sys tems should cons ult the following kno wledge bas e art icles:

Macintosh support: www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a =4&q=173 Li nux s upport: www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a =4&q=17

1.5. Controlling the Camera

The Grasshopper c an be c ontrolled by the following types of applications:

1.5.1. FlyCap Demo Program

The FlyCap application is a generic streaming image viewer included with the FlyCapture®SDK that can be u sed to test m any of the capabilities of your c omp atible PGR IE EE-1394 c amera. It allows you to view a live video stream from the camera, save individual images or .avi movi clips, adjust the various video formats, frame rates, properties and settings of the camera, and access camera registers. It is an easy-to-use program that can be used to test many of the capabilities of your PGR IEEE-1394 camera system. Consult the PGR FlyCapture User Manua for more inf ormatio n.

1.5.2. Custom Applications Built with the FlyCapture API

PGR FlyCapture includes a full Application Programming Interface that allows customers to create custom applications to control Point Grey Imaging Products. The SDK provides a numbe of sample programs and source code that is meant to help the advanced programmer get started using the FlyCapture API. Example s range f rom simple console programs that demonstrate the basic f unctionality of th e API, such as PGRFl yCaptureTest, to more complex e xamples such as the M FC applic ation FlyCap.

1.5.3. Third-Party Software Applications

The following knowledge base article provides information on Point Grey IEEE-1394 camera compatibility with third-party software development kits, applications, camera drivers, and integrated development environm ents ( IDEs) :

KB Article 152: www.p tgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=152

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Introduction

1.6. Camera Control Command Registers

For a complete description of the Camera Control Command Registers implemented on the camera, please refer to the Point Grey Research Digital Camera Register Reference, included with the FlyCapture SDK and downloadable from www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads/

1.7. Handling Precautions and Camera Care

Do not open the camera housing. Doing so voids the Hardware

[

Your Point Grey di gital camera m odule is a precisely manufactured device and should be handled with care. Here are some tips on how to care for the device.

• Avoid electrostatic charging. Pl ease consult the following knowledge base article for more details: www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=42

• Users who have purchased a bare board camera should take the following additional protective measures:

o Either handle bare handed or use non-chargeable gloves, clothes or material. o Install a conduc tive mat on the floor or working table to prevent the generation of

• When handli ng the ca m era unit, avoid touching t he lenses. Fingerprints will affect the quality of the image produced by the device.

• To clean the lenses, use a standard camera lens cleaning kit or a clean dry cotton cloth. Do not apply excessi ve force.

• To clean the imaging surface of your CCD, follow the steps outlined in

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=66

• Our cameras are designed for an office environment or laboratory use. Extended exposure to bright sunlight, rain, dusty environments, etc. may cause problems with the electronics and the optics of the system.

• Avoid excessive shaking, dropping or any kind of mishandling of the device.

Warranty described at the beginning of this reference manual.

Also, use conductive shoes. static e lec tricity.

1.7.1. Case Temperature and Heat Dissipation

The Grasshopper is an ultra-c ompact camera. As a result of packing t he Grasshopper electronics into a small space, the outer case of the camera can become very warm to the touch when running in some high dat a rate vi deo modes. The case can reach t emperat ures up to 45° Celsius under normal operating condi tions. This is ex pected behavi our and will not damage the cam era electronics.

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Introduction

If reduci ng heat i s a concern, users ca n u se a cool i ng f an to set up a posi tiv e ai r fl ow around the camera, taking into consideration the following precautions:

• Mount the c amera on a heat sink, such as a camera m ounting bracket, made out of a heat-conductive material like aluminum.

• Make sure the flow of heat from the camer a case to the bracket is not bl ocked by a non- conductive m aterial like plastic.

• Make sure the camera has enough open space around it to facilitate the f r ee flow of air.

1.8. Camera Accessories

Accessories such as tripod mount s and lens ho lders are availa ble fr om PGR – contact our Sales team at sales@ptgrey.com camera accessorie s can be found in the following knowledge base article:

KB Article 131: www.p tgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a =4&q=131

for additional information. Links to FireWire/IEEE-1394 and digital

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6 7

Camera Physical Properties

2 Camera Physical Properties

2.1. Physical Description

1. Lens holder (Cmount)

Attach any C-mount lens or other optic al equipment. Consult the section Lens

Setup and Compatibility for full

details.

2. Glass / IR filter system

Refer to the Dust Protection and the Infrared Cut-Off Filters section for

more informati on.

3. M3x0.5 mounting holes

Refer to the Mounting section for full details.

4. General Pu rpo se I/ O connector

The 8-pin GPIO connect or is used f or exter nal triggering, strobe output or digital I/O. Refer to the General Purpose

Input/Output s e c t io n for more information.

5. Status LED

This light indic ates the current state of the Grasshopper operation. Refer to the section Status Indicator LED.

6. IEEE-1394b connector

7. IEEE-1394b connector

The camera uses standard 9-pin 1394b connectors. M3 screw holes are locat ed on either side of the connectors for secure connections to the 9-pin locking 1394b cabl e. See the IEEE-1394 Connector section for full connector details.

8. M3x0.5 mounting holes

Refer to the Mounting section for full details.

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

2.2. Camera Dimensions

Camera Physical Properties

Figure 1: Dimensional drawing

2.3. Lens Setup and Compatibility

The lens holder is compatible with C-mount lenses. Lenses are not included with individual cameras. To differentiate between C- and CS-mount lenses, c onsul t the following arti cle:

KB Article 98:

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=98

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Physical Properties

2.4. Dust Protection

Cameras are se aled when they are shipped. To a void contamination,

[

The case is designed to prevent dust from f alling directly onto the CCD's protective glass su rface. This is achieved by placing a pie ce of cl ear glass (monochr om e camera mo dels) o r IR cut -of f f ilt er (color models) that sits above the surface of the CCD's glass. A removable p lastic retainer keeps this glass/filter system in place. By increasing the distance betwe en the imaging surface and the l o c atio n of t he potent i al dus t partic l e s , th e l i k eliho od o f i nter fer e n c e f r o m th e d us t (a s s u m i ng noncollimated light) and the poss ibility of damage to the sensor during cleaning is reduced.

seals should not be brok en until cameras are ready for assembly at customer's site.

Do not remove the protective glass. Doing so can void the Hardware Warranty descri bed at the begi nn ing of this reference manual.

2.5. Mounting

2.5.1. Using the Case

The case is equipped with the following mounting holes:

• Two (2) M3x0.5mm mounting holes on the top of the case

• Four (4) M3x0.5mm mounting holes on the bot t om of the case that can be used to att ach

the camera directly to a custom mount or to the Grasshopper tripod mounting bracket

2.5.2. Using the Tripod Mounting Bracket

The Grasshopper tripod m ounti ng bracket comes with t he Dev elopment Kit, or can be pur chased separately by cont acting holes.

sales@ptgrey.com. The bracket i s equipped with four ( 4) M3 mounting

Revised 26-Nov-10

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Physical Properties

2.6. Infrared Cut-Off Filters

Point Grey Resear ch color camera m odels are equipped with an additional infrared (IR) cut-of f filter. This filter can reduce sensitivity in the visible spectrum. The properties of this filter are illustrated in the results below, which were obtained by Point Grey Research independent of camera model.

In monochrome models, the IR filter is replaced wit h a transparent piec e of glass. The following are the properties of the IR filter/protective glass

Type Material Physical Filter Size Glass Thickness Dime ns ional Tolerance Coating Filters

These properties apply to all imaging cameras except GRAS 14S5.

Related Knowledge Base Articles

ID Title URL

98 Understanding flange back

distance on C-mount and CSmount cameras

Revised 26-Nov-10

Reflective Schott D 263 T or BK7 equivalent for coating filters 14 mm x 14 mm

1.0 mm +/-0.1 mm` Scott D 263 T

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=98

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Interface

3 Camera Interface

3.1. IEEE-1394b Connector

The camera has 2 standard 9-pin IEEE-1394b connectors (pin configuration shown below) that is used for data transmission, camera control and powering the camera. For more detailed informati on, c onsul t the IEEE-1394b Standard document available from

For a full descri ption of the features and benefits of 1394b, refer to

3.1.1. Daisy Chaining

As the camera has 2 IEEE-1394b connectors, it is possible to connect multiple cameras (and/or hubs) in a daisy- c hained manner. T his allows multiple cameras to be easily connect ed to a single host controll er. However , the maximum bandwidth avail able for all cameras is still restric ted to 800Mbps (for IEEE-1394b) or 400Mbps (for IEEE-1394a).

www.1394ta.org.

Knowledge Base Article 206.

While the Grasshopper is an IEEE-1394b device, it is backward compatible with the IEEE-1394a 400Mb/s standard, a nd can therefore be connected to any 1394a OHCI host adapter using a 9- to 6-pin cable (included with Grasshopper Development Kits ) .

Figure 2: IEEE-1394b connector pi n configuration

Pin Signal Name Comment

1 TPB- Twisted Pair B (Minus) 2 TPB+ Twisted Pair B (Plus) 3 TPA- Twisted Pair A (Minus) 4 TPA+ Twisted Pair A (Plus) 5 TPA (R) Twisted Pai r A (Reference Ground) 6 V 7 SC Status Contact (Reserved for Futur e Use) 8 V 9 TPB (R) Twisted Pai r B (Reference Ground)

Power (Ground) Power (Voltage)

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Interface

Table 1: IEEE-1394b connector pin configuration

3.2. Cables

The maximum 1394 cable length between any 1394 node (e.g. camera to PCI card, PCI card to hub, etc.) is 4.5m, as specified by the IEEE-1394 standard. Standard, shielded twisted pai cop per cabl es must be used . Co ns ult the fol low ing knowledge base articl e for in forma ti on on how to extend the phys ical dis t ance bet ween th e camer a and the con trol ling host sys te m:

KB Article 197: www.p tgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a =4&q=197

3.3. Host Adapter Card

All camera KITs (e.g. part numbers ending with “KIT”) com e with a 3-port IEEE-1394 PCI host adapter card. For more information regarding the differences between various 1394 hos adapters, consult the following knowledge base article:

KB Article 146: www.p tgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a =4&q=146

3.4. Camera Power

The 9-pin 1394b interface connects t o a standard IEEE-1394 ( FireW ire) 9-pin cable and pro vides a power connection betwe en the camera and the host computer. The ideal input volt age is 12 DC; however, the camera is designed to handle voltages between 8V and 30V DC. The powe consumption is outlined in the Camera Specif icati ons section.

Some systems - such as laptop comput ers or those with several FireWire devices connected require an external power suppl y to power the camera. For suggestions on ho w to provide powe in these circumstances, consult the follo wing k nowledge base artic le:

KB Article 93: www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=93 Some PGR cam eras allow the user to power-up or power-down components of the camera using

the DCAM CAMERA_POWER register 0x610. The exact components, e.g. image sensor, A/D converter, other board electronics, will vary between camera models. Consult the PGR IEEE- 1394 Digital Camera Register Reference for more information.

