A High Performance Micro Channel Interface for Real-Time Industrial Image Processing Applications

Data collection and transfer devices are critical to the performance of any machine vision system. The interface described in this paper collects image data from a color line scan camera and transfers the data obtained into the system memory of a Micro Channel-based host computer. A maximum data transfer rate of 20 Mbytes/see can be achieved using the DMA capabilities of the camera interface. Programmability of the interface provides flexibility in selection of features such as collected field-of-view, data format, collection method, and camera control. System design is such that the speed of the interface allows for the collection of images intended for real-time processing by any available Micro Channel resident processor(s).