VRmagic Imaging - News

Intelligent Cameras Enable Ethernet Streaming of Processed Image Data

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0100

VRmagic SDK Offers Plugin for the Open Source GStreamer Library

Intelligent, Linux-based cameras and frame grabbers by the German camera manufacturer VRmagic can now also easily transfer processed image data via Ethernet. The integration of a plugin for the open source GStreamer library in the VRmagic Software Development Kit (SDK) makes this possible. GStreamer is a cross-platform open source library for multimedia applications and implements several IP streaming protocols (TCP, UDP, RTP, RTCP and RTSP).

In addition to the convenient Ethernet streaming of processed images, the VRmagic plugin offers diverse functions for image capturing and camera control. Through GStreamer, developers have direct access to the VRmagic image encoder, which converts raw sensor data into several target formats such as RGB565, YUV or RLE. The TI Codecs, JPEG, MPEG4, and H.264 can also be directly integrated via GStreamer.

GSteamer’s generic programming interface allows users to combine arbitrary codecs and filters to form an image processing pipeline. Users can choose from the existing, extensive collection of plugins, which is constantly being expanded and further developed. The replacement of a plugin with a more recent version does not require additional programming.

VRmDAVC-2: Intelligent Frame Grabber for Efficient Image Processing

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0100

With the introduction of the VRmDAVC-2, VRmagic offers an intelligent version of their established USB frame grabber. In combination with analog cameras, the intelligent frame grabber provides users with a powerful platform that can perform image processing tasks autonomously.

Built upon the established D2 platform, the VRmDAVC-2 is a programmable Linux based intelligent frame grabber platform. The D2 platform is characterized by a 300 MHz ARM9 processor, a 600 MHz DSP, 256 MB RAM, and 512 MB flash memory. Image data may either be processed directly in the intelligent frame grabber or transmitted via Ethernet for further processing. The embedded platform allows the direct connection of peripherals and control of equipment via RS-232 or GPIOs. “The VRmDAVC-2 can upgrade analog cameras to be an independent image processing system. Image processing tasks such as measuring and sorting can be accomplished autonomously and preprocessing tasks, such as run-length encoding or the generation of gradient images using a Sobel filter, can be outsourced. Further, the network load can be reduced by means of H.264 encoding, thus realizing an effective IP-based streaming camera solution.” explains Oliver Menken, Director of Imaging at VRmagic. “The outsourcing of image processing tasks from the main processor to the intelligent frame grabber streamlines the entire process, which is especially important for demanding applications.”

The VRmagic API offers convenient image data access from any PC. All VRmagic devices support the same API, making a future transition to an intelligent digital camera possible without additional programming.

The characteristics of the intelligent frame grabber are:

•    PAL and NTSC resolution
•    UBIFS file system
•    pre-configured tool chain with cross compiler
•    S-Video (input and output)
•    Composite (input and output)
•    Y/C input
•    HDMI output adapter board (only OEM)
•    100 Mbit Ethernet on RJ45
•    USB 2.0 host
•    MPE-Garry Micro T connector for RS232/S-Video/composite/GPIOs
•    Hirose DF14-15P for JTAG und serial console
•    5 V power supply

For OEM customers, the VRmDAVC-2 is available with a Pico interface board including a RGB888 interface. All interfaces of the standard interface board are as available on miniature connectors, thus reducing height and weight of the board.

Intelligent frame grabber VRmDAVC-2

Anniversary: Ten Years VRmagic Imaging

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:31:00 +0100

For ten years now the German-based company VRmagic has been developing, manufacturing and selling cameras and image processing components for industrial and scientific applications.