When a camera is power cycled (po wer disengaged then re-engaged), the camera will r evert to its default factory settings, or if applicable, the last saved memory channel.

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Camera Interface

3.5. General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO)

The Grasshopper has an 8-pin GPIO connector on the back of the case. The connector is a Hirose HR25 8 pin connect or (Mfg P/N: HR25-7TR-8SA). KIT content s include a prewired mal e connector; ref er to the diagram below f or wire col or-coding. A dditional male c onnector s (Mfg P/N: HR25-7TP-8P) c an be pur c hased fr om Digik ey ( P/N: HR702-ND).

Diagram Pin Function Function

1 IO0 Input / Output (default Trigg er_Src) 2 IO1 Input / Output 3 IO2 Input / Output / RS232 Transmit (TX) 4 IO3 Input / Output / RS232 Receive (RX) 5 GND 6 GND 7 V 8 +3.3V Power external circuitry up to 150mA

Table 2: GPIO pin assi gnments

All ows the camera to be powered exter nally

EXT

Inputs can be configured to accept exter nal trigger signals. Outputs can be configured to send an output signal, strobe, or PWM signal. To use the RS232 f unctionality, a level converter must be used to convert the TTL digital logic levels to RS232 voltage levels. B&B Electronics

http://www.bb-elec.com/) part number 232LPTTL can be used for this conv ersion.

( For more information on using the RS232 serial port, download Technical Application Note

TAN2004001 fr om

Revised 26-Nov-10

www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads/.

Figure 3: GPIO schem at ic

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Interface

3.5.1. GPIO Electrical Characteristics

The Grasshopper GPIO pins are TTL 3.3V pins. When configured as inputs, the pins are internall y pulled high using weak pull-up resi stors to allow easy triggering of the c am er a by simply shorting the pin to ground (GND). Inputs can also be directly driven from a 3.3V or 5V logic output. The i nput s are protec ted f r om both ov er and under voltage. It i s recomm ended, howev er, that they only be c onnec ted to 5V or 3.3V digit al logic signals. When configured as outputs, each line can sink 10mA of current. To driv e external devices that requi re more, consult the f ollowing article for information on buffering an output signal using an optocoupler:

KB Article 200:

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=200

The V

pin (Pin 7) allows the cam era to be powered ext ernally. The voltage limit is 8-30V, and

EXT

current is limited to 1A. The +3.3V pin is f used at 150m A. Ext ernal devices co nnect ed to P in 8 should n ot att em pt t o pull

anything great er than that.

3.6. Status Indicat or LED

LED Status Description

Maximum red (Initial

connection)

Maximum red (During

operation)

Dull Red Configuration er ror. Bright Red Configuration er ror. Dull Green Camera is idle.

Bright Green Firewire activ ity. On for 0.5s during activit y.

Dull Yellow Powered down.

Bright Yellow Powered down + activity. On for 0.5s during activity.

Red/Green flashing Camera firmware is bei ng updated. Flashes at 5Hz.

Initial startup. On until camera is initialized.

Condition 1: Bus Rest. On f or 0. 66s.

Condition 2: Power failure. On until power-up via

CAMERA_POWER 0x610.

Revised 26-Nov-10

Table 3: Status indicator LED descriptions

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Operations and Features

4 Camera Operations and Features

The Grasshopper line of IEEE-1394 c ameras complies with t he IIDC 1394-based Digital Camera (DCAM) Specific ation Version v1.31.

To determine t he specific DCAM v1.31 features im plemented in a particular Grasshopper model , consult the following sections of the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference.

 Inquiry Registers for Basic Functions  Inquiry Registers for Feature Presence  Inquiry Registers for Feature Elements

You can query t he registers described in these s ec tions to identify whether specific features have been implemented. For a complete description of the Camera Control Command Registers implemented on t he Grasshopper, please ref er to the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference, included with the PGR FlyCapture SDK and downloadable from

www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads/.

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Camera Operations and Features

4.1. General Camera Properties

The following section provides an overview of the camera properties implemented by the Grasshopper. Descriptions of some of the following pr operties and how they are implemented can be found in this Technical Reference. Refer to the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference for additional definitions and descript ions of:

• “Auto”, “On/Off ” and “One P ush” - Cont rol and Status Registers for Features secti on

• “Absolute Mode” - Absolut e V alue CS R Regis ters section

The following pr operty ranges apply t o a Grasshopper GRAS-50S5C runni ng at 15 FPS, and c an change depending on the camera resolution and frame rate:

• Shutter / Extended Shutter: maximum values increase as fram e r ate decreases

• Pan / Tilt: maximum values i nc r ease with smaller non-Format_7 resolut ions

• Frame Rate: range changes according to the current frame rate

Properties mar ked with a ‘(COL)’ apply to color models only and are

not implemented on cam er as us ing a monochrom e s ens or .

Property Units Mi n Max Auto On/Off One

Push

Brightness % 0 6.24 N N N Y

Auto Exposure EV -7.58 2.41 Y Y Y Y

Sharpness 0 4095 Y Y N N

White Balance 1 1023 Y Y Y N

Hue (COL) deg -180 179.91 Y N N Y

Saturati on (COL) % 0 399.9 Y Y N Y

Gamma 0.5 4 Y N N Y

Pan 0 848 Y Y N N

Tilt 0 848 Y Y N N

Shutter ms 0 66.64 N Y Y Y

Gain dB -4.50 24.00 N Y Y Y

Trigger Delay s 0 65.00 Y N N Y

Frame Rate fps 0.49 16.52 Y Y N Y

Extended Shutt er ms 0.01 63312.04

Absolute

Mode

4.2. Standard Data Formats, Modes and Frame Rates

This section lists the dif ferent video formats, modes and frame rat es that are supported by the Grasshopper. Refer to the Customizable Formats and Modes f or a li st of supported part ial image (Format_7) modes. These standard modes are controlled using the following IIDC registers:

• CURRENT_VIDEO_FORMA T register 0x608

• CURRENT_VIDEO_MODE register 0x604

• CURRENT_FRAME_RATE regi ster 0x 600

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Images acquired by color cameras using Y8 or Y16 modes (or

L L

Format_7 Mono8 / Mono16 modes) are converted to greyscale (monochrome) on-boar d the camera. T o access the raw Bayer data to apply different color conversion algorithms or one of the FlyCapture library algorithms, refer to the Color and Greyscale Conversion section of this manual.

Some smaller format / mode combinations (e.g. 1280x960 Y8 on an GRAS-20S4C) cur rently run at 5/6th of the frame rate report ed in the following table (e.g. 25 FPS instead of 30 FPS).

Table 4: Supported video formats, modes and frame rates

Camera Operations and Features

Models:

Modes 1.875fps 3.75fps 7.5fps 15fps 30fps 60fps 120fps

160x120

YUV444

320x240

YUV422

640x480

YUV411

640x480

YUV422

640x480

RGB

640x480

Y16

640x480

800x600

YUV422

800x600

RGB

800x600

Y16

800x600

1024x768

YUV422

03K2M

•

14S5C 50S5C

•

••••

•••••

•••

•••••

•••

••••

•••••

•••

•••••

•••

••••••

••••

03K2C 14S5M 50S5M

••

••••

•••••

•••

•••••

•••

••••••

••••

03S3M

•

20S4C

•

••

••••

•

••••••

•••

••••••

•••

••••••

••••

14S3M 20S4M

•

••

•••

••••••

•••

••••••

•••

••

••••

14S3C

•

•••••

•

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Camera Operations and Features

1024x768

RGB

1024x768

Y16

1024x768

1280x960

YUV422

1280x960

RGB

1280x960

Y16

1280x960

1600x1200

YUV422

1600x1200

RGB

1600x1200

Y16

1600x1200

••••

•••

••••

•••

•••••• ••••••

••

••••

••

••••

•••

••••••

••

••••

•••

••••

••••••

••••

•••

••

••••

•••

••••••

••••

4.3. Frame Rates and Camera Bandwidth

This section is recommended for advanced users only, and is not

[

4.3.1. Maximum Number of Cameras on a Single Bus

A single IEEE-1394 OHCI host adapter generally constitutes a single “bus”. There are four elements that limit the number of cameras that can be used on the same 1394 bus:

• A lthough the 1394b standard lim its the maximum number of simultaneous isochr onous channels to 16, there is currently no host adapter that is capable of supporting 16 channels. Host adapters based on the LSI chipset such as the FirePRO™ 1394b PCI Express card can support up to 8 simultaneous DMA channels (or contexts). Host adapters based on the TI chipset can support at most 4 sim ultaneous DMA channel s (or contexts). There are no known 1394b chipsets that allow 16 si multaneous DMA contexts.

Knowledge Base Artic le 146 for more information.

See

• T he maximum bandwidth of the 1394b bus is 800Mbits/sec (10240By tes/packet - 8000 cycles/sec). The usable bandwidth as defined by the 1394 Trade Association and enforced by the Mi c r osoft Windows 1394 driver stack (1394bus.sys, ohc i1394.sys, etc.) is approximately 80% or 80MBytes/sec (8192 bytes/packet). The remaining 20% of the bandwidth is allocated for asynchronous communication (e.g. register reads/writes). Outside of the Microsoft stack, it may be possible to allocate up to 9830 bytes/packet.

meant to address all possible applic ations of the Grasshopper camera.

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Camera Operations and Features

• The 1394b standard limits the maximum number of devices on a single bus t o 63.

• An inadequate power supply. Consul t the voltage and power requirements in the General

Specifications section to determine the amount of power requir ed to operate the c ameras effectively.

4.3.2. Exceeding Bandwidth Limitations Using Format_7 with Multiple Cameras

There is a mechanism for effectively bypassing IEEE-1394 bus bandwidth negotiation when using cameras in F ormat 7 partial image m ode. This functionality is useful in any situat ion where the user is trying t o host multiple camer as on the same bus in a confi guration that would normally exceed the bandwidth allocation, but where the cameras are configured to transmit data in a manner that does not exceed the total bandwidth. For additional information, see

Knowledge

Base Article 256.

4.3.3. Calculating Maximum Possible Frame Rate

The maximum frame r ate allowable for each of the cameras on the bus depend s on t he r esolution of the cam eras and the f r am e rate, and can be roughl y appr ox im ated using the following general formula (assumi ng all c am er as are at the sam e resolution):

Frames_per_sec ond = (Bandwidth / (Pixels_per_fram e * Byt es _per _pix el) ) / Num_cameras

Example:

To calculat e the approxim ate frames per second av ailabl e to thr ee 1024x768 Grasshoppers that are in 16-bit mode, y ou would c alc ulate:

Frames_per_second = (80MB/s / (1024*768*2bytes/pixel)) / 3

= (80MB/s / 1.5MB/frame) / 3 = 53.33 FPS / 3 = 17.8 FPS

The calculation above is only a r ough estimate. The DCAM standard defines a specific number of bytes per packet (BPP) for every non-Format_7 vi deo format/m ode/frame rate combination. T his number is generally higher than the minimum bandwidth that might be expected. In order to accurately determine whether or not there is enough bandwidth available f or a given scenario, these numbers must be used. The BPP can be derived using the Isochronous Bandwidth Requirements section of the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference.

