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Alkeria CELERA P Series User Manual

Dual-usb3 polarization camera
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Summary of Contents for Alkeria CELERA P Series

  • Page 1 series dual-USB3 polarization camera U S E R G U I D E...
  • Page 2 The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Information, drawings and illus- trations contained herein are the property of Alkeria SRL. No part of this manual may be reproduced or distributed by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the express written consent of Alkeria SRL.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    1.4.2 Run Alkeria player ........
  • Page 4 Summary 3.6 Handling precautions ........3.6.1 Temperature and humidity .
  • Page 5 Summary 4.5.1 Polarity ......... . 4.5.2 Open collector .
  • Page 6 8.9 Pattern Generator ......... 100 9 Alkeria Advanced Sequencer 9.1 Sequencer Enabled Controls .
  • Page 7 10.3.4 Trigger ......... . . 114 10.3.5 Alkeria Advanced Sequencer ......114 10.3.6 Advanced features .

  • Page 8: Getting Started

    1. Getting started Getting started 1.1 REQUIREMENTS For getting started with CELERA P you will need the material listed below: • A CELERA P camera equipped with a lens adapter (Figure 1.1); • A lens compatible with the chosen lens adapter; •...

  • Page 9: Software Download

    After camera purchasing, our Sales Department will provide you with access to our website’s User Area. In there you can find everything you need to set and use the camera: manuals, guides, tutorials, software and firmware updates. Users Area accounts are personal, and can only be created by Alkeria’s Sales Dept.
  • Page 10 1. Getting started Step 2: Click on “User Area - Support” top-right button (Figure 1.4) Figure 1.4: User Area button Step 3: Once redirected to login form, insert your username and password and click “Log in” (Figure 1.5) Figure 1.5: User Area log in form Step 4: On “Downloads”...
  • Page 11 1. Getting started Step 5: Click on “Download” to download a file (fig. 1.7) Figure 1.7: Example of file listing inside Linux & Windows SDK category Figure 1.8: Example of single file view Step 6: Click on the “Log out” orange button to end your session (Figure 1.8), then install the downloaded executable as administrator.

  • Page 12: Connections

    1. Getting started 1.3 CONNECTIONS Before starting, connect the camera to the PC following these steps: Step 1: Mount the camera on a stable support; Step 2: Mount the lens on the adapter; Step 3: Connect the USB micro-B plug (Figure 1.2b) to the camera;...

  • Page 13: First Start

    CELERA P cameras and check the correct camera and software installation. Once installed Mae- stroUSB3 SDK, you can find the application at the following path: Program Files\Alkeria\USB3\MaestroUSB3\Players Alternatively, you can easily start the Alkeria player by accessing the Windows Start button and look for Alkeria player from the MaestroUSB3 Program folder: Start->All programs->Alkeria->USB3->MaestroUSB3.
  • Page 14 1. Getting started Figure 1.9: Alkeria player main window A subset of the toolbar controls is shown in Table 1.1. Init Initialize the camera to default settings (camera power-up status). Play Start image playback. Stop Stop image playback. Settings Open the settings panel.

  • Page 15: Introducing Celera P Cameras

    Introducing CELERA P Cameras CELERA P is Alkeria’s answer to the demand of its OEM customers in medical and industrial fields. Fea- turing a USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 interface, complying with the modern advance in machine vision, CELERA P takes performances to a new level thanks to its unique dual-USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 solution, specifically de- signed to get the best SONY Pregius Polarized CMOS sensors, sharing the same compact, reliable and versatile form factor of its NECTA line-scan counterpart.
  • Page 16 2. Introducing CELERA P Cameras Figure 2.1: CELERA P camera Figure 2.2: CELERA One P camera...

  • Page 17: Detailed Specifications

    56 mm x 56 mm x 38.3 mm Size (with F-mount) 56 mm x 56 mm x 67.3 mm Conformity CE, RoHS, FCC, IC Operating temperature 0 ÷ 50 °C (referred to housing) Software MaestroUSB3 www.alkeria.com/products/CELERA-series Link Warranty 24 months Table 2.2: CELERA C5S-MP Specifications...
  • Page 18 56 mm x 56 mm x 38.3 mm Size (with F-mount) 56 mm x 56 mm x 67.3 mm Conformity CE, RoHS, FCC, IC Operating temperature 0 ÷ 50 °C (referred to housing) Software MaestroUSB3 www.alkeria.com/products/CELERA-series Link Warranty 24 months Table 2.3: CELERA CO5S-MP Specifications...

  • Page 19: Optional Accessories

    • NIO-x cable for I/O interconnection – 3, 5, 10 m long available (see Section 4.1). 2.3 ORDERING INFORMATION Alkeria has various camera series in its product line: each series has several models, with different res- olutions, color modes and accessories.

  • Page 20: Usb 3.2 Gen 1X1 Superspeed Interface

    2. Introducing CELERA P Cameras 2.4 USB 3.2 GEN 1X1 SUPERSPEED INTERFACE CELERA P cameras exploit the USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 standard interface to fulfill the bandwidth requirements of fast image sensors and communicate with PC. In order to maximize the usable bandwidth of installed USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 controller, the user can choose between isochronous endpoint and bulk endpoint for transmitting video stream.