When VRmagic was founded in 2001, hardly anybody thought that the producer of simulators for medical training would soon successfully establish itself on the image processing market. Developed for the tracking system of the intraocular surgery simulator Eyesi Surgical, the USB 2.0 camera was not intended to be sold as an own product in the beginning. The industry’s great interest in VRmagic’s camera technology motivated the company founders to offer the USB 2.0 camera as an independent component. “With the VRmC-3 we were the first to combine CMOS sensor and USB 2.0 for applications in industry and medicine” says Dr. Markus Schill, Managing Director of VRmagic. “Therefore we made the strategic decision to build up a separate business division Imaging with professional structures.”

The first VRmC-3 was sold on January 31, 2003 to Knotenpunkt, today Wenzel Präzision. They were looking for an individual and cost-effective camera solution for their 3D line scanner Shapetracer for point cloud capturing and processing. “VRmagic instantly understood the task, they quickly implemented our wishes, and they also contributed own ideas” Ralf Jaumann, former Managing Director of Knotenpunkt, describes the first cooperation. “Till today VRmagic impresses us with inventive developments, on-time delivery, and perfect quality. We therefore still like to work with VRmagic.”

Today VRmagic is a company with 50 employees, a sales organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts and two independent business divisions. In the field of industrial image processing VRmagic has acquired the reputation of an innovative and successful camera provider. Until the replacement by their successors, VRmagic sold over 10.000 units of the first two camera models launched in 2003. By developing an entirely new multi-sensor camera with four pixel-synchronous sensors in 2008, the technology company demonstrated innovative flair again. With the D3 camera platform presented in autumn 2012, the success story continues into the next decade. In addition to an increased performance and a higher storage capacity, the D3 offers more flexibility and a greater degree of freedom through an increased number of key features at a convincing price-performance ratio.

New VRmagic Imaging YouTube Channel

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:23:00 +0100

VRmagic presents a new YouTube channel with videos about new products and applications of intelligent cameras and framegrabbers.

The new VRmagic YouTube channel offers information on industrial image processing products and possible applications. Starting with three videos, the channel will be continuously updated with further videos. The current videos comprise an introduction of the new intelligent camera platform D3, an application example of the new intelligent analog video converter VRmDAVC-2, and an intelligent camera voice over IP application.

View our new videos by visiting the Videos section on the VRmagic homepage or by visiting the VRmagic YouTube channel.

VRmagic at VISION 2012: New intelligent camera platform

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 11:27:00 +0200

Mannheim: The German camera manufacturer VRmagic introduces a new intelligent camera platform at VISION 2012.

The new intelligent camera platform D3 possesses a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8-RISC MPU with floating point unit (FPU) running Linux and a 700 MHz C674x VLIW DSP with FPU, which acts as a coprocessor. 2 GB DDR3-800 RAM and 16 GB Flash on-board are available as memory. Furthermore, the new camera platform is characterized by a Gigabit Ethernet interface and a real-time clock.

“During development of the new camera platform, the focus was not only on increasing performance and storage capacity” says Oliver Menken, Director Sales & Marketing at VRmagic. “It has always been our strategic aim to design a platform that offers even more flexibility to our customers. The increased number of key features results in a greater degree of freedom for the development of cost-efficient and customized embedded cameras.”

The extended software portfolio ranges from open source software to image processing libraries of well-known manufacturers to a MONO compatible .NET interface. With this interface, applications developed on a PC can be copied to and used on a camera without the use of a cross compiler.

Further characteristics of the new camera platform are:

USB (host/device)
UART (RS232/RS485)
Up to 44 GPIOs
Second Gigabit Ethernet interface (optional)
Wake on LAN
Audio (input and output)
HDMI output
RGB888 (input or output)
S-Video output
SD card (bootable)
CAN bus
SATA
I2C
SPI

New sensors: single-sensor cameras now available with MT9M021 from Aptina

In addition to the already available sensors from Aptina (MT9V024, MT9M001 and MT9T031), CMOSIS (CMV2000 and CMV4000), and Sony (ICX445), intelligent single-sensor cameras and USB single-sensor cameras will be presented with the MT9M021 from Aptina at VISION 2012.