For example, a single Grasshopper in 640x480 RGB mode running at 15 FPS is sending 640 pixels per packet . Each pixel consists of 24 bi ts, or 3 bytes, of data. Therefore, the camera i s sending 640*3 = 1920Bpp of data. The maximum bandwidth of the 1394b bus as discussed above is 8192Bpp, so i t would be possibl e for 8192/1920 = 4 ( rounded down) Grasshopper’s to run in 640x480 RGB mode at 15 FPS on the same 1394b bus.

4.3.4. Dual Packet Mode

The Grasshopper is capable of sending a maximum of 9568Bpp (8-bit 5MP images at 15fps). However, the 1394 specification only allows 8192Bpp, so the Grasshopper spl its each packet that

Revised 26-Nov-10

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

is over 8192Bpp i nto two smaller pac kets per isochronous peri od. This feat ure is unique to the Grasshopper and requires software support to work properly.

For more informati on on this feature, please see

Knowledge Base Article 276.

Camera Operations and Features

4.4. Customiza bl e Dat a For m a ts an d Modes

The table below outlines the Format_7 custom image modes that are supported by the Grasshopper. The implementation of these modes and the f rame rates that are possible are not specified by the DCAM, and are subject to change across firm ware versions.

Mode_0, Mode 1, Mode_6 and M ode 7 are region of interest ( sub-window) m odes that all ow the user to only transmit a selected area of the image. Mode_1 is a pixel binning (subsampling) mode. Color binni ng is supported in the 14S 3C and 20S4C models. Refer to the Pixel Binning and Region of Interest Modes section for information on mode implementation.

Moving the positi on of region of interest to a differ ent location does not r equire the c amera to be stopped (isochronou s transmission disabled) and restarted (iso enabl ed), unless the change i s illegal (e.g. moving the ROI outside the imaging area) or would affect the isochronous packet size. Changing the size of the image or the pixel encoding format does require the stop/start procedure. Ignoring the time required to do this in software (tearing down, then reallocating, image buffers, write times to the camera, etc.), the maximum amount of time required f or the stop/start procedur e is slightly more than one frame time.

The sizes and frame rates supported by monochrome (BW) models

GRAS-03K2C

Mode

0 Mono8 8,2 4 2760 0 Mono16 8,2 4 5520 0 Raw8 8,2 160 8960 0 Raw16 8,2 320 9600

Pixel

Format

are identical to the color models specified below, with the exception that only Mono8 and Mono16 ar e support ed. Images a cquir ed by color cameras using Mono8 or Mono16 modes are convert ed to greyscale (monochrome) on-boar d the camera. Users interested in accessing t he raw Bayer dat a to apply their ow n color convers ion algorithm or one of the FlyCapture library algorithms should refer to the Color and Greyscale Conversion section of this manual.

(Max Size)

Unit Size

(H,V)

(Max Size)

Min BPP

Max BPP

Max

Resolution

FPS

640x480

200

640x480

121

640x480

640 x 480

FPS

61 105 168

61 105 168 200 341 538 121 341 538

320 x 240

FPS

160 x 120

FPS

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Camera Operations and Features

0 YUV411 8,2 4 4140 0 YUV422 8,2 4 5520 0 YUV444 8,2 8 8280 0 RGB8 8,2 8 8280 1 Mono8 4,2 36 4032 1 Mono16 4,2 68 8024 1 YUV411 4,2 24 2832 1 YUV422 4,2 4 1376 1 YUV444 4,2 4 2068 1 RGB8 4,2 4 2068 6 Mono8 8,2 4 2760 6 Mono16 8,2 4 5520 6 Raw8 8,2 132 7524 6 Raw16 8,2 264 9768 6 YUV411 8,2 4 4140 6 YUV422 8,2 4 5520 6 YUV444 8,2 8 8280 6 RGB8 8,2 8 8280 7 Mono8 8,2 4 2760 7 Mono16 8,2 4 5520 7 Raw8 8,2 4 2760 7 Raw16 8,2 4 5520 7 YUV411 8,2 4 4140 7 YUV422 8,2 4 5520 7 YUV444 8,2 8 8280 7 RGB8 8,2 8 8280

640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 320x240 320x240 320x240 320x240 320x240 320x240 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480 640x480

61 61 61

61 343 343 167

61 167 123

61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 168

- 343 512

- 167 285

- 61 105

- 61 105 61 105 168 61 105 168

167 284 450 123 284 450

61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 167 61 105 167 61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 168 61 105 168

Table 5: Supported partial image (Format 7) video formats and modes for GRAS-03K2C

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

GRAS-03S3M

(Max Size)

Unit Size

(Max Size)

Min BPP

Max BPP

(H,V)

Mode

Pixel

Format

Max

Resolution

FPS

640 x 480

FPS

Camera Operations and Features

320 x 240

FPS

160 x 120

FPS

0 Mono8 8,2 4 2644 0 Mono16 8,2 4 5292 1 Mono8 4,2 4 1212 1 Mono16 4,2 4 2424 2 Mono8 8,2 4 2424 2 Mono16 8,2 4 4852 7 Mono8 8,2 4 3008 7 Mono16 8,2 4 6020

Table 6: Supported partial image (Format 7) video formats and modes for GRAS-03S3M

GRAS-14S3C

(Max Size)

Unit Size

(Max Size)

Min BPP

Max BPP

(H,V)

Mode

Pixel

Format

Resolution

(648 x 488)

114

(324 x 244)

114

324 x 244(

114

(648 x 244)

114

(648 x 244)

(648x488)

Max FPS

65 85 101 65 85 101

- 115 116

- 115 116 75 134 224 75 134 224

1280 x 960

FPS

640 x 480

FPS

320 x 240

FPS

160 x 120

FPS

0 Mono8 8,2 4 3828 0 Mono16 8,2 8 7656 0 Raw8 8,2 4 3828 0 Raw16 8,2 8 7656 0 YUV411 8,2 8 5744 0 YUV422 8,2 8 7656 0 YUV444 8,2 16 9792 0 RGB8 8,2 16 9792 1 Mono8 4,2 4 1628 1 Mono16 4,2 4 3256

Revised 26-Nov-10

1384x1032

692x516

22 41 71 111 22 41 71 111 22 41 71 111 22 41 71 111 22 41 71 111 22 41 71 111 21 41 71 111 21 41 71 111

- 37 64 98

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Operations and Features

1 Raw8 4,2 4 1628 1 Raw16 4,2 4 3256 1 YUV411 4,2 4 2440 1 YUV422 4,2 4 3256 1 YUV444 4,2 4 4884 1 RGB8 4,2 4 4884 2 Mono8 8,2 4 3256 2 Mono16 8,2 4 6512 2 Raw8 8,2 4 3256 2 Raw16 8,2 4 6512 2 YUV411 8,2 4 4884 2 YUV422 8,2 4 6512 2 YUV444 8,2 8 9768 2 RGB8 8,2 8 9768

692x516

1384x516

- 37 64 98

Table 7: Supported partial image (Format 7) video formats and modes for GRAS-14S3C

GRAS-14S5C

(Max Size)

Unit Size

(Max Size)

Min BPP

Max BPP

(H,V)

Mode

Pixel

Format

0 Mono8 8,2 4 2676 0 Mono16 8,2 8 5352 0 Raw8 8,2 4 2676 0 Raw16 8,2 8 5352 0 YUV411 8,2 8 4008 0 YUV422 8,2 8 5352 0 YUV444 8,2 16 8016 0 RGB8 8,2 16 8016

Max

Resolution

FPS

1384x1036

1280 x 960

FPS

640 x 480

FPS

320 x 240

FPS

160 x 120

FPS

16 29 48 74 16 29 48 74 16 28 47 74 16 28 47 74 16 29 48 74 16 29 48 74 16 29 48 74 16 29 48 74

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Operations and Features

1 Mono8 4,2 4 1368 1 Mono16 4,2 4 2740 1 YUV411 4,2 4 1000 1 YUV422 4,2 4 1336 1 YUV444 4,2 4 2004 1 RGB8 4,2 4 2004 2 Mono8 8,2 4 1336 2 Mono16 8,2 4 2676 2 YUV411 8,2 4 2004 2 YUV422 8,2 4 2676 2 YUV444 8,2 8 4008 2 RGB8 8,2 8 4008

Table 8: Supported partial image (Format 7) video formats and modes for GRAS-14S5C

692x518

1384x518

- 31 52 82

- 16 29 48

GRAS-20S4C

(Max Size)

Unit Size

Max BPP

Min BPP

(H,V)

Mode

Pixel

Format

0 Mono8 8,2 8 5104 0 Mono16 8,2 16 9792 0 Raw8 8,2 8 7512 0 Raw16 8,2 16 9792 0 YUV411 8,2 12 7656 0 YUV422 8,2 16 9792 0 YUV444 8,2 24 9792 0 RGB8 8,2 24 9792 1 Mono8 4,2 4 3448

Max

Resolution

FPS

1624x1224

812x612

1600 x 1200

FPS

1280 x 960

FPS

640 x 480

FPS

320 x 240

FPS

160 x 120

FPS

20 25 46 78 119 20 25 46 78 119 30 37 68 115 176 20 31 68 115 176 20 25 46 78 119 20 25 46 78 119 13 21 46 78 119 13 21 46 78 119

- - 65 110 165

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Camera Operations and Features

1 Mono16 4,2 4 6900 1 Raw8 4,2 4 3448 1 Raw16 4,2 4 6900 1 YUV411 4,2 4 3536 1 YUV422 4,2 4 4716 1 YUV444 4,2 4 7076 1 RGB8 4,2 4 7076 2 Mono8 8,2 4 4664 2 Mono16 8,2 8 9328 2 Raw8 8,2 4 6804 2 Raw16 8,2 8 9792 2 YUV411 8,2 4 7000 2 YUV422 8,2 8 9328 2 YUV444 8,2 16 9792 2 RGB8 8,2 16 9792

1624x612 1624x612 1624x612 1624x612 1624x612 1624x612 1624x612 1624x612

812x612

36 36 53 38 36 36 26 26

- - 65 110 165

- - 44 75 114

- - 65 110 165

- - 44 75 114

Table 9: Supported partial image (Format 7) video formats and modes for GRAS-20S4C

GRAS-50S5C

(Max Size)

Unit Size

Max BPP

Min BPP

(H,V)