  • Page 21: Usb 3.2 Gen 1X1 Controller Cards

    2. Introducing CELERA P Cameras 2.4.3 USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 controller cards Since each host controller performs better either with isochronous or bulk endpoints, it is recommended to make extensive testings to determine the best controller-endpoint configuration. This is especially true if you want to reach the maximum speed.

  • Page 22: Software License

    2. Introducing CELERA P Cameras upon purchase of CELERA P cameras. Refer to the software manual available along with MaestroUSB3 SDK for a full description of the development system, the installation procedures, software functions and source code examples. Note All code examples in this document are written in C#. 2.6.1 Software License CELERA P customers are granted free use of MaestroUSB3.
  • Page 23 Should any liquid (like water, beverages or chemical substances) flow into the camera, STOP using it IMMEDIATELY and ask your distributor or Alkeria SRL for technical support. Store your CELERA P Camera with the lens opening covered to avoid dust contamination.

  • Page 24: Hardware Description

    3. Hardware Description Hardware Description 3.1 SENSORS CELERA P cameras employ last-generation Polarized CMOS sensors manufactured by SONY. Please refer to the table above (see Section 2.1.1) to identify the sensor used in each camera model, indicating the resolution and size of the pixel cell. 3.1.1 SONY IMX MZR Sensors 3.1.1.1 Monochrome Spectral response The graph in Figure 3.1 shows the quantum efficiency of the sensors used in CELERA P cameras equipped...

  • Page 25: Filters

    3. Hardware Description Figure 3.1: Quantum efficiency for SONY IMX polarized sensors - Source: SONY Pixel (0,0) Figure 3.2: Polarizer filter pattern 3.2 FILTERS CELERA P color camera models are equipped with Infrared cut-off filters to reduce unwanted camera sensitivity in the near-infrared spectrum. CELERA P monochrome models are equipped with transparent protective glass with the properties re- ported in Table 3.1.

  • Page 26: Mechanical Description

    Table 3.1: Protection glass characteristics Please note that CELERA P cameras can also be provided without protective glass or IR filter installed. Please contact Alkeria SRL Sales Offices for information. 3.3 MECHANICAL DESCRIPTION The housing of CELERA P cameras is made of black anodized aluminum alloy, using high-precision ma- chining.
  • Page 27 3. Hardware Description M4 4,4 n°4 holes n°8 holes I/O connector Hirose HR10-10R-12SA(73) Power/Status LED n°4 holes Dimensions in mm A - B - C Reference Datum Figure 3.4: CELERA P camera dimensions (without lens adapter)
  • Page 28 3. Hardware Description M4 4,4 n°4 holes n°8 holes I/O connector Hirose HR10-10R-12SA(73) Power/Status LED n°4 holes Dimensions in mm A - B - C Reference Datum Figure 3.5: CELERA One P camera dimensions (without lens adapter)

  • Page 29: Adapters For Standard Lens

    3. Hardware Description 3.4 ADAPTERS FOR STANDARD LENS CELERA P family has some adapters available (described below) which allow using standard lens. The housing of CELERA P cameras also allows you to easily build your own adapters for custom optical lenses, to achieve the performance, economy and precision level required even by the most demanding application.

  • Page 30: Maximum Lens Protrusion

    3. Hardware Description Warning The maximum tightening torque for screws is 2.0 N m. Exceeding the maxi- mum tightening torque may damage the camera. Caution Do not contaminate the sensitive area of the camera. Avoid exposing optical parts to dust and dirt during handling operations; always operate in a clean working area, as dry as possible and free from dust.

  • Page 31: F-Mount Adapter

    3. Hardware Description 3.4.2 F-Mount adapter F-mount flange NAD-F adapter Lens insertion reference Lens lock pin 56,20 Figure 3.8: NAD-F F-Mount mechanical drawings The NAD-F adapter allows interfacing any CELERA P camera models with standard F-mount lenses. To connect the adapter, simply align the NAD-F adapter to the front holes of the camera and tighten the four M4 hex screws supplied with it.

  • Page 32: Flange Focal Distance

    3. Hardware Description Caution Do not contaminate the sensitive area of the camera! Avoid exposing optical parts to dust and dirt during handling operations; always operate in a clean working area, as dry as possible and free from dust. For best results, keep the camera facing downwards during operations.

  • Page 33: Handling Precautions

    3. Hardware Description 3.6 HANDLING PRECAUTIONS The optical parts of CELERA P cameras are assembled in a clean environment and the camera lens mount is factory sealed using a protective film, preserving optical parts from being contaminated by dust. Re- move the seal only just before connecting the lens.

  • Page 34: Monitoring Internal Temperature

    3. Hardware Description for a correct thermal management, keeping in mind that these general guidelines must be customized by an experienced technician. • Make sure a lens is always mounted on the camera. The lens acts as a heatsink and contributes keeping the system temperature low.

  • Page 35: Emi/Esd Precautions: Noise And Electrostatic Discharge

    3. Hardware Description • Fault: Temperature exceeded the 80 °C operative limit and the image acquisition was suspended to reduce the temperature below the fault threshold. The acquisition can be resumed only when the temperature is less than 75 °C. 70°C 80°C 65°C...

  • Page 36: Cleaning Celera P Camera

    Improper cleaning procedures may damage camera components. Contact Alkeria SRL if you are not familiar with the procedures described below. Any dam- age to the sensor, filter, protection glass and camera housing that occurred during cleaning procedures is not covered by the Alkeria SRL warranty.

