05/04/2017

Allied Vision revolutionizes the embedded vision industry with an all new camera platform that combines the performance of a machine vision camera and the size, power consumption and price of an embedded camera.

Allied Vision, a leading manufacturer of digital cameras for industrial and scientific image processing, presents a groundbreaking new camera platform on May 4, 2017, on www.embeddedrevolution.com.

The new Allied Vision 1 product line is a full range of digital cameras designed for embedded vision applications but fulfilling the high standards of industrial and scientific image processing also referred to as “machine vision”.

Allied Vision 1 Product Line - bare board version

“Until today, developers of embedded vision systems had to trade off image quality and camera performance for size, power consumption or price”, explained Paul Zalewski, Product Line Manager at Allied Vision. “High-performance machine vision cameras were designed for operation with a PC as a host and little restrictions on form factor or power supply. Besides, their price was too high for most embedded vision applications”.

Acknowledging the rise of embedded systems as an alternative for PC-based machine vision, Allied Vision’s engineers have completely reinvented camera architecture to create a technical platform that provides the best of both worlds:

•    Broad sensor variety
•    Advanced image pre-processing
•    Compact form factor
•    Low power consumption
•    Industrial standards
•    Excellent price/performance ratio

Revolutionary ALVIUM^® Technology makes the impossible possible
To achieve that, Allied Vision created its own “system on chip”. The unique ALVIUM^® technology is the core of the Allied Vision 1 product line. It consists in a proprietary chip design optimized for advanced digital imaging combined with a comprehensive image processing library (IPL) resulting from more than 25 years of expertise in machine vision.

This innovative technology enables Allied Vision to design a full range of cameras that provide a wealth of on-board image pre-processing functions in a small form factor, with an intelligent power management and at a lower cost than conventional FPGA-based machine vision cameras. All that without compromising on image quality or camera performance and durability.

By shifting image correction and optimization tasks from the host to the camera’s ALVIUM^® IPL system engineers can free CPU capacity on their processor for alternative processing tasks. “This is of much value to embedded system integrators who need to manage the limited computing power of embedded processors”, Zalewski explained.

Allied Vision 1 Product Line - open housing version - MIPI CSI-2

Two camera families with MIPI CSI-2 and USB3 Vision
The first cameras building on the new platform are the Allied Vision 130 and 140 series. Both series are available with MIPI CSI-2 and USB3 Vision interface and a large choice of sensors. They are both powered by the ALVIUM^® technology.

The Allied Vision 130 series is available as a bare board version in a single board design (26 x 26 mm) or with a robust 29 x 29 mm front flange with various lens mount options. It consists in four models with high-performance CMOS sensors from ON Semiconductors with resolutions from 0.5 to 5 Megapixels. With its feature set focused on image quality, it delivers outstanding image quality and performance at a low cost with a list price starting at 99 €.

The Allied Vision 140 series offers the same hardware options and sensors as the 130 series. In addition to the sensors of the 130 series, the 140 series is available with four additional CMOS sensors from ON Semiconductors and Sony, which expand the choices of high quality and high resolution sensors. The resolution range will be further expanded to a level of 18 Megapixels delivering outstanding image quality. Additionally, the USB version is available with a closed, rugged housing fulfilling industrial standards. Finally, it has a more advanced feature set allowing for more complex on-board pre-processing tasks. Its price-performance ratio remains highly attractive, with a list price starting at 169 €.

These two camera series are only the first of a comprehensive range. The platform of the Allied Vision 1 product line is highly flexible and modular. More camera series and sensor models will be added in the future.

Allied Vision 1 Product Line - open housing version

Machine vision power for embedded systems
The Allied Vision 1 product line builds a bridge between the embedded and the machine vision world. As such, it is a revolution for both the embedded and the traditional machine vision community. “Thanks to Allied Vision’s revolutionary 1 product line and the ALVIUM^® technology, embedded system designers get access to a level of image quality and camera performance that had been out of their reach so far. But this new product line is also the perfect platform for PC-based machine vision system integrators who want to migrate to embedded vision without giving up on their quality and performance standards”, said Paul Zalewski.

The Allied Vision 130 series will be available in Q3/2017, the 140 series will follow in Q4/2017. More information can be found on the dedicated website www.embeddedrevolution.com.