Operator MediumRgbCamera

Operator Library: Hardware Platform

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

[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
Tap3x10 ................ 10-Bit RGB Medium 1 tap
Tap3x12 ................ 12-Bit RGB Medium 1 tap
Tap6x8 .................. 8-Bit RGB Medium 2 taps

Table 55. Mapping VA notation and CL Specification Version 2.1

The following figures show the pixel mapping in these modes:

Tap3x10bit and Tap3x12bit:

Tap6x8bit:

The operator uses 2 ressources of type CameraPort exclusively. Thus, both ports of the frame grabber, port A (0) and port B (1), are occupied and cannot be used by other operators. The same ressource index can only be used once per applet.

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 pixel 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.

MediumMode
Type dynamic write parameter
Default Tap3x10bit
Range {Tap3x10bit, Tap3x12bit, Tap6x8bit}

The parameter specifies the MEDIUM configuration mode.

CameraStatus
Type dynamic read parameter
Default
Range

LightBridge/marathon: [0;2^24-1]

mE5 VD8 ironman: [0;2^8-1]

Parameter CameraStatus depends on the frame grabber hardware you are programming for. Find below the descriptions first for marathon and Lightbridge, than for mE5 VD8-PoCL (ironman).

marathon and Lightbridge:

bit[0]: PCLK [0] available

bit[1]: FVAL [0] current value

bit[2]: LVAL [0] current value

bit[3]: DVAL [0] current value

bit[4-11]: reserved

bit[12]: PCLK [1] available

bit[13]: FVAL [1] current value

bit[14]: LVAL [1] current value

bit[15]: DVAL [1] current value

bit[16-23]: reserved

mE5 VD8-PoCL (ironman):

bit[0]: PCLK [0] available

bit[1]: FVAL [0] current value

bit[2]: LVAL [0] current value

bit[3]: DVAL [0] current value

bit[4]: PCLK [1] available

bit[5]: FVAL [1] current value

bit[6]: LVAL [1] current value

bit[7]: DVAL [1] current value

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

Reserved for support issues.

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

Pixel clock rate of camera channel X in MHz.

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

Pixel clock rate of camera channel Y in MHz.

MinimalParallelism
Type static read parameter
Default 2
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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