  • Page 37: Impurities

    3. Hardware Description • Avoid touching any optical surface with rough materials. • Use only optical grade wipes, so as not to leave dirt residues and to scratch the glass. Never use commercial grade cotton swabs. • Use only low residue optical grade cleansers, this avoids haloes over the glass. 3.7.4 Impurities Before cleaning any parts, it is crucial to understand where impurities are located.

  • Page 38: Sensor Cleaning

    • repeat the cleaning motion until all impurities are removed. If you are not satisfied with your cleaning results, please contact rma@alkeria.com to arrange the cam- era return procedure (refer to Section 11.1).

  • Page 39: After Cleaning Procedure

    3.7.8 After cleaning procedure Risk of electric shock Before reconnecting the plugs, be sure that cleaning materials have evapo- rated. If any liquid has penetrated the camera housing, contact Alkeria SRL before plugging any connector (see Section 11.1).

  • Page 40: Interfacing To The World

    4. Interfacing to the world Interfacing To The World CELERA P features a robust circular I/O connector (Hirose p/n HR10-10R-12SA (73)) interfacing to ex- ternal signals. The I/O connector provides two input lines, two output lines and a programmable I/O line;...

  • Page 41: Detecting I/O Power

    4. Interfacing to the world Name Function Bidirectional port, negative input Bidirectional port, positive input Input port, negative input Input port, positive input Ground DC Out DC Output - 300 mA max Output port, negative output Output port, positive output Input port, negative input Input port, positive input Output port, negative output...

  • Page 42: I/O Cable

    4. Interfacing to the world Caution Always check your camera I/O power compatibility before interfacing the camera to other devices. Connecting the camera to incompatible input signals may cause permanent damage to the camera itself. 4.1 I/O CABLE The CELERA P I/O connector can host a cable to interface the camera to the world. Standard interface cables can be provided as optional accessories (refer to Section 2.2);...

  • Page 43: Power Selection

    4. Interfacing to the world If you need to build your own I/O cables, please use a good cable featuring a braid whose shielding co- efficient is greater than 85 %, and connect the external braid shielding to the connector body. The max- imum allowed length for the I/O cable is 10 m;...

  • Page 44: Debouncing Module

    4. Interfacing to the world Warning To ensure proper operation of the input circuit, the reference ground related to input signals must be connected to the camera as well. CELERA camera Termination Enable Input Port + 3,3V FPGA Data In Input Port - 125K 8,2K...

  • Page 45: Input Events

    4. Interfacing to the world stream modules. Warning The debouncing filter adds a delay to the signal chain, starting from the instant when it has actually become stable, as long as the selected sampling time (see Figure 4.6). The debounce time can be set between 0 (debouncing disabled) and 65 535 µs, with a 1 µs granularity.
  • Page 46 4. Interfacing to the world Figure 4.7: Input event generation and readout Warning Event flags are set at each input event; when consecutive input events of the same type (rising or falling) happen between two event flag readouts (event flag overrun), the input event latches the first event only and the following events will be lost.

  • Page 47: Ttl / Lv-Cmos / 12 V

    4. Interfacing to the world Figure 4.9: Connecting an output port to four input ports, terminating the last input port Warning To ensure the electrical signal integrity on the bus, you must connect only the termination resistor (120 Ω) to the last device (on the right in the figure above). If the last device is a CELERA P camera, you can simply enable its internal ter- mination via software (see Code 4.16).
  • Page 48 4. Interfacing to the world User Device User GND Output Figure 4.10: Connecting a LV-TTL signal to input port P1+ signal. Following table shows how to configure the threshold level in CELERA P with 24 V tolerant I/O, using the properties PIOHighVoltageOut and PIOHighThreshold. PIOHighVoltageOut PIOHighThreshold Input maximum Voltage...

  • Page 49: Output Module Structure

    4. Interfacing to the world CELERA camera Output Enable Output Port + FPGA Data Out Output Port - Camera GND LTC2855 Figure 4.11: CELERA P with 5 V tolerant output port internal structure CELERA camera Output Enable Output Port + FPGA Data Out Output Port -...
  • Page 50 4. Interfacing to the world 4.3.2.1 RS-422 CELERA P output ports natively support differential signaling according to the RS-422 standard. User Device User GND Input- Input+ Figure 4.13: Connecting output port P3 to a RS-422 input Warning To ensure signal integrity on the bus it is highly recommended to use the RS- 422 bus topology and keep all the bus connections to slave devices as short as possible.

  • Page 51: Ttl / Lv-Cmos

    4. Interfacing to the world Warning Connecting CELERA P camera outputs to an external RS-644 device inputs WITHOUT using the recommended resistive divider may seriously damage your device. User Device User GND Input- Input+ Figure 4.14: Connecting output port P3 to a RS-644 input 4.3.2.3 LV-TTL / LV-CMOS User Device User GND...

  • Page 52: To 24 V Output

    4. Interfacing to the world 4.3.2.4 5 to 24 V Output User Device User GND Input+ 24 Vdc Figure 4.16: Connecting output port P3+ to a 24 V input CELERA P with 24 V tolerant I/O interface can drive also 5 to 24 V inputs using the connections shown in Figure 4.16: the ‘0’...

