Image CApture of the Future “The ICAF project” for 3D single lens image capture and more announces results

The ICAF project which covered 3D single lens image capture, video over Ethernet, multi-view systems, high-speed cameras for 3D and HDTV recently announced results on their website.

The goals of the ICAF project were to research, develop, and demonstrate future image capture, processing and transmission technologies for Machine Vision (MV), Security/Surveillance and Professional Broadcast (PB). The specific technologies included were:

• Increased pixel rates (36 Gbps for Machine Vision and 1080p150/i300 for Broadcast)
• Increased pixel sensitivity (over a wider spectral range)
• Single lens 3D capture
• Computer hardware technologies in Broadcast and Machine Vision.

The project with 9 partners, 3 universities and 6 companies, spent a total of 118 man years and developed and researched hardware and processing algorithms for single lens 3D camera systems, multi-view camera systems, broadcast video over internet protocol systems and high-speed vision cameras for 3D applications.  The project delivered a 3D single lens microstereopsis camera, multi-view systems, depth from luminance, depth image based rendering, super resolution of depth maps and denoising and demosaicing for super slow motion HD cameras (including IP based transmission). This first 3D single lens stereopsis camera can continuously output a slow motion stream together with a normal HDTV stream.  The team has extended the CoaXPress standard with new protocols, higher bit rates (up to 12.5 Gbps) and smaller connectors. 

The project has generated 2 patents in three years. Representatives from the project were present at all relevant trade shows and presented papers at several conferences.

For detailed results per partner, see the ICAF website.  Here is a summary of the results from Adimec.

Adimec results from the ICAF project:

• The first result from this ICAF project has been the development of our high-speed Machine Vision 3D camera platform. The increase in throughput resulted in commercially available cameras with both 25 MegaPixels and 12 MegaPixels. Which have been launched into the market and are now available through our qualified production process.
• The second result is the new CoaXPress-only Machine Vision camera platform at more than double the imaging speed. The first cameras are at this moment in time being evaluated and designed-in into new inspection, test and metrology equipment for use in the electronics industry. The first customers are located in Korea, Singapore, Germany and the USA.
• The third achievement was the development and support of the latest CoaXPress standard including development and implementation support throughout the Machine Vision industry at all the major Frame-Grabber manufacturers. (Frame-Grabber = Computer card that receives high speed data and process this data for use on a computer without overloading the CPU)
• The fourth achievement is the introduction of robust surveillance CCD cameras for the security industry including high-speed video, broadcast-like image quality using the CoaXPress standard.