uEye EVS: IDS launches new camera series with event-based sensor

How do you capture small, fast-moving objects as efficiently as possible and without motion blur? How do you analyses movements in general without generating large amounts of data? With the new uEye EVS, IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH is launching an industrial camera with an event-based vision sensor that has been specially developed to meet these challenges. Instead of a continuous stream of data, it only captures relevant events. Compared to classic image-based systems, the volume of data generated is significantly reduced. The uEye EVS is therefore the ideal solution for applications that require efficiency and precision at high speed, such as optical monitoring of vibrations or high-speed motion analyses.

The ultra-compact USB3 camera visualizes the smallest movements in real time and completely loss-free. Thanks to its extremely high dynamic range, it even works in almost complete darkness. This is made possible by the SONY/Prophesee IMX636 event-based vision sensor. In contrast to conventional image sensors, it does not capture every image completely at regular intervals (frames), but only reacts to changes within a scene. It transmits events depending on when and where the brightness in its field of view changes - for each individual sensor pixel. The temporal resolution, i.e. the minimum measurable time difference between two successive changes in brightness, can be less than 100 microseconds. "Event-based cameras achieve a remarkable temporal resolution, making them optimized for highly dynamic scenes. The best conditions for capturing fast object movements without loss of information - comparable to an image-based frame rate of more than 10,000 images per second," explains Patrick Schick - Product Owner 3D & Vision Software. At the same time, the sensor ignores all motionless areas of its field of view and thus generates 10 to 1000 times less data than image-based variants. This saves memory and computing time.

With the "uEye EVS" camera line and the first uEye XCP-E product family, IDS offers event-based sensor technology in an ultra-compact industrial format of just 29 x 29 x 17 millimeters.

The fully enclosed die-cast zinc housing with C-mount adapter, the compact size and the screw-on USB Micro-B connector make the camera ideal for a wide range of applications in both industrial and non-industrial areas. Further variants will be added to the product line.