Teledyne Flir’s lossless compression feature delivers up to 70 percent higher maximum frame rates. Thanks to the reduced image size, the overall throughput of the camera is reduced, allowing an increased maximum framerate for GigE cameras that go beyond the standard GigE Interface bandwidth limitation of ~120 MB/s. 

In addition, the feature increases the number of cameras on a single bus. With lower overall data transmission over the link, users can fit more cameras on a single bus, without reducing the image quality or frame­rate of the other camera(s) on the same bus/connection, eliminating the need for an additional host adapter, reducing cost.

Moreover, it minimizes disk space usage; it’s now possible to save images in the compressed format, reducing the disk usage on the host system, and decreasing the amount of time necessary to write images to disk. Of course, the lossless compression feature maintains 100 percent image data and avoids packet loss. The feature is free of charge and does not impose additional costs. 

How It Works

Lossless Compression is a feature available on select Teledyne Flir GigE machine vision cameras that use their proprietary algorithms to compress image data. The compression occurs on camera before transmitting data to the host; thereby enabling the cameras to transmit data at higher maximum frame rates, utilizing lower bandwidth for data transmission while maintaining 100 percent image data. Once the data is transmitted to the host, it can be uncompressed or saved in its smaller, compressed form for lower disc space utilization.

Example Use Case with Multiple GigE Cameras

To demonstrate the value of lossless compression, let’s take an example use case of a conveyor-based system requiring three 5MP cameras placed along the line at different points. Two of those cameras need to run at 20 fps and a third one at 30 fps for the system to deliver accurate output. Furthermore, the industrial environment and required cable length necessitate the use of gigabit ethernet in this case.

Such a system would typically be setup as illustrated in Figure 1. The host PC would be connected to three Gigabit NIC’s (Network Interface Cards), one for each BFS-PGE-50S5 camera. Due to bandwidth limitations of ­Gigabit interface, the cameras won’t be able to share network interface cards (i.e. each camera’s data transmission requirement would be close to the bandwidth limit of one NIC). The third camera, due to its higher framerate requirement, would have to compromise on resolution too, just to stay within available bandwidths on a 1GigE NIC. Besides being a more expensive setup with 3 GigE NICs, the vision system designer is still having to compromise on image detail on the third camera – a less than ideal outcome for this application. With lossless compression enabled (assuming a compression ratio of 1 to 1.8), the same system can now run the first two cameras on a single interface card, eliminating an entire NIC from the previous setup – saving space, reducing a failure point, and lowering design costs. The third camera would also be able to achieve the required 30 FPS at full 5 MP resolution, while taking up lower bandwidth than the previous setup, saving CPU resources.

To Summarize

Enabling lossless compression helps to increase the maximum framerate of the camera (up to sensor speed), without reducing the resolution of the camera. Additionally, it also enables lower data over the link, translating to fewer peripherals and reduced CPU usage. These unique features reduce system costs, enable higher framerates, lower failure points and maintain 100 percent image data – without incurring any additional costs.

Supported Camera Models

Lossless Compression is available on selected Teledyne Flir GigE machine vision cameras to deliver up to 170 percent increased frame rates, minimizes disk space usage, and thus enable increased number of cameras on a single bus all while preserving 100 percent of the image data. The feature is available on Teledyne Flir’s most popular Blackfly S GigE models and will also be made available on all upcoming GigE cameras featuring Sony’s Pregius S sensors, on both Blackfly S GigE and Oryx camera families.

Blackfly S GigE Camera

The Blackfly S leverages the industry’s most advanced sensors in an ice-cube form factor. It is packed with powerful features enabling the user to easily produce the exact images needed and accelerate the application development. This includes both automatic and precise manual control over image capture and on-camera pre-processing. On-camera features including IEEE1588 clock synchronization and full compatibility with popular third-party software supporting GigE Vision, gives system designers the tools to quickly develop innovative solutions. GigE models featuring lossless compression are also available with higher maximum frame rates and lower bandwidth requirements, helping maximize output without compromising ­image quality. The Blackfly S is available in GigE, USB3, cased, and board-level versions.

Author
Riana Sartori, Senior Manager, Machine Vision Product Management