World’s smallest USB 3.0 industrial camera?
1 min read
A new series of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed industrial machine cameras based on Cypress' EZ-USB FX3 USB 3.0 controller sets a new benchmark for high speed industrial cameras, according to camera specialist, XIMEA.
XIMEA's MQ series is capable of generating 5Gb/s; the equivalent of 400Megapixels/s and incorporates high grade cmos sensors with global shutter. According to the company, it also features improved quantum efficiency in the visible and NIR spectral ranges, resolutions from VGA to 4Megapixels and frame rates of up to 600f/s. The series offers opto-isolated trigger input and lighting synchronisation output, on board non-volatile memory for user settings and custom data and an HDR model with dynamic range of up to 100dB. The cameras measure 26.4 x 26.4 x 19.1mm, weigh 26g and consume between 1 to 1.8W, which XIMEA claims makes it the smallest industrial USB 3.0 camera on the market.
USB 3.0 delivers the same features as USB 2.0 devices but at a much higher data rate of 5Gb/s compared to the latter's 480Gb/s - and also provides better power management; 20% of USB 2.0. Cypress says its new FX3 controller can enable USB 3.0 adoption across a variety of platforms.
Max Larin, ceo and head of product development and engineering at XIMEA, said: "We're very proud of our development time. Empowered with modern design methodologies and tools, as well as working with Cypress' FX3 development team, XIMEA's designers developed the MQ family in only 100 days while still achieving record data throughput performance in an unbelievably compact housing. It also helped that XIMEA is an active member of USB3 Vision Standard Committee, which will help us to ensure that all future MQ series cameras continue to comply with the emerging USB 3.0 standard."
Mark Fu, senior director of Cypress' USB 3.0 Business Unit, added: "The XIMEA MQ series cameras are a testament to the type of high quality video achievable thanks to the bandwidth provided by USB 3.0. The FX3 was designed to be flexible, programmable and to expedite speed to market for USB 3.0 designers. At this time of rapid USB 3.0 adoption, the XIMEA engineers were able to take advantage of these features and designed their MQ series cameras with remarkable speed."