The 1/3" sensor built in the VRmDC-16 and the VRmC-16 is equipped with a global shutter and delivers 45 frames per second at full frame rate and 60 frames per second at 720p. With this sensor VRmagic offers its customers an attractive resolution with a high frame rate at the price of a VGA camera.

VRmDAVC-2: Efficient networking of analog cameras

In combination with analog cameras, the new intelligent framegrabber VRmDAVC-2 can perform image processing tasks fully autonomously. Image data either is processed directly in the intelligent framegrabber or transmitted via Ethernet for further processing.

The intelligent framegrabber features the new camera platform or a 300 MHz ARM9 processor and a 600 MHz DSP with 4800 MIPs. The direct connection of peripherals (for example monitor via HDMI or WLAN via USB host) and control of equipment via RS232 or GPIOs is possible. The USB variant needs no additional power supply, as it is supplied via USB. The VRmagic API offers convenient access to the image data on any PC.

Visit us at the VISION 2012 in hall 1, booth D81. VRmagic presents a wide range of components for image processing.

VRmagic is extending its series of multi-sensor cameras

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 09:10:00 +0200

Multi-sensor cameras by the German camera manufacturer VRmagic are now available with a high-resolution CCD sensor from Sony.

With the Sony ICX455 sensor used in the VRmS-14, VRmagic opens up news fields of applications for its multi-sensor camera series. Providing a resolution of 1.25 megapixels, the 1/3" sensor is ideal for use in more complex applications, which require high detail accuracy. The CCD sensor with interline transfer technology delivers up to 15 frames per second and is characterized by an increased sensitivity to infrared light. The sensor is available in monochrome and color.

Furthermore, multi-sensor cameras by VRmagic are now equipped with the MT9M001 CMOS sensor from Aptina. The 1/2" sensor integrated into the VRmS-9 can capture 17 frames per second at a resolution of 1288 x 1032 pixels and offers advantages such as low power consumption and high performance.

Multi-sensor cameras by VRmagic consist of a base unit, which can be equipped with up to four remote sensors. The sensors are connected with a flex-foil-cable and can be freely positioned. Data is transmitted via LVDS. This makes it possible to acquire pixel-synchronous images from different angles. The image data is coordinated on an FPGA module with 256 MB RAM. VRmagic offers multi-sensor cameras as USB versions and as Linux-based, intelligent models.

All intelligent cameras by VRmagic are equipped with the DaVinci processor from Texas Instruments, featuring a 300 MHz ARM9 processor running the Linux operating system, and a 600 MHz DSP with 4800 MIPs, which is entirely available for image processing tasks. The cameras are equipped with 256 MB RAM and a 512 MB flash module. The supported interfaces include Ethernet, USB 2.0 Host, RS232 and General Purpose I/O, Analog Video Output as well as an optional digital video output and audio interface.

VRmagic SDK offers interface to Image Acquisition Toolbox from MathWorks

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:12:00 +0200

Starting with SDK Release 3.14, VRmagic now offers an interface to the Image Acquisition Toolbox™ from MathWorks® for all camera models. The software interface allows users to process images and videos directly from the camera in the software solutions MATLAB® and Simulink®.

The VRmagic adaptor to the Image Acquisition Toolbox™ allows using all VRmagic imaging devices (intelligent cameras and USB cameras) in MATLAB or Simulink. The adaptor is based on the camera interface-independent API from VRmagic (VRmUsbCam) and permits access to all camera parameters as well as the raw sensor data. Users can also define a read-out ROI and switch between free-running and triggered recording modes. The supported operating systems are Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP (32-bit versions) and the supported MathWorks releases are R2007b or higher.

MATLAB and Simulink provide a flexible environment for solving complex imaging problems in combination with the Image Acquisition Toolbox, Image Processing Toolbox™, and Computer Vision System Toolbox™. Typical applications include scientific imaging, medicine and biotechnology, automotive safety engineering, security, defense, and academic research.

