Operator BaseRgbCamera

Operator Library: Hardware Platform

The operator transfers image data from a Camera Link BASE RGB configuration camera into VisualApplets. All RGB BASE configurations of the Camera Link standard are supported.

The operator uses one resource of type CameraPort exclusively. You can select Camera Link port A ( 0 ) or Camera Link port B ( 1 ) of the frame grabber. The same resource index can only be used once per applet.

microEnable 5 ironman VD8-PoCL: On mE5 VD8-PoCL (ironman), only port A offers all camera functions, i.e., CC signals and serial interface. On mE5 VD8-PoCL (ironman), port B offers neither CC signals nor a serial interface. Nevertheless, the camera can be operated in free-run mode when the camera has been pre-programmed before. These limitations of port B are only true for mE5 VD8-PoCL (ironman), not for any other frame grabber models (LightBridge, marathon ...) using the operator.

[Important] Definition of "Tap"

The meaning of one tap, as used in this manual, is one decoded color component of any bit width.

Note that in the CameraLink Specification Version 2.1, one tap is defined as one color pixel with all color components included.

The following table shows the mapping between the VisualApplets notation and the CameraLink Specification Version 2.1:

VA notation CameraLink notation
Tap3x8 ................ 8-bit RGB Medium 1 tap

Table 54. Mapping VA notation and CL Specification Version 2.1

The following figure shows the pixel mapping in this mode (Tap3x8bit):

Available for Hardware Platforms
mE5 marathon VCLx
mE5 marathon VCL
LightBridge VCL
mE5 VD8-PoCL (ironman)

I/O Properties

Property Value
Operator Type M
Output Link O, image data output

Supported Link Format

Link Parameter Output Link O
Bit Width [3,63]1
Arithmetic unsigned
Parallelism Any, see parameter description
Kernel Columns 1
Kernel Rows 1
Img Protocol {VALT_IMAGE2D,VALT_LINE1D}
Color Format VAF_COLOR
Color Flavor FL_RGB
Max. Img Width Any
Max. Img Height Any

1

The bitwidth must be a multiple of 3 due to the RGB tuple.

Parameter BitWidth can be set to a larger or smaller value than the actual bitwidth sent by the camera.

If the parameter is set to a smaller value than the actual bitwidth sent by the camera, the least significant bits (LSB) of the pixel components are cut off. Only the most signicicant bits (MSB) per pixel component are transferred into VisualApplets.

If the parameter is set to a bigger value than the actual bitwidth sent by the camera, the original pixel components are set on the MSB position of the outgoing components. The LSBs are filled with zeros.

In both cases, the relative brightness stays the same, i.e., white pixels remain withe and dark pixels remain dark.

Parameters

DvalMode
Type dynamic write parameter
Default DVAL_Enabled
Range {DVAL_Enabled, DVAL_Disabled}

The parameter specifies whether DVAL is used to mask valid pixels or if it is ignored. When DVAL is ignored, the valid pixels are selected according to LVAL and FVAL statuses.

FvalMode
Type dynamic/static write parameter
Default CameraLinkStandard
Range {CameraLinkStandard, IgnoreFval}

  • CameraLinkStandard

    The operator expects frame valid (FVAL) signals from the camera. In this case, the operator will output frames according to the FVAL size.

  • IgnoreFval

    If this setting is used, the operator will ignore any FVAL signals from the camera. All input lines will be used and merged into a sigle image with infinite height.

    [Note] Only available for Output Image Protocol VALT_IMAGE2D

    This parameter is only available if the output is set to image protocol VALT_IMAGE2D. If VALT_LINE1D is selected, the parameter is disabled and the FVAL is ignored anyway.

    [Warning] VisualApplets Link Rules Violation

    When the camera operator outputs a frame of infinite height, the Max. Img Height defined in the link properties might be exceeded. This causes a violation of the VisualApplets link rules. Ensure to use valid heights. Use operator SplitImage to limit the image height and split the endless image into multiple chunks.

The intention of this parameter is to allow the usage of area scan an line scan cameras dynamically in the same applet.

BaseMode
Type dynamic write parameter
Default Tap3x8bit
Range {Tap3x8bit}

The parameter specifies the BASE configuration mode.

CameraStatus
Type dynamic read parameter
Default
Range

LightBridge/marathon: [0;2^8-1]

mE5 VD8 ironman: [0;2^4-1]

bit[0]: PCLK available

bit[1]: FVAL current value

bit[2]: LVAL current value

bit[3]: DVAL current value

bit[4-7]: reserved (LightBridge and marathon only)

CameraLinkCoreReset
Type dynamic write parameter
Default 0
Range [0; 1]

Reserved for support issues.

PixelClock
Type dynamic read parameter
Default 0
Range [0; 85] MHz

Pixel clock rate of camera channel in MHz.

MinimalParallelism
Type static read parameter
Default 1
Range [1; 1024]

Minimal parallelism for the output link O to be able to transport the maximal bandwidth of the camera without losing data. This value depends on the currently selected design clock frequency. The higher the frequency the lower the parallelism value can become.

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