Mode

Pixel

Format

0 Mono8 8,2 8 6192 0 Mono16 8,2 16 9792 0 Raw8 8,2 16 9568 0 Raw16 8,2 24 9792 0 YUV411 8,2 16 9296 0 YUV422 8,2 16 9792 0 YUV444 8,2 24 9792

Max

Resolution

FPS

2448x2048

1600 x 1200

FPS

1280 x 960

FPS

640 x 480

FPS

320 x 240

FPS

160 x 120

FPS

23 27 44 63 80 20 27 44 63 80 23 28 44 63 80 20 27 44 63 80 23 27 44 63 80 20 27 44 63 80 13 21 44 63 80

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Camera Operations and Features

0 RGB8 8,2 24 9792 1 Mono8 4,2 4 3036 1 Mono16 4,2 8 6072 1 Raw8 4,2 4 3644 1 Raw16 4,2 8 7288 1 YUV411 4,2 4 4566 1 YUV422 4,2 8 6072 1 YUV444 4,2 8 9112 1 RGB8 4,2 8 9112 2 Mono8 8,2 4 5064 2 Mono16 8,2 8 9792 2 Raw8 8,2 7 7288 2 Raw16 8,2 16 9792 2 YUV411 8,2 8 7592 2 YUV422 8,2 8 9792 2 YUV444 8,2 16 9792 2 RGB8 8,2 16 9792 3 Mono8 4,2 8 3984 3 Mono16 4,2 12 7980 3 Raw8 4,2 8 4784 3 Raw16 4,2 16 9568 3 YUV411 4,2 8 5984 3 YUV422 4,2 12 7980 3 YUV444 4,2 16 9792 3 RGB8 4,2 16 9792

2448x2048 1224x1024 1224x1024 1224x1024 1224x1024 1224x1024 1224x1024 1224x1024 1224x1024 2448x1024 2448x1024 2448x1024 2448x1024 2448x1024 2448x1024 2448x1024 2448x1024 1224x2048 1224x2048 1224x2048 1224x2048 1224x2048 1224x2048 1224x2048 1224x2040

7 Mono8 2,2 8 920

22 22 22 22 22 22 20 20 22

15 15 15 15 15 15 10 10 45

612x512

13 21 44 63 80

- - 37 51 64

- - 37 51 62

- 23 37 51 62

- 23 37 51 64

- 23 37 51 62

- 21 37 51 62

- - 44 63 80

- - - 61 72

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7 Mono16 2,2 16 1844

Table 10: Supported partial image (Format 7) video formats and modes for GRAS- 50S5C

The maximum resolution currently supported by the GRAS-50S5C

when using a mode that performs color processing on board (e.g. Mono8, YUV422, RGB) is 2040x2040. In order to access the full 2048x2048 array, Raw8 or Raw16 modes must be used. See

Knowledge Base Art icle 276 for instr uctions on how to access the full

sensor array.

612X512

- - - 61 71

4.4.1. Calculating Format_7 Frame Rates

The theoreti cal frame rate (FPS) that can be achi eved giv en the number of packets per frame (PPF) can be calculated as follows:

FPS = 1

Packets per Fram e * 125us

An estimate for the number of pack ets per frame can be determined according to the following:

PPF = Image_Size * Byt es_Per _P ixel Bytes_Per_Packet

For the exact number of packets per f rame, query the PACKET_PER_F RAME_INQ register; f or the number of bytes per packet, query the BYTE_PER_PACKET register .

For example, assuming an image si ze of 1032x 776, pixel f ormat of Mono16 (2 byt es per pixel) , and 3072 bytes per packet, the calculation would be as follows:

FPS = 1 / ( ( 1032*776*2 / 3072 ) * 0.000125 ) FPS = 1 / ( 521 / 8000 ) FPS = 15.34

An interactiv e bandwidth calc ulator is avail able in calculate approx imate bandwidth requirem ents for various DCAM modes.

Knowledge Base Arti cle 22. It c an be used to

4.4.2. Subsampling and Binning in Format_7

Depending on the Format_7 imaging parameters, the camera may be performing image manipulati on operations such as subsampli ng or bi nning.

The read-only FORMAT_7_RESIZE_I NQ register at 0x1AC8 contains inform ation pertinent to t he current Form at_7 mode such as whether standard or bay er binning is being per formed on the image.

For more detailed information on the FORMAT_7_RESIZE_INQ register, please see the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference.

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Camera Operations and Features

4.5. Image Acquisition

4.5.1. Camera Power

The Grasshopper allows the user to power-up or power-down com ponents of the camera using the CAMERA_POW E R r egister 0x610. The exact components, e.g. image sensor, A/D converter, other board electronics, will vary between camera models. By default, power is OFF both at startup and reinitialization.

After writing 0x10000000 to register 0x610 to power-up the camera, the camera automaticall y reports a value of 0x00000001 until power up is com plete. The default power-up delay t i me is 100 ms, or two f rame times. The m aximum delay is 1 s. O n GRAS-03K2 models, t he default delay time is 250 m s. The cam era does not keep or transmit any images acquired during power-up, regardless of isochronous or asynchronous transm ission mode.

The auto-exposure al gorithm does not run while t he camera is powered down. It may theref ore take several (n) images to get a satisfactor y image, where n is undef ined.

4.5.2. Shutter

The Grasshopper supports automatic, manual and one-push control of the CCD shutter time. Refer to the General Specifications section for detailed information on supported shutter time ranges. Shutt er times are scaled by the div ider of the basic frame rate. For example, div iding the frame rate by two (e.g. 15 FPS to 7.5 FPS) cause s the m ax imum shutter time t o double (e.g. 66ms to 133ms).

Formulas for converting t he f ixed point (relativ e) shutter values report ed by SHUTTER register 0x81C to floati ng point ( absolute) v alues are not prov ided. Users wishing to work with real -world values should ref er to the A bsolute Value CSR Regist ers section of the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital

Camera Register Ref er enc e.

The terms “ integrat ion” and “exp osure” are oft en used inter changeabl y

The time between the end of shutter f or consecutiv e frames will always be constant. However, if the shutter time is continually changing (e.g. shutter is in Auto mode being controlled by Auto Exposure), t he time between the begi nning of c onsecutive int egrations will change. If the shutter time is constant, the time between integrati ons will also be constant .

The Grasshopper will continually expose and read image data off of the sensor under the following condi tions:

1. The camera is powered up (see Camera Power above); and

with “shutter”.

2. The camera is not in asynchronous trigger mode. When in async trigger mode, the camera simpl y clears the sensor and do es not r ead the data off the sensor.

It is import ant to note that the camera will continue exposing images even when isochronous data transfer is disabled and images are not being streamed to the PC. The camera continues

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exposing images even when ISO is off in order to keep things such as the auto exposure algorithm ( if enabled) r unning. T his is done to en sure that when a user start s reque sting im ages (ISO turned on), t he first image they receive will be properly ex posed.

Camera Operations and Features

4.5.3. Gain

The Grasshopper supports automatic, manual and one-push gain modes. The A/D converter provides a PxGA gain st age ( white balance / preamp) and VGA gain stage (GAIN register 0x 820) . The main VGA gain stage is available to the user, and is variable from 0 to 24dB in steps of

0.046db. Formulas for converti ng the fixed poi nt (r elative) gai n values reported by GAIN r egister 0x 820 to

floating point (absolute) values are not provided. Users wishing to work with real-world values should refer to t he Absolut e Value CSR Regist ers secti on of the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera

Increasing gain also increases image noise, which can affect image

quality. To increase image intensity, try adjusting the lens aperature (iris) and shutter time first.

The GRAS-20S4M /C m odels are limit ed to 16dB of gai n when r unning

in 30fps mode. It is possible to manua lly override this limit by setting the ABS_VALUE_GAIN register.

4.5.4. Auto Exposure

Auto exposure (AE) allows the camera to automatically control shutter and/or gain in order to achieve a specific average image intensity, and is controlled using the AUTO_EXPOSURE register 0x804. There are three AE states:

State Description

Off Control of the exposure is achieved via setting shutter and/or gain. On Manual AE On Auto AE

If only one of shutter and gai n is in auto m ode, the auto ex posure controll er attempts to contr ol the image intensi ty using that one param eter. If both of these paramet ers are in auto mode, the auto exposure contr oller uses a shutter-before- gain heuristic to try and maximiz e t he signal-tonoise ratio by fav ori ng a longer shutter time over a larger gain value.

The auto exposure al gorithm is only appli ed to the active region of i nt erest, and not the entire array of active pixels.

The camera autom atically modifies shutt er and/or gain to t ry and match the average image intensity to one-quarter of the specified AE value. The camer a modifies the A E v alue i n order t o produce an im age t hat i s visually pl easing.

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It is also possible to f orce the camera to perform the auto exposure algorit hm on a certain ROI within the im age. Please see the document ation for the AE_ROI regi ster locat ed at 0x1A70 to 0x1A74 in the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference.

Camera Operations and Features

4.5.5. Extended Shutter Times

The maximum shutter time for the Grasshopper can be extended beyond the normal shutter range by setting t he ON_OFF bit [6] of the FRAME_RATE regi ster 0x83C to zero (OFF). Once the FRAME_RATE is turned off, you should see the Max_Value of the ABS_VAL_SHUTTER register i nc r ease.

The maximum ext ended shutter time report ed by the SHUTTER_INQ

Model Format and FPS Min (ms) Max (ms) Notes

GRAS-03K2M GRAS-03K2C

GRAS-03S3M

GRAS-14S3M GRAS-14S3C

GRAS-14S5M GRAS-14S5C

GRAS-20S4M GRAS-20S4C

GRAS-50S5M GRAS-50S5C

register 51Ch is capped at 4095 (0xFF F), the maximum value allow ed by the Max_Value field of this register. Use the Max_Value of the ABS_VAL_SHUTTER register to det ermine the maximum shutter.

640x480 Y8, 60 FPS 0.01 2132 640x480 Y8, 30 FPS 0.01 2132 640x480 Y8, 15 FPS 0.01 2132 640x480 Y8, 60 FPS 0.01 2046 640x480 Y8, 30 FPS 0.01 3271 640x480 Y8, 15 FPS 0.01 3271 640x480 Y8, 7.5 FPS 0.01 3271 640x480 Y8, 3.75 FPS 0.01 24540 640x480 Y8, 1.875 FPS 0.01 49080 1280x960 Y8, 15 FPS 0.01 4225 1280x960 Y8, 7.5 FPS 0.01 6543 1280x960 Y8, 3.75 FPS 0.01 6543 1280x960 Y8, 1.875 FP S 0.01 16300 1280x960 Y8, 15 FPS 0.01 4629 1280x960 Y8, 7.5 FPS 0.01 6543 1280x960 Y8, 3.75 FPS 0.01 6543 1280x960 Y8, 1.875 FP S 0.01 24540 1600x1200 Y8, 30 FPS 0.01 1775 1600x1200 Y8, 15 FPS 0.01 3442 1600x1200 Y8, 7. 5 FPS 0.01 6543 1600x1200 Y8, 3. 75 FPS 0.01 3543 1600x1200 Y8, 1. 875 FPS 0.01 26175 1600x1200 Y8, 15 FPS 0.01 2777 1600x1200 Y8, 7. 5 FPS 0.01 5554 1600x1200 Y8, 3. 75 FPS 0.01 6543 1600x1200 Y8, 1. 875 FPS 0.01 19631

Table 11: Extended shutter minimum and maximum times

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Camera Operations and Features

Related Knowledg e Base Articles

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166 Extended shutter mode

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operation for DCAM 1.31compliant PGR Imaging Products.