USB single-sensor cameras with high-resolution sensors

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:50:00 +0200

The German camera manufacturer VRmagic is extending its portfolio of USB single-sensor cameras. From now on three new models with high-resolution sensors are part of the product series.

The CMOS sensors CMV2000 and CMV4000 from CMOSIS are especially light-sensitive and offer excellent image quality at high frame rates, even with great differences in brightness. Due to the global shutter technology the sensors are suitable for capturing both static and fast moving objects. The 2/3" CMV2000 sensor used in the VRmFC-22 delivers 44 frames per second at a resolution of 2048 x 1088 pixels. The 1" CMV4000 sensor built in the VRmFC-42 has a resolution of 4.2 megapixels and records up to 24 fps.

The VRmC-14 is equipped with the ICX445 CCD sensor from Sony, which can shoot up to 22 frames per second at a resolution of 1296 x 966. The 1/3" sensor is characterized by increased sensitivity to light, making it ideal for measurement and positioning purposes.

The three sensors are available in monochrome and color and are assembled using VRmagic’s ultra-precise sensor positioning technique. Before soldering the sensor is positioned and aligned on the board with highest possible precision.

Ethernet update for intelligent cameras

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Application software and firmware updates are now possible via the Ethernet interface for the programmable intelligent cameras from the camera manufacturer VRmagic.

"Up to now, VRmagic has provided its customers with a rescue USB stick for convenient and inexpensive maintenance of OEM applications in the field. In installation situations where access to the USB port is either not possible or difficult, the current software version and complete camera firmware can now be transferred to the camera just as easily and reliably via Ethernet,” explains Oliver Menken, Sales and Marketing Manager at VRmagic. “This means that application maintenance is also possible via a network connection.”

With a standard Debian Linux operating system and full access to the ARM9/DSP DaVinci^TMprocessor from Texas Instruments, the intelligent cameras from VRmagic provide developers with a convenient platform for programming their own applications. Algorithms can be developed with standard environments such as Visual Studio or Code Composer Studio and transferred to the camera by means of cross-compilers. The host system and camera have the same API. The components are equipped with 256 MB RAM and a 512 MB flash module. The supported interfaces include Ethernet, USB 2.0 Host, RS232 and General Purpose I/O, Analog Video Output as well as optionally digital video output and audio interface. Available designs range from cameras in housings and PCB cameras through to special OEM designs with up to four pixel-synchronous remote sensors.

New VRmagic SDK offers image processing library

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:32:00 +0100

With version 3.14 of its Software Development Kit, VRmagic now offers a simple machine vision image processing library for all the manufacturer’s camera models.

The library contains sophisticated algorithms for tasks such as object recognition, blob segmentation or barcode readers. All code is optimized for the DSP of the DaVinci™ SoC for the intelligent cameras from VRmagic, but also runs on the ARM core as well as PC platforms under Linux and Windows (x86).

“Many of our customers use open source algorithms to avoid license costs. However, these algorithms are not optimized for fast performance on the DSP. With the VM_LIB, we now offer our customers a free basic image processing library for all camera models. The particular strengths of the VM_LIB are in the area of object recognition,” says Oliver Menken, Sales and Marketing Manager at VRmagic.

Demo source codes for DSP and USB/PC are included in the SDK. The VM_LIB is available free of charge for non-commercial purposes and for development of applications with the manufacturer’s components. License agreements are possible if it is wished to distribute an application as part of a product.

The Software Development Kit from VRmagic allows developers to carry out generic interface programming that is compatible with all of the manufacturer’s camera models. The clearly structured development environment provides users with control of all camera functions as well as unrestricted access to the raw sensor data. It is compatible with all current Windows operating systems and Linux and includes demonstration programs as well as freely usable source codes for different development platforms.

Blob segmentation is one of the various sophisticated algorithms for image processsing tasks included in VM_LIB.