Camera Link 2.0, released by the Automated Imaging Association (AIA) in 2011, is the latest iteration of the Camera Link machine vision protocol. While it was released several years ago, it has proven the test of time due to its reliability and high performance. It’s a widely used machine vision protocol across a number of industries.
AIA defines Camera Link as:
“Camera Link is a robust communications link using a dedicated connection and a standardized communications protocol. Camera Link is a hardware specification that standardizes the connection between cameras and frame grabbers. It defines a complete interface which includes provisions for data transfer, camera timing, serial communications, and real time signaling to the camera.”
Benefits of Camera Link 2.0
There are many benefits to the Camera Link 2.0 machine vision protocol. Chief among them is the capability of real-time, high-speed imaging. The inherent high bandwidth enables fast data transfer with no latency issues.
Camera Link 2.0 also enables lower cable costs for machine vision applications. Since it’s such a widely used protocol, cables are readily available and competitively prices. There’s only one cable needed for Camera Link 2.0 protocol, which further reduces cable costs but also benefits applications where space is limited.
Cameras Using Camera Link 2.0
Many Sony progressive scan CCD monochrome and color cameras, as well as NIR area scan cameras use the Camera Link 2.0 protocol. These high resolution cameras provide great image quality and speed for machine vision applications, particularly for large part inspection, intelligent transportation systems, and PCB inspection, among many others.
Likewise, there are a number of Teledyne Dalsa CMOS and CCD area scan and line scan cameras that use Camera Link 2.0 protocol. These industrial cameras provide unparalleled image quality and speed for applications such as industrial quality assurance, completeness inspection, fault monitoring and more.
Camera Link 2.0 is a widely used machine vision protocol, so there are many more examples of cameras that could be mentioned, but the two above are some of the highest performing cameras of this type on the market.
This machine vision protocol has proved to be an important vision standard for manufacturers around the world, as it has helped enable higher performance in machine vision applications.
If you want to see more camera examples, you can browse a large selection of Camera Link 2.0 machine vision cameras here.