Remote Control Of The Tau Camera; Connecting The Serial Communications Interface Using The Development Kit - FLIR Tau Camera TAU-0035-00-10 User Manual

Appendix C—Tau with Photon Accessories
C.2

Remote control of the Tau camera

The Tau camera accommodates advanced camera control through an RS-232 serial interface.
A user can control the camera through this interface using their own software and hardware by
following the Serial Communication Protocol and command structure defined in Appendix B.
This requires programming skills and a strong technical background. The user can also use the
FLIR Camera Controller GUI offered as a free download from FLIR using a Windows based PC
with the standard serial communications and components provided in the Development Kit.
This software provides remote control of various camera features and modes. The FLIR
Camera Controller GUI software is compatible with Windows XP and Windows 7. The PC must
have a spare serial communications port or you must use the Tau VPC module accessory. High-
speed communication (921600 Baud) is possible using the VPC module accessory.
Note
A USB to Serial port adapter is acceptable, but the data communication rate must be set to
57600 BAUD.
If your embedded or specialty applications require custom control software, a Software
Developer's Kit (SDK) is available.
C.3 Connecting the serial communications interface using the
development kit
You should have successfully operated the camera and obtained live video on a monitor as
described in paragraph C.1 "Operation of the Tau camera using the Photon Accessory Kit" on
page C-1.
The only additional hardware required for serial communication is a serial cable connected as
shown below.
To Photon
Replicator Board
Attach one end of a standard RS-232 serial port (9-pin) PC cable to the communications port
labeled RS-232 on the I/O Module. Attach the other end to the serial port on your PC. This
cable should be a standard RS-232 cable, not a cross-over configured serial cable, or null-
modem cable.
C-2
To PC serial COM port
(RS232)
June 2011
Tau User's Manual
TAU-0035-00-10, version 150