CoaXPress A new machine vision interface standard
What is CoaXPress
CoaXPress is a digital interface standard that allows the transmission of high speed data from a device, for example a camera, to a host such as a frame grabber in a PC, at a high speed of up to 6.25Gbps over a single coax cable. The device need not be a single camera - it could, for example, be an interface device that concatenates data from several cameras - since CoaXPress has the ability to carry many channels of image data and meta-data. For communication from host to device, there is a 20Mbps "uplink" that allows for control and configuration data. For even higher speeds, links may be combined? to provide multiples of the single coax bandwidth. Finally there is also power provided over the cable at 24V, up to 13W per cable. More information about CoaXPress can be found on http://www.coaxpress.com/
 Why CoaXPress
The relentless trend for higher speeds in demanding machine vision application results in the need for even faster cameras - thus initiating a new generations of sensors. These new CMOS sensors deliver large resolution images at impressively high speeds, producing a huge increase in data rates. This amount of data goes far beyond the capabilities of established interfaces, such as Camera Link and GigE Vision. The CoaXPress standards supports these growing bandwidth requirements for the next decade, AND also satisfies the additional requirements for longer cable length, greater cable reliability and flexibility, real-time behaviour, and cost efficiency. Due to the use of standard coaxial cable and the bandwidth, CoaXPress is not only interesting for machine vision applications but also highly suitable for applications in the medical and defense & security markets where use of coaxial cable is prevalent. By using the same coaxial cables, CoaXPress enables smooth upgrades from analog to digital video.
Standardization status of CoaXPress
CoaXPress has quickly emerged as the top contender to be the interface standard of choice for high-performance, high-speed, long distance image system applications. A major reason for its fast adoption by the market is because it is ready in time to meet the latest developments in camera technology in an elegant way.The Japan Industrial Imaging Association (JIIA), host of the CoaXPress high speed digital interface standard for imaging applications, has announced that the Automated Imaging Association (AIA) and the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA), have given their support for CoaXPress to now become a world standard under the G3 Agreement. The support from the AIA and EMVA follows the successful ratification of the standard, reference JIIA NIF-001-2010 - CoaXPress Standard - enacted on Dec. 6, 2010 (available for download at http://www.jiia.org/).
Soon JIIA will announce plans for compliance testing, including the first CoaXPress "PlugFest" event. This compliance program will also manage permissions to use the CoaXPress name and logo.
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