4.5.6. Automatic Inter-Camera Synchronization

Multip l e Point G r e y FireWir e ca m e r a s , when t h ey a r e o n th e s a m e IEE E - 1 39 4 bu s an d ru n nin g at the same frame rate, are automatically synchronized to each ot her at the hardware level. Wh en usi ng multiple camer as, the timi ng of one ca mer a to another camer a is as f oll ows :

• If the cameras are on the same bus, the cameras are synchronized to within 125µs (microseconds) of each other (not e: 125µs is t he maxim um devia tion). However, t he 139 4 band wid th limit s the ma x imum nu mber of cameras tha t can be on one bus. See the section Maximum Number o f C a m eras o n a S i ngle 1394 B us for more information.

• If the cameras are on separate buses, use PointGrey’s MultiSync synchronize t he came ras across buses. T his can be used to sync hronize cameras on different buses within the same computer or on different buses across multiple com p uter s . Th e s of t wa r e w il l en s ur e t h at t h e came r a s ar e s y nc hroniz ed t o w ithin 125 µ s . If Multisync is not running, the re is no timing correlat ion between separate cameras on sepa r at e buses.

It is possible to offset t he synchronization of individual cameras relati ve to other cameras using the T RI GGE R_DELAY register 0x834.

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112 Sync hr onizing PGR cameras

across multiple PCs

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™

software to

4.5.7. Frame Rate Control

The current base frame rate is controll ed using the CURRENT_FRAM E_RATE register 0x600. The Grasshopper all ows u sers to furt her “fine-tune” the frame rates of their cameras using the FRAME_RATE register 0x83C, which is described i n detail in the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference . Thi s is particular ly useful for capturing an im age stream at a diff erent frame rate than those outlined i n the Supported Data For m ats and Modes section, and can be useful for synchronizing t o 50Hz li ght sources, whi ch can cause i m age intensit y fl uctuations due to t he li ght source oscill ations being out of sync with the frame rate.

For exampl e, users may wish to play an image stream back on a PAL-based system that displays at 25 FPS. To do this, set the CURRENT_FRAME_RATE to 30 FPS, set the A_M_Mode bit [7] of the FRAME_RATE r egister 0x83C to zero (manual), then adjust the value using the Value f ield or using the ABS_VAL_FRAME_RATE register (recommended).

4.5.8. Pixel Binning and Region of Interest Modes

The Grasshopper implements several DCAM Format_7 customizable video modes (see the Customizable For mats and Modes section f or camera-specific inform ation) that allow for f aster

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frame rates based on selec ting a specific region of interest (ROI) of the image or by confi guring the camera to sub-sampl e the image using a process known as “pixel binning”.

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Camera Operations and Features

4.5.9. Y16 (16-bit Mono) Image Acquisition

The Grasshopper can output Y16 (16 bi t-per- pix el) mono images. Howev er , the number of bits of usable data is limi ted to 12, or 4095 possible values, by the following:

• A 14-bit A/D convert er.

• On-camera adjustment of sharpness and gamma; on color models, white balance

adjustment and color processing are also inv olv ed.

To obtain 14 bits of usable data, or 65,532 pos si ble values, output i mages in Raw16 format using one of the following met hods:

• Acquire images in Y16 format, and set the Bayer_Mono_Ctrl field of the

IMAGE_DATA_FORMAT register 0x1048 to 1.

• Acquire images in a Form at_7 Raw16 f ormat.

Consult the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference for more information.

To determine t he num ber of bits of useable im age data, and resulting

The PGM file form at can be used to correctly save 16-bit images. However, there are very few photo manipul ation/display applications that can correctl y display true 16-bi t images. XV in Li nux and Adobe Photoshop are two possibilities.

signal-to-noise ratio, that is actually being produc ed by the A/D converter, see www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=170.

4.5.10. Asynchronous (External) Trigger Modes

The Grasshopper provides a num ber of diff erent asynchronous t rigger m odes, which all ows the start of exposure (shutter) to be initiated by an external electrical source (hardware trigger) or camera register write (software trigger). Supported modes include: 0, 1, 3, 14 and 15. These modes and their operation ar e described i n greater detail in the PG R IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference .

4.5.10.1. External Trigger Timing

The time from the ext er nal trigger going low to the start of shutter is shown below:

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Camera Operations and Features

External trigger

n min 1μs o less than 10μs

Exposure time

Data tr a n sfer

4 5

p shutter time q 1ms r 30ms (30 FPS)

Figure 4: Grasshopper external trigger timing characteristics

It is possibl e f or users to m easure t his t hem selv es by confi guring one of the camera’s GP IO pins to output a strobe pulse (see the Programmable Strobe Output section) and connecting an oscilliscope up to the input tri gger pin and the output strobe pin. The camera will strobe each time an image acquisiti on is triggered; the start of the str obe pulse represents the start of exposure.

4.5.10.2. Ensuring Trigger is Armed

It is possibl e f or the Grasshopper to be in asynchr ono us tri gger m ode but not be r eady to acc ept a trigger. T he reason f or this i s that the cam era may be current l y exposing an im age; t he camer a is only ready t o be triggered again when this image finishes integrating and is completely read off of the CCD.

To ensure that the camera is ready to be triggered, poll the SOFTWARE_TRIGGER register 0x62C or SOFT_ASYNC_TRIGGER register 0x102C. The concept of polling to ensure the trigger is armed is dem onstr ated in the AsyncTriggerEx ex ampl e pr ogr am distributed with t he FlyCapture SDK.

Once the trigger is reporting that it is armed, there should be no del ay between when the u ser can enable isochronous tr ansm i ssion and when they can tr igger the camera. In fact, it is possibl e to trigger the c amera before iso is enabled and receive the image that was triggered, pr ov ided iso is enabled at some point during exposure. For example, assuming a 10ms shutter time, it is possible to trigger the camera, enable iso 5ms after, and still receive the triggered image.

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and start of integr ation.

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signal using DCAM 1.31

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Trigger_Mode_0

4.5.10.3. Minimum Trigger Pulse Length

The minimum tr igger pul se length than t he camera will respond t o is 16 ti cks of t he current pixel clock. The pixel clock frequency can be read from the floating point PIXEL_CLOCK_FREQ register 0x1AF0.

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4.5.10.4. Changing Video Modes While Triggering

You can change the v ideo form at and mode of t he camera whil e operating the cam era in t rigger mode. Note that subsequent triggers may be ignored for a period of time, depending on the nature of the mode/format change and the frequency of triggering. relationship between changing video modes and tri ggering.

Camera Operations and Features

Figure 5 shows the

Figure 5: Relationship between video mode change and triggering

Any request to change vi deo mode following t he end of shutter integration of the last-trigger ed image (point A) causes subsequent t riggers to be ignored until the video mode r econfigurati on completes. Not e that this conf igur ati on does not begi n unt il the end of sensor readout of the lasttriggered image (point B) , and can last up to 10 ms, es pec ially if the request involv es a change in pixel cloc k speed. If, for some reason, sensor readout is delay ed, the m aximum tim e period t hat triggers are ignored is 1.5 s.

To determine if the camera is ready to accept a trigger, read bit 0 of SOFTWARE_TRIGGER register 0x62C. A value of 0 indicates readiness. For more inf ormation, see Section

The effects of mis s ed trigger s due to a video mode change are likely to

be felt most acutely when triggering in ‘overlapped exposure/readout mode’ (Mode 14).

4.5.10.2.

4.5.11. On-Camera Frame Buffer

The Grasshopper has 32MB of m emory that can be used for temporary im age storage. This m ay be useful in cases such as:

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Camera Operations and Features

1. Retransmission of an image is required due to data loss or corrupt ion.

2. Multiple cam era systems where there is insuff icient bandwidth to capt ure images in the

desired configuration.

This feature is controlled using the Frame Buffer register located at 0x12E8. For more informati on, please see TAN2007004: Accessing t he On-Camera F rame Buffer.

4.5.12. High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mode

The Grasshopper can be set into a High Dy namic Range mode in which the camera will r otate between 4 user-def ined shutt er and gain setti ngs. This all ows images representi ng a wide range of shutter and gain set ti ngs to be collect ed in a short tim e to be combined i nto a final HDR image later. The Grasshopper does not create the final HDR image; t his must be done by the user.

The format of the HDR register s i s as f ollows:

Offset Register Remarks

0x1800 HDR control register Toggle bit [6] to enable/disable HDR 0x1820 HDR shutter register for image 0 Similar to SHUTT E R regi ster 0x 81C 0x1824 HDR gain register for image 0 S im ilar to GAIN register 0x820 0x1840 HDR shutter register for image 1 Similar to SHUTT E R regi ster 0x 81C 0x1844 HDR gain register for image 1 S im ilar to GAIN register 0x820 0x1860 HDR shutter register for image 2 Similar to SHUTT E R regi ster 0x 81C 0x1864 HDR gain register for image 2 S im ilar to GAIN register 0x820 0x1880 HDR shutter register for image 3 Similar to SHUTT E R regi ster 0x 81C 0x1884 HDR gain register for image 3 S im ilar to GAIN register 0x820

Please note that the on/ off bit (bit [6]) for the HDR shutter and gain registers is hard-coded to on.

4.6. Image Processing

4.6.1. Color and Greyscale Conversion

In order to produce color (e.g. RGB, YUV) and greyscale (e.g. Y8, Y16) images, color Grasshopper model s perform on-board proc essing of the Bayer Tile Pattern out put produced by the CCD. The col or processing algorit hm used by the Grasshopper i s most similar t o the Edge Sensing algori thm implement ed by the P GR Fl yCapture l ibr ary, which weight s surrou ndi ng pix els based on localiz ed edge orientations. The prim ary differences are the emphasis pl aced on the edges and the user-configurabl e Sharpness f ilt er. To conv ert the Bayer Ti l e Pattern t o greyscal e, the Grasshopper adds the value for each of the RG B component s in t he col or processed pi x el to produce a single grey scale (Y) value for that pixel, as follows:

Y = R/4 + G/2 + B/4

For a full description of how Bayer Tiled color sensors and color filter arrays work, refer to Knowledge Base Article 89 (

4.6.1.1. Accessing Raw Bayer Data

Users interested in accessing the r aw Bayer data to apply their own color conversion al gor ithm or one of the Fl yCaptur e li brary algor ithms, shoul d acqui re im ages usi ng one of the F ormat _7 video modes that support Ra w8 or Raw16 pix el encoding. See the Custom izable Formats and M odes

http://www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=89).