  • Page 53: Using Input Signals

    4. Interfacing to the world Warning Input signals are usually processed by the debouncing module (see Section 4.3.1.1), which avoids false acquisitions when the input signals may contain glitches. However, the debouncing module obviously limits the input signal bandwidth: when an input signal is changing very fast, properly setting the related debouncing module, or even disabling it, may be necessary to avoid losing events.

  • Page 54: Encoder Hysteresis

    4. Interfacing to the world quadrature signals (marked as A and B in Figure 4.18 and following) can be routed to any of the three camera inputs and are fed to the encoder module after being filtered by the debouncing module (see Sec- tion 4.3.1.1).

  • Page 55: Configuring The Encoder Module

    4. Interfacing to the world Figure 4.20: Ticks generated when ignore direction is enabled Figure 4.21: Ticks generated when ignore direction is disabled 4.4.1.3 Configuring the encoder module The following code sets the input ports 1 and 2 as the phase (A) and quadrature (B) encoder inputs. The encoder module is programmed to generate a trigger only when rotating in the positive direction.

  • Page 56: Frequency Multiplier (Phase Locked Loop (Pll))

    4. Interfacing to the world Example Code 4.4 | Encoder position read uint position = device.Encoder.CurrentPosition; // Read counter current value device.Encoder.Reset(); // Reset value to 0 position = device.Encoder.CurrentPosition; // Now position is 0 Note When the encoder position is reset, the targets of all trigger modules are au- tomatically reset too and restart counting from 0 (see Chapter 6).

  • Page 57: Trigger Manager

    4. Interfacing to the world The maximum allowed input jitter, expressed as the maximum absolute variation of the input period, is: (4.3) · M while the maximum absolute jitter of the trigger output is not greater than 21 ns. Note Jitter in frequency input signals or encoder rotational affects the output trig- ger, resulting in erratic acquisition cadence.

  • Page 58: Controlling Output Ports

    4. Interfacing to the world • Acquisition-start; • Frame-start; • End-of-exposure. For further information refer to Chapter 6. 4.5 CONTROLLING OUTPUT PORTS CELERA P outputs can be directly controlled by software or reflect the state of internally generated signals; the latter allows to synchronize lighting systems and/or external capture devices with CELERA P acquisition.

  • Page 59: Open Collector

    4. Interfacing to the world Example Code 4.8 | Output inversion device.PIOPorts[3].Invert = true; Note The Invert property affects output signals only. It has no effect on input sig- nal decoding. 4.5.2 Open collector The high voltage output mode can be directly set by your application. The following code sets port 4 as open-collector: Example Code 4.9 | Drive 24 V input signals (device.PIOPorts[4].OpenCollectorModeAvailable)

  • Page 60: Exposure

    4. Interfacing to the world 4.5.4.1 Exposure The exposure signal is active during the exposure phase of each line capture (the time the shutter is open). The following code sets the exposure signal as the source for output port 3. Example Code 4.11 | Exposure as P3 source device.PIOPorts[3].Source = OutputSource.Exposure;...

  • Page 61: Trigger

    4. Interfacing to the world Note The strobe signal is not a generalization of the exposure signal described in 4.5.4.1, but actually a different signal with its own use: both signals originate from the frame start event trigger, although they can have different delays with respect to it.

  • Page 62: Input And Output Ports Usage Examples

    4. Interfacing to the world 4.5.6 Input and output ports usage examples The following code configures CELERA P port 0 (bidirectional) as an input, sets 10 µs as debounce time and enables the internal differential termination: Example Code 4.16 | P0 configuration as input device.PIOPorts[0].Direction = IODirection.Input;...

  • Page 63: Serial Interface Output Configuration

    4. Interfacing to the world Example Code 4.18 | Serial interface output configuration device.PIOPorts[0].Source = OutputSource.UARTTx; // Uart Tx on Port 0 device.PIOPorts[0].Direction = IODirection.Output; // Port 0 output direction device.UART.BaudRate = 38400; // 38400 bps byte[] byte[16]; // Data to send device.UART.Send(b);...

  • Page 64: System Setup

    5. System Setup System Setup 5.1 USB SETUP CELERA P is controlled and powered through the USB connector. When the camera is connected to the PC through one USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 hub, you must be sure that the hub directly connected to the camera uses a suitable power supply: using poor quality power supplies may degrade the performance of the camera or damage it.

  • Page 65: Recommended Usb Interface

    EMI/RFI performance. 5.1.2 Recommended USB interface To get maximum performances out of Alkeria cameras, it is essential to choose the right USB3 host con- troller, focusing on it’s maximum throughput, since the controller is responsible for the actual available bandwidth.
  • Page 66 PCI Express USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 host adapter as reported in Figure 5.1b. For any doubt about the choice of the host controller or PC settings, please contact Alkeria SRL technical support at support@alkeria.com.

  • Page 67: Status Led

    GREEN USB plugged and enumerated ORANGE Camera acquiring BLINKING Generic error (contact support@alkeria.com ) Other Generic error (contact support@alkeria.com ) Table 5.1: Status LED behaviour Different behaviours of the status LED may indicate that the camera is malfunctioning. CELERA P features two status LEDs on its back, showing the operating conditions of the camera. When one or both camera connectors are plugged in, LEDs remain red until the computer detects and config- ures the camera, then they both turn to green.

