Posted by Jack Mans -- Packaging Digest, 2/21/2013 9:13:52 AM The AIA, the global vision and imaging industry's trade association, has released the new USB3 VisionTM camera interface standard and it is now available for free download on the AIA website. This easy-to-use standard is based on the prevalent USB 3.0 consumer hardware that the world is already comfortable with. Vision component manufacturers have embraced the standard and are expected to widely adopt it; many components are already selling today.
Based on the USB 3.0 interface (SuperSpeed USB), USB3 Vision was developed specifically for the global vision and imaging market and takes advantage of the USB 3.0 ports that will soon be standard on most PCs. It offers bandwidth of 350 MB/s which satisfies a very broad spectrum of vision and imaging application needs. USB3 Vision, like GigE Vision, does not require a frame grabber.
The standard covers four basic operations: device discovery; device control; event handling; and streaming data. A device can optionally support device functionality with USB 2.0. Both power and data are transmitted over the same cable with possible cable lengths of five meters over passive cables and 10 meters or more using active cables. The standard defines the mechanics of screw locks on the micro-USB 3.0 connector. The standard will give users plug and play capability using components from different manufacturers.
The USB3 Vision standard is hosted by the AIA, the global trade association for the vision and imaging industry. As part of AIA's commitment to help increase the understanding and use of vision standards, they make the standard specification document available for free download on their website.
Licenses are required for commercial use of the standard, but those who are integrating USB3 Vision products may want to have the standard document as a reference. Many industry leading manufacturers have already licensed the standard and have or will have vision products for sale, they include: Allied Vision Technologies, Alysium Tech, Basler, Baumer, Icron Technologies, IDS Imaging Development Systems, JAI, Matrix, Matrox, National Instruments, Pleora Technologies, Point Grey Research, Stemmer Imaging, Toshiba Teli, and Ximea.