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section f or f urther i nformation on ac quir ing images using these modes. A n al ternat iv e to thi s is to use the Bayer_Mono_Ctrl bit [24] of the IMAGE_DATA_FO RMAT r egister 0x1048. Setting t his bit to 1 enables ra w Bayer o utput i n non-Form at_7 Y8 / Y16 modes, or Form at_7 Mono8 / M ono16 modes.

The actual physical arrangement of the red, green and blue "pixels" for a given camera is determined by the arrangement of the color filter arrays on the imaging sensor itself. For example, t he CFA format of a Sony I CX204AK color CCD can be f ound in the "Bl ock Diagram and Pin Confi gur ation" section of it s

datasheet. The format (i.e. or der ) in whic h this raw color data

is streamed out, however, depends on the specific camera model and firmware version. This format can be queri ed usi ng the BAYER_TILE_MAPPING register 0x1040 that is implemented on all PGR cameras.

Raw image data can be acc essed programmatically via the pData poi nter in the FlyCaptur eImage structure (e.g. FlyCaptureImage.pData). In Raw8 modes, the first byte represents the pixel at (row 0, col umn 0), the second byte at (ro w 0, colum n 1), etc. In t he case of a 1600x1200 color Grasshopper that i s streaming out Raw8 im age data in RGGB format, if we ac cess the image data via the pData point er we have the following:

• pData[0] = Row 0, Column 0 = red pixel (R)

• pData[1] = Row 0, Column 1 = green pixel (G)

• pData[1600] = Row 1, Colum n 0 = green pixel (G)

• pData[1601] = Row 1, Colum n 1 = blue pixel (B)

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performed on my camera’s images?

4.6.2. Lookup Table and Gamma

The Grasshopper supports lookup table (LUT) and gamma functionality. CCD manufacturers strive to make the transfer characteristics of CCDs i nherently linear, which m eans that as the number of phot ons hitting t he imaging sensor increases, t he resulti ng image intensi ty increases will be linear.

The Grasshopper also provides an 11-bi t input lookup table t hat pr oduces 9-bit out puts. Al though the camera uses a 14-bit A/D converter, the Grasshopper is only able to accommodate 11-bit images. The LUT therefore allows the user to map the 2 to any one of 512 (2 any pixel wit h a value of 2047 (white) t o any value between 0 (black) and 512 ( white). O n color cameras, there are separate LUT channels for each entry, representing red, green, and blue values. Monochrom e cameras have a single grayscal e channel per entry. Col or cameras in a monochrome (Y 8) mode still requi re a three-channel RGB LUT bec ause the monochrom e image comes fr om a weighted sum of t he red, green and blue pi xel values (see Color and Greyscale Conversion) aft er the LUT has been applied.

Revised 26-Nov-10

) possible output values. F or exam ple, the LUT would all ow the user to m ap

, or 2048, different possible pixel values

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Gamma is applied after the analog-to-digital conversion and is controlled using the GAMMA register 0x818. It can be used to apply a non-linear mappi ng of the resulting 11-bit image down to 9 bits. By def ault, Gamma is OFF and has a value of 1.0, which yi elds a linear r esponse. For more inform ation regarding the LUT CS R registers, refer to t he PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera

Due to limitations in t he Bayer interpolator, LUT/ gamma correction is

unavailable in the following situations:

1. Pixel clock is gr eater than 50MHz. The pixel c lock f requency c an be read from the float ing point PIXEL_CLOCK_FREQ register 0x 1AF 0.

2. Image width or height is greater than 2040 pixels.

3. Image data form at is either Y8, Raw8 or Raw16.

Camera Operations and Features

4.6.3. Saturation

The Grasshopper supports saturation, which refers to color saturation, as opposed to saturation of a CCD charge. Saturati on is controlled using the SATURATION register 0x814

4.6.4. Sharpness

The Grasshopper supports sharpne ss, which refers to t he fil teri ng of an im age to r educe bl urri ng at image edges. Shar pness is implemented as an average upon a 3x3 bloc k of pixels, and is only applied to t he green component of the Bayer tiled pat tern. For sharpnes s values greather than 1000, the pix el is sharpened; f or values less t han 1000 it is blurred. When sharpness is in auto mode, if gain is low, then a small amount of shaping is applied, which increases as gain decreases. If the gain is high, a small amount of blur is appli ed, increasing as gain increases.

4.6.5. White Balance

The Grasshopper support s white bal ance, which i s a name giv en to a system of color c orrection to deal with dif fering lighting conditions. Adjusti ng the white balance by modif yi ng the relative gain of R, G and B in an image enables whit e areas to l ook "whiter" . Taki ng some subset of the target image and looking at the rel ative red to green and blue to green r esponse, the general i dea is to scale the red and blue channel s so that the response is 1:1:1. The white balanc e scheme outlined in the II DC specificati on states that blue an d red are adj ustable and that gr een is not . The blue and red values can be contr olled using the WHITE_BALANCE register 0x 80C.

The Grasshopper also implements Auto and One_Push white balance. One of the uses of one_push / auto white balance is to obtain a similar color balance between different camer as that are slightl y different fr om each other. Theoretic ally, if diff erent cameras are point ed at the same scene, using one_push / auto will result in a similar color balance between the cameras.

One_push is similar identical to auto white balance, except One-Push only attempts to automatic ally adjust whit e balance for a set period of tim e before stopping. The white balance of

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

the camera bef ore using One-Push/Auto m ust already be relativ ely close, i.e. if Red is set to 0 and Blue is at m axim um (t wo extr emes), O ne-Push/A uto will not work. However, if the cam era is already close to being color balanced, then it will work (i t may only be a small change) .

One_push only attempts to automatically adjust white balance for a set period of time before stopping. It uses a “white detection” algorithm that looks for “whitish” pixels in the raw Bayer image data. One_push adjusts t he white balance for a specifi c number of iterati ons; if it cannot locate any whit ish pix els, it will gradual ly look at the whit est objects i n the scene and t ry to work off them. It will c ontinue this until has completed it s finite set of iterations.

Auto is conti nual ly adjusti ng white bal ance. It dif fer s from one_push i n t hat i t work s alm ost sol ely off the whitest objec ts in the scene.

White balance may be unr esponsive in auto mode if aut o exposure is

< 0.1 EV (approximately) .

Camera Operations and Features

4.6.6. Image Flip / Mirror

The Grasshopper supports horizontal im age m irroring. The mi r ror image operation is done on the camera using the on-board frame buffer, and is controlled using the IMAGE_DATA_FORMAT register 0x1048, which is described in detail in the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference.

4.6.7. Test Pattern

The Grasshopper is capable of outputti ng a continuous static im age for testing and dev elopment purposes. The t est pattern i mage is inserted int o the imaging pi peline immediately prior to the transfer to the on-board FIFO, and is therefore not subject to changes in hue, saturation, sharpness, white balance or gamma. Test pattern support is only available for Y8, Y16 and YUV422 video m odes. The test pat tern i s a simple 8 bi t-per-pixel c ounter (the pix el intensiti es in each column increment from 0 to 255).

Figure 6: Test patt ern sample image (Mono and YUV formats)

The test patter n can be enabled using the TEST_PATTERN r egister 0x104C, which i s described in detail in the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Referenc e .

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Camera Operations and Features

4.6.8. Embedded Image Information

The Grasshopper has a feature that allows image timi ng and camera settings inform ation to be embedded in the first several pixels of each image. This feature is controlled using the FRAME_INFO register 0x12F8, which is described in detail in the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Ref er enc e.

4.7. Camera and Device Control

4.7.1. Voltage Sensor

The Grasshopper has an on-board sensor that al lows the user to monitor a variet y of different voltages, including the current 1394 bus voltage. This feature can be accessed using the VOLTAGE registers 0x1A50 – 0x1A54, which are described in detail in the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference.

4.7.2. Programmable Strobe Output

The Grasshopper is capable of outputting a strobe pulse off one or all of its GPIO pins. By default, a pin that is configur ed to be a strobe output will output a pulse each time the camera begins integrat ion of an image. S ett ing a strobe duration value of zero will produce a strobe pulse indicati ng the exposure ( shutter) time.

The Grasshopper can al so be confi gured to output a variable strobe pul se pattern. The strobe pattern functi onality allows users to def ine the frames f or which the camera will output a strobe. For example, this is useful in situations where a strobe should only fire:

• Every Nth frame (e.g. odd fr am es from one camera and even frames from another); or

• N frames in a row out of T (e.g. the last 3 frames in a set of 6); or

• Specific fram es within a defined period (e.g. frames 1, 5 and 7 in a set of 8)

Related Knowledg e Base Articles

ID Title URL

179 Set ting a GPIO pin to output a

signal using DCAM v 1.31 strobe

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=179

functionality

207 Set ting a GPIO pin to output a

strobe signal pul se pattern

212 GP IO str obe si gnal continues

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=207

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=212

after isochronou s image transfer stops

4.7.3. RS-232 Serial Port

The Grasshopper is capable of seri al communicati ons at baud rates up to 115.2Kbps vi a the onboard logic l evel serial por t built into the cam era’s GPIO connect or. To use this func tionality, a level conv er ter must be used to convert the TT L digital logic lev els to RS-232 volt age levels. B&B Electronics (

http://www.bb-elec.com/) part num ber 232LPT TL can be used for this conversion.

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Camera Operations and Features

Related Knowledg e Base Articles

ID Title URL

151 Configuring and testing the RS-

232 serial port

www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=151

4.7.4. Memory Channel Storage of Camera Settings

The Grasshopper has the abil ity to save and restore camer a settings and imaging parameters via on-board memory channels. Thi s is useful for saving default power-up settings, such as gain, shutter, vi deo format and frame rate, etc., that are diff erent from the factory default s.

Memory channel 0 is used f or the default factory settings t hat users can al ways restore to. The Grasshopper prov ides two additi onal memory c hannels for custom def ault settings. T he camera will initialize itself at power-up, or when expli citl y rei nitiali zed, using t he content s of the last sav ed memory channel . Attempting to save user sett ings to the (read-only) factory def aults channel will cause the camera to switch bac k to using the factory defaults during initialization.

Refer to the M emory Channel Registers sect ion in the Appendix for a full listing of all registers saved.

Memory channel s are configured using the following registers, which ar e described in detail in the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Regist er Reference: MEMORY_SAVE 0x618; MEM_SAVE_CH 0x620; and CUR_MEM_CH 0x624.