  • Page 68: When One Celera P Is Not Enough

    5. System Setup 5.3 WHEN ONE CELERA P IS NOT ENOUGH... You can even connect multiple CELERA P cameras at the same PC and use them simultaneously: API makes it possible to balance each video data stream. When designing the application, you can choose how the connected CELERA P cameras will share the available USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 bandwidth, freely modulating acquisition rate, pixel format and Region-Of- Interest (ROI) of each CELERA P based on the specific application needs.

  • Page 69: Trigger

    6. Trigger Trigger CELERA P supports asynchronous triggering, which allows capturing a specified number of images, con- trolling exposure start and duration through configurable events called “triggers”. The modules generating trigger events are examined below. They are: • Acquisition-start trigger; •...

  • Page 70: Acquisition Start Trigger

    6. Trigger The GetAvailableSources method, when applied to a trigger module, returns the trigger sources that can be selected for that module. Example Code 6.1 | Get all selectable trigger sources TriggerSource[] sources = trigger.GetAvailableSources(); (Array.Exists(sources, => == TriggerSource.Encoder)) trigger.Source = TriggerSource.Encoder;...

  • Page 71: Trigger Delay

    6. Trigger 6.5 TRIGGER DELAY Each module can delay the signaling of the trigger event for a period of time, set through the module’s TriggerDelay property. When an external signal is used as a trigger source, the delay set through TriggerDelay combines with the delay due to the debounce time set on the related input port (see Section 4.3.1.1).

  • Page 72: Trigger Configuration Example

    6. Trigger These signals are named after the generating trigger module and can be sent to the output ports. You can also identify when the exposure is in progress by checking the exposure signal status. A trigger module accepts an input signal only when its trigger-ready signal is active; trigger signals are otherwise ignored and increment an overrun counter.

  • Page 73: Signal-Driven Exposure Time

    6. Trigger External Input Exposure FrameStartTriggerReady Figure 6.3: External trigger frame acquisition timings Example Code 6.3 | External trigger frame acquisition device.Shutter = 1000; // Set shutter time to 1 ms device.FrameStartTrigger.Source=TriggerSource.External; // Select the external trigger source device.FrameStartTrigger.ExternalInput = 1; //Select input port 1 device.PIOPorts[1].DebounceTime = 1;...

  • Page 74: Encoder Synchronization

    6. Trigger device.PIOPorts[3].Source = OutputSource.FrameStartTriggerReady; // Trigger ready device.ExposureEndTrigger.Source = TriggerSource.External; device.ExposureEndTrigger.ExternalInput = 1; // Select input port 1 device.ExposureEndTrigger.DetectExternalInputEdge = true; device.ExposureEndTrigger.InvertExternalInput = true; // Falling edge device.ExposureEndTrigger.Enabled = true; // Enable frame trigger device.PIOPorts[4].Source = OutputSource.ExposureEndTriggerReady; // Trigger ready 6.6.3 Encoder synchronization In the following example the camera acquires images of some items carried by a conveyor.

  • Page 75: The Processing Chain

    7. The processing Chain The processing Chain The image processing is performed on-camera, both by the sensor and the embedded FPGA, saving com- putational power on your PC and making it available for the application. Refer to Section 8.6 for more information about camera controls such as white balance, digital gain, etc.

  • Page 76: Chunk Data

    7. The processing Chain SENSOR Black level Analog Gain Flip Vertical ROI PRE-PROCESSING Horizontal Light meter Digital gain IMAGE PROCESSING Polarization LUTs processing mapping RAW16 Figure 7.1: Monochrome polarized camera processing chain diagram 7.2 CHUNK DATA CELERA P cameras can optionally transmit a set of additional information along with the acquired image, that can be used for debugging purposes and data analysis: a frame is identified by its serial number and time stamp;...

  • Page 77: Frame Number

    7. The processing Chain 7.2.1 Frame number The FrameNumber field is a progressive 16-bit unsigned integer. If the acquisition-start trigger is active (see Section 6.1), the counter is reset at the acquisition startup and counts from 0 to Acquisition- BurstLength – 1, then starts over; otherwise, the counter cycles from 0 to 65535, then starts over. Example Code 7.2 | Enable frame number chunk data field device.EnableChunkData = true;...

  • Page 78: Burst Number

    7. The processing Chain Example Code 7.5 | Enable input status chunk data captured at frame-start trigger event device.EnableChunkData = true; device.EnableChunkDataField(ChunkDataField.FrameInputStatus); 7.2.5 Burst number The BurstNumber field is a 16-bit progressive unsigned number. If the Acquisition-start trigger is active (see Section 6.1), the counter is incremented at each acquisition-start trigger.

  • Page 79: Flush And Autoflush

    7. The processing Chain 7.3.1 Flush and AutoFlush When the frame combiner module is active, the output picture becomes available only when all the re- lated input frames has been triggered and acquired. When the acquisition is stopped before a whole set of frames has been acquired, you can still use the flush operation to retrieve a “partial”...

  • Page 80: Capturing Images

    8. Capturing images Capturing images 8.1 VIDEO MODES Before starting acquiring with CELERA P you must choose a video mode, associated with a specific con- figuration (ROI, pixel format, frame rate, etc.). Video modes allow selecting image resolution, region of interest (ROI) and output format.
  • Page 81 8. Capturing images • Virtual Angle: starting from an arbitrary polarization angle defined by the user through the Vir- tualAngle property, calculates the frame which would be acquired by a monochrome camera with a similar filter in front of the lens. This property may be changed during acquisition, in order to simulate the rotation of a physical polarizing filter.

  • Page 82: Extracting Polarized Data

    8. Capturing images Note In Video Mode 0 and 2, each superpixel is processed in order to provide a single pixel. For this reason, maximum horizontal and vertical resolution are halved. 8.1.1.1 Extracting polarized data Stokes 1 and Stokes 2 outputs are encoded in 16-bit offset binary code, in order to guarantee a correct ′...

  • Page 83: Mode 1 (Raw)

    8. Capturing images Note Enabling or disabling the secondary video source involves automatic recom- puting of the packet size boundaries (see Section 8.5.4). 8.1.2 Mode 1 (RAW) Mode 1 allows acquiring RAW data from the sensor, with no additional processing (available pixel for- mats are RAW8 and RAW16).
  • Page 84 8. Capturing images (a) AoLP (b) AoLP/DoLP (c) AoLP/DoLP/S0 Figure 8.2: Mode 2 outputs A ROI is defined by programming the requested number of rows and columns and the starting position (setting the image ImageStartX, ImageStartY, ImageSizeX and ImageSizeY parameters as shown below): ImageSizeX 15 16...

  • Page 85: Pixel Format

    8. Capturing images Example Code 8.3 | ROI configuring example // Ensures that ROI start position plus size does not exceed max sensor area device.ImageStartX = 0; device.ImageStartY = 0; // Set ROI size device.ImageSizeX = 1536; device.ImageStartX = 16; // Set ROI starting position device.ImageSizeY = 1024;...

  • Page 86: Adc Resolution

    8. Capturing images though the frame is processed, to distinguish from a standard Monochrome processing (i.e. contrast, sharpness). Note When using Mode 1 RAW formats, please consider that the camera output will be an image filtered with the polarized array, resulting in a checkered image. Example Code 8.4 | Set pixel format to RGB24 device.ColorCoding = ColorCoding.RGB24;...

  • Page 87: Frame Rate And Bandwidth

    8. Capturing images Example Code 8.5 | Set ADCResolution property to 10 bits device.ADCResolution = 10; Warning ADC resolution can be set only when camera is not acquiring. Note Changing ADC resolution involves automatic recomputing of the packet size boundaries (see Section 8.5.4). 8.5 FRAME RATE AND BANDWIDTH Acquired frames are sent to the host computer through the USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 connection.

  • Page 88: Bandwidth Limits For Isochronous Endpoint

    8. Capturing images Note Not all USB host controllers can handle the total available bandwidth: for more information about the recommended hardware configuration support- ing the maximum CELERA P cameras throughput, refer to Section 2.4. 8.5.2 Bandwidth limits for isochronous endpoint User can limit the maximum bandwidth reserved to the camera through the SetBandwidthLimits method.

  • Page 89: Bandwidth Limit For Bulk Endpoint

    8. Capturing images Example Code 8.6 | Sets a bandwidth limits of 32 KiB per microframe for each channel on CELERA P device.SetBandwidthLimits(new uint[] {32, 32}); Example Code 8.7 | Sets a bandwidth limits of 32 KiB per microframe on CELERA One P device.SetBandwidthLimits(new uint[] {32});...

  • Page 90: Calculating The Required Bandwidth

    8. Capturing images Note The amount of bandwidth available on each interface can be restricted by the SetBandwidthLimits method, refer to Section 8.5.2. Before starting live image acquisition, based on the current bandwidth limits and current packet size, API selects the lowest available alt-interface providing the required bandwidth. Note Selecting a bandwidth limit stricter than the minimum required bandwidth makes acquisition start impossible.

  • Page 91: Packet Size For Bulk Endpoint

    8. Capturing images The following explanation is simplified for better understanding: the actual calculations made by CEL- ERA P to determine the required bandwidth and maximum frame rate are slightly more complex and take into account some additional details that have been left out here for the sake of simplicity. In general, the required bandwidth is calculated based on the number of bytes per micro-frame µ...

  • Page 92: Frame Rate

    8. Capturing images Note A small part of the USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 bus bandwidth is reserved for control- ling the camera: depending on the USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 controller you are us- ing, adding another CELERA P camera to the same controller may generate a small overhead (3-6%) slightly reducing the total bandwidth available for im- age transfer.

  • Page 93: Preserve Rates

    8. Capturing images 1. time required for converting and transferring the image from the sensor to the camera; 2. bandwidth available on the USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 bus; 3. size of the selected ROI. To achieve the largest frame rate allowed by the application (see also Section 8.5.9), please: 1.

  • Page 94: Maximizing Frame Rate

    8. Capturing images 8.5.9 Maximizing frame rate To achieve maximum performance, you must pay special attention to correctly define some fundamental operating parameters such as lighting, exposure time and pixel format. First of all, it is advisable to plan the environment where the camera will be operating so that the field is being illuminated with enough light to ensure exposure time is as short as possible;...

  • Page 95: High Resolution Shutter

    8. Capturing images Note Setting an exposure time longer than the current frame period decreases the actual frame rate. Consequently, current frame period becomes slightly larger than the currently selected exposure time, due to analog-to-digital conversion time. MaestroUSB3 viewer and application examples show in detail how to use the Shutter control and allow to experience the interactions with frame rate.

  • Page 96: Analog Gain

    8. Capturing images A typical automatic exposure setup procedure includes the following steps: issue an initial manual camera setup (shutter, gain, etc.) first, so that the resulting image has the desired brightness level; invoke Auto- ExposureRefSetPoint, updating the AutoExposureRef property with the current luma value. The following code explain how to take advantage of this method: Example Code 8.14 | Set up automatic exposure // After reaching the desired image brightness you can invoke the following commands:...

  • Page 97: Digital Gain

    8. Capturing images 8.6.3 Digital Gain When, despite using the sensor analog amplifiers (Gain control), the resulting images cannot achieve the desired brightness level, you can enable a digital amplifier module scaling the acquired signal up. Note The unity gain value is 1024, therefore the digital amplifier module can also be used as an attenuator choosing values below 1024.

  • Page 98: Virtual Angle

    A pixel is marked as underexposed when each of the four components of the superpixel is below the SaturationThresholdMin. When activated, the codes 0 and 255 are used to signal underexposure and overexposure. When using Alkeria Player, the acquired frames are displayed...

  • Page 99: Luma

    8. Capturing images with a custom bitmap: overexposed pixels are shown in yellow and underexposed pixels are shown in blue. 8.6.7 Luma Luma is a read-only control that returns the average image luminance; Luma is evaluated within the currently selected LMR (see Section 7.1). The returned value is related to the last acquired image when the request was received by the camera.

  • Page 100: Saving Device Configuration

    8. Capturing images 8.7 SAVING DEVICE CONFIGURATION You can save the status of CELERA P camera controls and calibration and reload it on demand: camera setup is saved into the internal flash memory and can then be reloaded even after powering off and on the device.

  • Page 101: Configuration Example

    8. Capturing images Example Code 8.25 | Load from XML and save into camera memory ushort cfgIndex = 1; // Import camera configuration from xml file device.LoadXml("C:\Users\UserName\Desktop\CamCfg.xml"); // Save control and calibration into camera memory device.Save(cfgIndex); 8.8 CONFIGURATION EXAMPLE Example Code 8.26 | Set camera’s main parameters and enable live acquisition device.Camera = 0;...

  • Page 102: Alkeria Advanced Sequencer

    9. Alkeria Advanced Sequencer Alkeria Advanced Sequencer CELERA P cameras are equipped with an advanced sequencer module able to modify some camera con- trols on the fly, according to an external or internal event. This module allows to setup different sets of video parameters that can be selected and quickly cycled during frame acquisition.

  • Page 103: Page Concept

    9. Alkeria Advanced Sequencer 9.2 PAGE CONCEPT All the specified controls values listed above are grouped in a sequencer page. The advanced sequencer module can handle up to 64 pages, containing values to be applied before starting frame exposures. When camera is powered on, or when the Init method is invoked, all sequencer page values are ini- tialized to their default values.

  • Page 104: Moving Between

    9. Alkeria Advanced Sequencer The advanced sequencer module starts from the first page of the selected interval and moves to the fol- lowing pages until it reaches the page marked as last. For instance, if page 2 and 4 are selected as first and last page respectively, the advanced sequencer cycles from page 2 to 4.

  • Page 105: Event Sources

    9. Alkeria Advanced Sequencer Increment Reset Page 0 Page 1 Page 3 Page 2 Figure 9.2: Example of sequencer path with loop enabled 9.4.3 Event Sources Page increment event sources can be one of the following: • External input: advanced sequencer page is changed according to an event on an input pin.

  • Page 106: Conflicts And Timings

    9. Alkeria Advanced Sequencer 9.5 CONFLICTS AND TIMINGS Page increment and page reset events are detected and accepted by the advanced sequencer, and executed as soon as possible, according to operating constraints: the current page cannot be changed during ex- posure time;...

  • Page 107: Example 2: Split Camera Field

    9. Alkeria Advanced Sequencer Example Code 9.6 | Configure port 1 as frame start trigger // Select pin 1 as trigger source: device.FrameStartTrigger.Source = TriggerSource.External; device.FrameStartTrigger.ExternalInput = 1; device.FrameStartTrigger.DetectExternalInputEdge = true; device.FrameStartTrigger.InvertExternalInput = true; // Detect falling edge device.FrameStartTrigger.Enabled = true;...
  • Page 108 9. Alkeria Advanced Sequencer Example Code 9.7 | Configure sequencer to split image field device.Sequencer.FirstPage = 0; device.Sequencer.LastPage = 1; device.Sequencer.Loop = false; device.Sequencer.ResetExternalInput = 1; device.Sequencer.ResetSource = SequencerSource.External; device.Sequencer.InvertResetExternalInput = true; device.Sequencer.DetectResetExternalInputEdge = false; device.Sequencer.IncrementExternalInput = 1; device.Sequencer.IncrementSource = SequencerSource.External;...

  • Page 109: Alkeria Player

    Alternatively, you can easily start the camera viewer by accessing the Windows Start button and look for Alkeria player from the MaestroUSB3 Program folder: Start > All programs > Alkeria > USB3 > MaestroUSB3. 10.1 DEVICE CONNECTION AND INITIALIZATION The top left toolbar is a drop-down menu letting you select a specific CELERA P camera among the ones connected to the system.
  • Page 110 10. Alkeria player Figure 10.1: Alkeria player main window...
  • Page 111 Signals that the current temperature is above 80 °C. The im- age acquisition is suspended. For more details on the temper- ature safety mechanism refer to Section 3.6.6. Display Frames Open Display Frames panel. Launch the Look-Up Table editor. Table 10.1: Alkeria player buttons...

  • Page 112: Settings Panel

    10. Alkeria player 10.3 SETTINGS PANEL 10.3.1 Advanced Sequencer Page Camera settings are stored in pages, allowing you to set different operating configurations retrievable on-demand. The top scroll bar in the settings panel lets you select the current Sequencer page (please refer to chapter 7 to know more about the Sequencer feature).
  • Page 113 10. Alkeria player Figure 10.2: Features controller tab...
  • Page 114 10. Alkeria player Figure 10.3: Video settings tab Figure 10.4: Secondary video source panel...

  • Page 115: Trigger

    Acquisition Start Trigger is enabled (see Section 6.1). Figure 10.5: Trigger tab showing trigger modules 10.3.5 Alkeria Advanced Sequencer The Sequencer panel (Figure 10.6) allows you to setup the Sequencer module (refer to Chapter 9)

  • Page 116: Advanced Features

    10. Alkeria player Figure 10.6: Alkeria Advanced Sequencer tab showing sequencer settings 10.3.6 Advanced features The advanced feature tab (Figure 10.7) contains additional options to configure the USB channel set- tings. Changing these values may prevent the camera from working correctly.

  • Page 117: Save Sequence Panel

    10. Alkeria player Figure 10.7: Advanced settings tab 10.4 SAVE SEQUENCE PANEL The Save Sequence Panel allows to save on the disk a sequence of frames captured by the camera, with specific parameters (Figure 10.8). Figure 10.8: Save Sequence panel The Duration entry allows to specify the sequence length either in number of frames or in seconds.

  • Page 118: Display Option Panel

    10. Alkeria player User may specify the video frame rate in the FPS entry. The Queue Length control determines the number of frames pre-allocated in RAM during capture. If the Background Save checkbox is unchecked, frames will be saved when the RAM queue is full. Otherwise, frames will be automatically saved on the disk.

  • Page 119: I/O Panel

    10. Alkeria player Figure 10.10: CELERA P specific features menu 10.6.2 I/O panel The I/O panel (Figure 10.11) allows to control the I/O ports (see Chapter 4 for details). Direction for the bidirectional port (Port 0) can be chosen by using the radio button on the top of the panel (Input / Output).

  • Page 120: Lut Editor

    10. Alkeria player Figure 10.11: I/O control panel 10.6.3 LUT Editor A LUT is a function that you can apply to each frame color channel, digitally modifying the camera re- sponse. This function is applied directly in hardware by the camera (see Section 8.6.4). The GUI panel shown in figure 10.12 allows you to edit and apply your custom LUT.
  • Page 121 10. Alkeria player Figure 10.12: LUT editor GUI...

  • Page 122: Warranty

    Before sending a defective camera for repair, you should contact your dealer and follow the procedures for fault verification and in case returning the camera. If your country is not served by any Alkeria SRL distributor, you must apply directly to the Alkeria SRL technical service sending an e-mail to rma@alkeria.com , providing your personal details, model and serial number of the camera, along with a brief description of the fault.

  • Page 123: Firmware Update

    12. Firmware Update Firmware Update Alkeria SRL development team is constantly working to add new features to the CELERA P family. When applying for MaestroUSB3 free download, CELERA P customers may be included in an SDK and firmware update notification mailing list. Subscribed users will be notified about new firmware versions available for their devices and will be able to update them, if interested.

  • Page 124: Emc Certification And Compliance

    13. EMC certification and compliance EMC certification and compliance 13.1 CE CONFORMITY CELERA P cameras described in this manual comply with the requirements of the EC EMC Directive 2014/30/EU of February 26, 2014. Testing standards: • CEI EN 55032:2015 - CISPR32:2015: Electromagnetic compatibility of multimedia equipment - Emission requirements.

  • Page 125: Fcc Conformity - Class A (Usa)

    In no event shall Alkeria SRL be liable to the purchaser for any indirect, special or consequential damages or lost profits arising out of or relating to Alkeria SRL ’s products, or the performance or a breach thereof, even if Alkeria SRL has been advised of the possibility thereof. Alkeria SRL ’s liability, if any, to the purchaser or to the customer of the purchaser shall in no event exceed the total amounts paid to Alkeria SRL by the purchaser for a defective product.

  • Page 126: Information For Users

    All Alkeria SRL cameras have been manufactured after the 31st of August 2005. This symbol on Alkeria SRL product or on its packaging means that it should not be disposed of with your other household waste. It is your responsibility to dispose of your waste equipment separately from the municipal waste stream.

  • Page 127: List Of Acronyms

    List of Acronyms List of Acronyms CMOS Complementary MOS Analog to Digital Converter Phase Locked Loop Light Meter ROI Region Of Interest Look-Up Table Region-Of-Interest Application Programming Interface...
  • Page 128 Example Code Example Code 3.1 Temperature Monitoring ........3.2 Temperature Change Event .

  • Page 129: Example Code

    Example Code 7.7 Enable sequencer page chunk data field ......7.8 Configure chunk data, capture a frame and display the relevant data ... . 7.9 Configure chunk data, combine 10 frames, set 1 second timeout, flush operation triggered 78 8.1 Select camera video mode .
  • Page 130 Via Giuntini 25, int. 36 56021 Cascina (PI) - ITALY www.alkeria.com...

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