Prophesee SA introduces its first commercial implementation of event-based vision technology for machines. The Onboard reference system targets developers of vision-enabled industrial automation systems such as robots, inspection equipment, and monitoring and surveillance devices. It features a Prophesee-enabled VGA-resolution camera combined with a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
The reference system provides a guide for developers to optimally implement Prophesee’s neuromorphic vision technology for a variety of use models, including area monitoring, high-speed counting, vibration measurement, or real-time arc welding monitoring. Based on the company’s proprietary technique that uses a bio-inspired approach based on capturing events that change in the field of view of individual pixels (and avoiding the transmission of redundant data), machine vision systems that utilize Prophesee’s image data acquisition and processing solutions save computational power, bandwidth, memory and energy.
The event-based approach also enables sensors to achieve much higher dynamic ranges than commonly associated with high-speed vision. And it allows cost-efficient sensors and systems to record events that would otherwise require conventional cameras to run at 10,000 frame/s and more.
The solution is also well suited for monitoring and surveillance. The vision sensor’s high dynamic range allows operation in difficult lighting environments while producing much less data than a traditional frame-based approach and reducing the computational burden of scene-analysis processing. Specifications include a VGA resolution, 640 x 480-pixel sensor with 15-μm pixels in a 0.75-inch optical format, dynamic range greater than 120 dB, and the ability to operate down to 100 millilux of scene illumination.
The Onboard reference system supports connectivity options including Ethernet, USB, HDMI, and Wi-Fi. For more details, visit Prophesee Onboard.