4.7.5. User Data Flash

The Grasshopper provi des the user with 512KB of flash memory f or the purposes of non-v olatile data storage. Thi s is useful for saving user data such as cal ibrati on files, software lic ense keys, etc. The memory is divided into 2048 pages, with 256 bytes av ailable per page. This f eature is controlled using the DATA_FLASH_CTRL register 0x1240, which is described in detail in the PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference.

4.7.6. Camera Upgrades

The firmware on the Grasshopper can be upgraded / d owngraded to l at er / ear lier versi ons using the UpdatorGUI program that is bundled with every firmware version available from

www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads/. The latest firmware versions often include significant bug

fixes and f eature enhancements that may benefit some users. To determine the changes made in a specific firmware versi on, consult the Rel ease Notes. For mor e information on updating c amera firmware, c onsul t t he UpdatorGUI User Manual available i n the downloads sect ion.

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Appen dix A: Spectral Response Curves

Appendix A: Spectral Response Curves

GRAS-03K2M

GRAS-03K2C

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GRAS-03S3M

Appen dix A: Spectral Response Curves

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GRAS-14S3M

Appen dix A: Spectral Response Curves

GRAS-14S3C

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GRAS-14S5M

Appen dix A: Spectral Response Curves

GRAS-14S5C

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

GRAS-20S4M

Appen dix A: Spectral Response Curves

GRAS-20S4C

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

GRAS-50S5M

Appen dix A: Spectral Response Curves

GRAS-50S5C

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Appendix B: Memory Channel Registers

CURRENT_FRAME_RATE 600h CURRENT_VIDEO_MODE 604h CURRENT_VIDEO_FORMAT 608h CAMERA_POWER 610h CUR_SAVE_CH 620h BRIGHTNESS 800h AUTO_EXPOSURE 804h SHARPNESS 808h WHITE_BALANCE 80Ch HUE 810h SATURATION 814h GAMMA 818h SHUTTER 81Ch GAIN 820h IRIS 824h FOCUS 828h TRIGGER_MODE 830h TRIGGER_DELAY 834h FRAME_RATE 83Ch PAN 884h TILT 888h ABS_VAL_AUTO_EXPOSURE 908h ABS_VAL_SHUTTER 918h ABS_VAL_GAIN 928h ABS_VAL_BRIGHTNESS 938h ABS_VAL_GAMMA 948h ABS_VAL_TRIGGER_DELAY 958h ABS_VAL_FRAME_RATE 968h IMAGE_DATA_FORMAT 1048h AUTO_EXPOSURE_RANGE 1088h AUTO_SHUTTER_RANGE 1098h AUTO_GAIN_RANGE 10A0h GPIO_XTRA 1104h SHUTTER_DELAY 1108h GPIO_STRPAT_CTRL 110Ch GPI O_CTRL_PIN_x 1110h, 1120h, 113 0h, 1140h GPI O_XTRA_PIN_x 1114h, 1124h, 1134h, 1144h GPI O_STRPAT_MASK_ PI N_x 1118h, 1128h, 113 8h, 1148h FRAME_INFO 12F8h FORMAT_7_IMAGE_POSITION 008h FORMAT_7_IMAGE_SIZE 00Ch FORMAT_7_COLOR_CODING_ID 010h FORMAT_7_BYTE_PER_PACKET 044h

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Appendix C: Glossary

Term Definition

1394a 1394b

Absolute Values

Analog-to-Digital Conver ter API

Asynchronous Transmi ssion

BPP

Brightness (%)

Config ROM

Color Processing

DCAM Abbr eviati on f or the IIDC 1394-bas ed D igital C amera ( DCAM) S pec ificatio n, which is the Dynamic Range

Exposure (EV) Firmware

Format_7

FPS Frame Rate

Gain (dB) Gamma

GPIO

An Institut e of Electr ical and El ectronics Engin eers (IEEE) interfac e standard capable of transferring data at a rate of 400Mbit per sec ond. An IEEE interface standard capabl e of transf erring d ata at a rate of 800Mbit per sec ond. Real-world values, such as millisecon ds (ms), deci bels (dB) or p ercent (%). Usi ng the absolut e v al ues is easie r an d m ore effic i ent than applyi ng c omplex con vers ion for mu l as to integer val u es . Often ab breviated as ADC or A /D convert ed, it is a device t hat converts a vol tage to a digital nu m b er . Applic ation Progr am mi ng Interf ac e. Essentiall y a li brary of soft w ar e f unc ti ons . The trans fer of imag e data from th e camera to th e PC that is r egulated by an external signal, such as a trigger. Asynchronous transfers do not guarantee when data will b e transferred. However, they do guarantee that data will arrive as sent. Asynchronous transf ers may be us ed when d ata integrit y is a hig her priorit y than speed. A n examp le might b e an im age dat a tr ansf er t o a pr in ter , w here s peed is less cr i tic al than get tin g th e im ag e pi x e ls cor r ec t . A syn c h r o n ou s t r ans fer s are i n i ti a t e d f rom a s i n gl e n o d e, d es i g n ated the ‘reques tor ’, to or fr om the addr ess spac e of anoth er nod e, desig nat ed th e ‘respon der’ . Asynchronous requests are packet-based. The requestor node generates a request packet that the 1394 bus sends to the responder node. The responder node is respons ible for h andling th e request packet and creating a respons e packet t hat is s ent back to the requestor node t o complete a single transfer. There are three types of 1394 asynchronous transfers: Read, Write and Lock. Bytes per packet. An image is broken into multiple packets of data, which are then stream ed isoch ronous ly to th e host s ystem. E ach pac ket is m ade up of multi ple byt es of data. This is essentiall y the level of black in an image. A high bright ness will r esult in a low amount of bl ack in th e image. I n the abs ence of nois e, the mini mum pixel value in an image acquired with a brightness setting of 1% should be 1% of the A/D converter’s minimu m v alue. Configur ation r ead-onl y memory. A s ecti on of mem ory dedic ated to d escribin g low-l evel device characteristics such as Model and Vendor ID, IEEE-1394 version compliance, base addr ess qu ad l et off s ets , etc. Also know n as ‘int erpolat ion,’ an algori thm for c onverti ng raw B ayer-t iled im age data int o full col or im ag es. Depending on c am er a m od el, th is process t ak es p l ac e ei th er on-camera or on the PC. For more information, refer to

standard used for building FireWire-based cameras. The diff erence betwe en the maximum an d minimum am ounts of light th at a sens or can measur e. This is b ounded on th e upper end b y the maxi mum char ge that an y pixel can contain (s ensor full wel l d ept h) an d at th e l ow er en d b y the small charge that ever y s ensor spontaneously generates (read noise). This is the average intensity of the image. It will use other available (non-manually adjust abl e) c ontr ols to adjust the im ag e. Programming that is inserted into programmable read-only memory, thus becoming a perman ent par t of a com puting d evice. F irm ware is c reated and test ed like s oftwar e an d can be load ed ont o the camera. Encompasses partial or custom image video formats and modes, such as region of interest of pixel binned modes. Format_7 modes and frame rates are defined by the camera manufacturer, as opposed to the DCAM specification. Frames Per Second. Often d efined i n terms of num ber of frames p er s econd (FP S) or f requ ency (Hz) . This i s the speed at which the camera is streaming images to the host system. It basically defines th e interval betw een c onsecutive image trans fers. The amou nt of amp lif ic ation th at is appl i ed to a pixel by th e A/D con ver ter. An incr ease i n gain can result in a brighter image and an increase in noise. Gamma defines the function between incoming light level and output picture level. Gamma c an also be us eful in emph asizin g details in t he dark est and/or brightest region s of the image. General Purpose Input/Output.

Knowl ed g e Bas e Article 33.

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Appendix C: Glossary

Grabb ing Im ag es Hz Isochronous Transmission

Lookup Table Node

Node ID

One Push PHY

Pan Pixel Clock

Pixel Format Quadlet

Quadlet Offset

Sharpness Shutter

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (dB)

SXGA Tilt Trigger

UXGA VGA White Balance

XVGA

A common ly-used ph rase to ref er to the proc ess of enabli ng isochr onous tr ansfers on a camera, which allows image data to be streamed from the camera to the host system. Hertz. A u nit of f requenc y; one Hert z has a periodic in terval of one sec ond. Oft en used interch an geably with F PS as a meas ure of fram e rate. The transfer of image data from the camera to the PC in a continual stream that is regulat ed by an intern al clock. Isoc hronous tr ansfers on the 139 4 bus guarant ee timely deliver y of data. Specif ic all y, isochr on ous trans fers ar e s c heduled b y th e bus s o t h at they occur onc e ever y 125µ s. Each 125µs times lot on th e bus is called a fram e. Isochr onous transf ers, unli ke as ync hr onous trans f ers, do n ot g uar ant ee th e int eg rity of d ata th r ough a transf er. No respons e packet is s ent for an isoc hronous tr ansfer. Is ochron ous transf ers are useful for situations that require a constant data rate but not necessarily data integrity. Exampl es inc lu d e video or audi o data transf ers . Isochron ous tr ans fers on the 13 94 b us do not target a specific node. Isochronous transfers are broadcast transfers which use chann el nu mb er s to d etermine dest ination. A matrix of gamma functions for each color value of the current pixel encoding format. An address able devic e attach ed to a bus. Althoug h multipl e nodes may be present withi n the same ph ysical enc los ur e (modul e), eac h has its own bus int erfac e and addr ess space and may b e res et ind ep en dently of the others. A 16- bit number that uniquely differentiates a node from all other nodes within a group of interc onnect ed bus es. Alth ough th e str ucture of th e node ID is bus -dep endent , it usu ally consists of a bus ID p orti on and a local ID p or t ion. The mos t s ig nificant bi ts of th e n od e ID are the sam e f or all n od es on th e s am e b us; this is th e b us ID. The least-si gn if icant bits of the node ID are uni que for each node on the s ame bus; this is called th e local ID. The local ID may b e ass i gned as a consequenc e of bus initi alizati on. For use wh en a contr ol is in man ual adj ust m ode, One Pus h sets a p aram eter to an autoadjust ed val u e, th en r etur ns th e c ontrol to manu al ad jus t m ode. Physic al layer. E ach 13 94 PHY pr ovid es the int erfac e to the 1394 b us and per forms key functi ons in th e c ommun ic ati ons pr ocess , suc h as b us c onfig ur ation, speed s ign alin g and detecti ng tr ans f er sp eed , 1394 bus cont r ol ar bi tration, and others. A mech anism t o hori zont al ly m ove th e curr ent port ion of the s ens or th at is b eing i mag ed. In stereo and spherical cameras, Pan controls which individual sensors transmit images. The rate at which the sensor outputs v oltage sign als in each pixel f r om the optical in put . The enc oding sch eme by whic h color or greysc ale imag es are pr oduc ed from raw im age data . A 4 byte (32-bit) value. The num ber of quadlet s separatin g a base addr ess and the d esir ed CSR address . For example, if the base ad dress is 0 xFFFFF0F 00000 and t he value of the quadlet offset is 0x100, th en th e ac t u al ad dress offs et is 0 x40 0 an d the actual adr ess 0 xF FF FF0F0040 0. A term us ed to describ e quad let-align ed address es that may be re ad or written b y bus transactions. This is how f ar a color is from a gray image of the sam e intensi ty. F or exampl e, red is highly saturated, whereas a pale pink is not. Software Development Kit This works by filtering the image to reduce blurred edges. A mech anism t o control t he l ength of t ime th e sens or is exp osed to light f rom the i mag e field f or each fr ame. In millis econds ( ms), it is t he amount of time t hat the shut ter stays open, als o known as the exposure or integration time. The s hutter time defines the start and end p oint of w h en lig ht falls on th e i m agi ng s ens or. At t h e en d of the exposur e p er i od , all charges are simultaneously transferred to light-shielded areas of the sensor. The charges are t h en s hif ted out of the light s hi el d ed areas of the sensor and read out. The differenc e b etw een the ide al s i gn al that you expect an d t he real- wor l d s ig n al that you actuall y see is us ually c alled nois e. The rel ations hip betw een sign al and nois e is calle d the signal-to-nose ratio (SNR). SNR is calculated using the general methodology outlined in

Knowledge Base Article 142.

1280x1 02 4 pi xel resolution A mechanism to vertically move the current portion of the sensor that is being imaged. A signal to whic h the acquisi tion of i mages by the c amer a is sync hroni zed. Tri ggers can be from an out s i d e elec tr ical sourc e (e xt er n al) or s oftware-g en erated (int er n al ) . 1600x1 20 0 pi xel resolution 640x48 0 pi xel r es ol uti on A method to enab le whit e areas of an im age to appear c orrectl y by modif ying the gain of red and blue channels relative to the green channel. White balance can be used to accommodate differing lighting conditions. 1024x768 pixel resolution

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Appendix D: Technical Support Resources

Point Grey Research Inc. endeavors to provide the highest level of technical support possible to our customers. Most support resources can be accessed through the Product Support section of our website: www.ptgrey.com/support

Creating a Customer Login Account

The first step in accessing our technical support resources is to obtain a Customer Login Account. This requires a valid name, e-mail address, and camera serial number. To apply for a Customer Login Account go to www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads/

Knowledge Base

Our on-line knowledge base at www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/

contains ans wers to some of the most common support questions. It is constantly updated, expanded, and refined to ensure that our customers have access to the latest information.

Product Downloads

Customers with a Cus tom er L o gi n Accoun t can access the latest sof twa re an d fir mwa re fo r t h ei r cameras from our downloads site at www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads

. We encourage our customers to keep their software and firmware up-to-date by downloading and installing the lat es t versions.

Contacting Technical Support

Before contacting Technical Support, have you:

1. Read the product documentation and user manual?

2. Searched the Knowledge Base?

3. Downloaded and installed the latest version of software and/or firmware?

If you have done all the above and still can’t find an answer to your question, contact our Technical Su

ort team at www.ptgrey.com/support/contact/.

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Appendix E: Contacting Point Grey Research

For any questio ns, co ncer n s or comme nt s please contact us via t he f ollowing met hods:

Email:

For all general questions about Point Grey Res earch please c ontact us at info@ptgrey.com.

For technical support (existing customers only) contact us at

Knowledge Base:

ht tp://www.ptgrey.com/support/contact/

Find answers to commonly asked questions in our k nowle dge base at

http://www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/

Downloads: Users can download the latest manuals and software from

ht tp://www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads/

Ma in Office: Mailing Ad dress:

Po int Grey R esearch, Inc. 1 2051 Riversi de Way Richmond, BC, Canada V6W 1K7

Tel: +1 (604) 242-993 7 Toll-free (North America only):

+1 (86 6) 765 -0827 Fax: +1 (604) 242-9938

sale s@ptgrey.com

Distribu tors

USA Tel: +1 (866) 765 -0827

Tel: +4 9 714 1 488 817-0 Fax: +49 7141 488817-99

eu-sales@ptg rey.com

Europe Israel

na-sales@ptgrey.com

Ma iling Add res s:

Po int Grey R esearch GmbH Schwieb erdinger Strasse 60 7 1636 Ludwig sbur g Germany

Japan ViewPLUS In c. (http://www.viewplus.co.jp/

Korea Cylod Co. Ltd. (http://www.cylod.com

China LUSTER LightVision Tech. Co., Ltd (www.lusterlighttech.com

Singapor e

Voltrium Sys tems Pte Ltd. (www.voltrium.com.sg Mala ysia Thailand

Taiwan Apo Star Co., Ltd. (www.apostar.com.tw

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)

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Appendix F: Revision History

Revision Date Notes

1.1 October 22, 2008

1.2 September 3, 2009

1.3 January 11, 2010

1.4 April 30, 2010

• Added max power consumpti on and si gnal to noise ratio values for 03K2 model to specific ation table in Section 1.3.

• Clarification in S ection 1.3.3 on dual tap sensor calibr ation.

• Added the 03K2 model to section 4.2 (Standard Data Formats

Modes and Frame Rates).

• Added explanati on of Form at_7 Mode_6 and Mode_7 to section

4.4 (Customiz able Data Formats and Modes).

• Added the O3K2 model to section 4.4 (Customizable Data Formats and Modes).

• Added the 03K2 model to section 4.5.5 (Extended Shutter Times)

• Updated Appendix D with new company addr es s and phone.

• Section 4.4 (Customizable Data Formats and Modes): Added

color binning is supported in the 14S3C and 20S4C models.

• Section 4.5.10 (A sync hr onous (Ex ternal) Trigger Modes) Clarifi ed supported modes are 0, 1, 3, 14 and 15.

• Replaced diagram of 1394b connec tor in Section 3.1. Previous diagram showed the cable connector, rather than the camer a.

• Replaced generic diagram in Section 2.6 of infra-red cutoff filter properties with one gener ated by Point Grey Research independent of cam era model.

• Section 1.3 (Specifications): Provided com plete part number of sensor used in the 03K2 m odel.

• Clarified that power input voltage range is 8-30 volts.

• Section

4.4 Customiz able Data Formats and Modes: Updated

frame rate tables.

• Section

4.5.1 Camera Power: Documented changes to power-

up behavior in firmware v 0.9.1-51.

• Section

4.5.9 Y16 (16-bit Mono) Image Acquisition: Clarified the

number of bits per pixel in Y16 format is 12.

• Added Section

4.5.10.4 Changing Video Modes While

Triggering.

• Change in specificati on table in Section are no longer tested to comply with FCC Class B standards for electromagnetic compatibility. They are now tested t o comply with FCC Class A standards.

• Moved spectral response curves to Appendix A.

• Section

1.3 Camera Specifications Added photon transfer curve

(PTC) measurements.

•

Appendix A: Spect r al Response Curves Added GRAS-14S3C curve.

Appendix F: Revision History

1.3 to indicate cameras

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Appendix F: Revision History

1.5 November 26, 2010

• Section

4.4 Customiz able Data Formats and Modes: Updated

frame rate tabl e for GRAS-50S5C.

• Section

4.6.5 W hite Balanc e: Added White balance may be unresponsive in auto mode if (approximately).

auto exposure i s < 0.1 EV

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Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Index

Appendix F: Revision History

16-bit Mono data format......See Y16 data format

absol u te mode.....................See absolut e valu es

absolute values...............................................35

asynchronous trigger.......................................39

minimum pulse len g th.................................40

timing .........................................................39

trigger armed..............................................40

backward compatibility

with 1394a..................................................18

with Flea.......................................................6

Bayer Tile color conversion.

binning ....................................

See color conversion

See pixel binning

cable length....................................................19

camera settings embedded in image................46

CFA.....................................

color c o n v ersion..............................................42

color filter array...............................................42

color interpolation................

color processing..................

compatibility with 1394a

compatibility compatibility with Flea

custo m image mode s.............. 27,

See color filter array

See color conversion See color conversion

See backward

See backward compatibility

See Format_7

DCAMSee IIDC 1394-based Digital Camera

(DC AM) Specificat ion

DCAM compliance ..........................................22

faster frame rates.............See regions of interest

firmware upgrades..........................................47

flash memory................................................. 47

Format_7....................................................... 27

frame buffer ................................................... 41

gain..........................................................36, 44

gamma.......................................................... 43

linearity...................................................... 43

general purpose input/output pins

electrical characteristics............................. 21

greyscale conversion...................................... 42

high dynamic ra nge (HDR) mode.................... 42

IIDC 1394-based Digital Camera (DCAM)

Specification .............................................. 22

IIDC compliance............................................. 22

image timestamp............................................ 46

input pins....................................................... 21

integ ration time..................................

Integ ration time................................

See shutter

See Shutter

lapto p compatibi li ty....................................11, 1 9

lens compatibility............................................ 15

long shutter........................

looku p ta ble ................................................... 43

LUT..........................................

See extended shutter

See lookup table

embedded image timestamp ...........................46

exposure time...................................

extended shutter.............................................37

extended shutter times

maximums..................................................37

external trigger.............

external trigger mi nimum dura tion....................40

external trigger timing info rmation....................39

Revised 26-Nov-10

See asynchronous trigger

See shutter

maximum bandwidth.......................................25

maximum cameras running.............................25

maxi mum frame rate .......................................26

memory channels........................................... 47

monochrome conver si on ................................ 42

mounting holes............................................... 16

optocoupler....................................................21

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference

Appendix F: Revision History

output pins......................................................21

output pulse.......................................

See strobe

partial image modes......................See Format_7

PGM fi le for mat for Y16 i ma g es.......................39

PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register

Refer ence...................................................22

pixel binning....................................................39

power .............................................................19

ranges for properties.......................................23

raw Bayer data.................................... 24, 27, 34

raw data

accessing ...................................................42

interpolating................................................42

real-world values..................

region o f inte rest.......................................27, 39

changing size .............................................27

moving.......................................................27

regions of interest........................................... 38

registers .........................................................12

ROI...................................

See absolute values

See region of interest

saving user data......................

See flash m emory

sharpness...................................................... 44

shutter .......................................... 23, 35, 36 , 3 7

signal to noise ratio ........................................ 39

software trigger ...........

See asynchronous trigger

strobe............................................................ 46

for duration of shutter................................. 46

variable pattern .......................................... 46

trigger ......................... See asynchronous trigger

trigger timing.................................................. 39

user data flash ............................................... 47

user data storage....................

See flash m emory

white balance................................................. 44

auto........................................................... 44

saturation.......................................................44

saving camera settings.....

See memory channels

Y16 data format..............................................39

Revised 26-Nov-10

Point Grey Grasshopper Technical Reference Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual