FirePRO LDR transmits IEEE 1394b data in real-time over 100 m of Cat-5e cable
At the VISION 2008 exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany, Point Grey Research Inc, a Canadian firm that develops advanced imaging products, announced the addition of the Long Distance Repeater (LDR) to its FirePRO family of professional IEEE 1394b components.
The FirePRO LDR is described as a compact and cost-effective system for applications that require multiple IEEE 1394 devices to be extended beyond the standard 4.5 m cable length. Using a Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) physical layer to transport FireWire data (GigE signalling), the FirePRO LDR can transmit and receive IEEE 1394b 800 Mb/s data in real-time over a standard Category 5e (Cat-5e) cable. This allows users to construct a dependable, high-speed FireWire-based network of multiple cameras that can be physically positioned at a distance of 100 m from the host system.
"The LDR gives vision system designers the best of both worlds by combining the reliability of FireWire with the cable length of GigE," explained Vladimir Tucakov, Director of Sales and Marketing at Point Grey Research.
"FireWire is an ideal camera interface for most vision applications, because of to its high 80-Mb/s data rates with guaranteed bandwidth and seamless support for multiple cameras. Some applications require the cameras to be located far from the host system. Longer cables and repeaters can be effective for distances of 10-20 m, but quickly become more error-prone and costly as the distance increases," continued Tucakov.
"Other long-distance IEEE 1394b systems either require expensive optical fibre or have limited distance and speed. The LDR was specifically designed to address all of these issues, something we demonstrated at the VISION show by simultaneously running two Point Grey FireWire cameras at S800 speeds over 100 m of cable."
The FirePRO LDR is a two-repeater system, with one repeater at the camera side and the other at the host system side, joined by Cat-5e cable. Each repeater is equipped with two bilingual, nine-pin 1394b ports with screw locks, one RJ-45 connector and a standard barrel connector for external power, and is housed in a compact metal case measuring 69 mm by 57 mm by 20 mm.
The low-latency GigE physical layer ensures that the network complies with IEEE 1394b timing requirements. Like other FirePRO hubs and repeaters the LDR requires no special software or drivers.
Contacts:
Point Grey Research Inc
8866 Hudson Street
Vancouver, BC V6P 4N2
Canada
Phone: +1-604-730-9937
Fax: +1-604-732-8231
Email: sales@ptgrey.com
Web: http://www.ptgrey.com
Point Grey (European Office)
Herzog-Heinrich-Strasse 25
D-80336 München
Germany
Phone: +49-89-454-63224
Fax: +49-89-454-63225
Email: eu-sales@ptgrey.com
The FirePRO LDR is described as a compact and cost-effective system for applications that require multiple IEEE 1394 devices to be extended beyond the standard 4.5 m cable length. Using a Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) physical layer to transport FireWire data (GigE signalling), the FirePRO LDR can transmit and receive IEEE 1394b 800 Mb/s data in real-time over a standard Category 5e (Cat-5e) cable. This allows users to construct a dependable, high-speed FireWire-based network of multiple cameras that can be physically positioned at a distance of 100 m from the host system.
"The LDR gives vision system designers the best of both worlds by combining the reliability of FireWire with the cable length of GigE," explained Vladimir Tucakov, Director of Sales and Marketing at Point Grey Research.
"FireWire is an ideal camera interface for most vision applications, because of to its high 80-Mb/s data rates with guaranteed bandwidth and seamless support for multiple cameras. Some applications require the cameras to be located far from the host system. Longer cables and repeaters can be effective for distances of 10-20 m, but quickly become more error-prone and costly as the distance increases," continued Tucakov.
"Other long-distance IEEE 1394b systems either require expensive optical fibre or have limited distance and speed. The LDR was specifically designed to address all of these issues, something we demonstrated at the VISION show by simultaneously running two Point Grey FireWire cameras at S800 speeds over 100 m of cable."
The FirePRO LDR is a two-repeater system, with one repeater at the camera side and the other at the host system side, joined by Cat-5e cable. Each repeater is equipped with two bilingual, nine-pin 1394b ports with screw locks, one RJ-45 connector and a standard barrel connector for external power, and is housed in a compact metal case measuring 69 mm by 57 mm by 20 mm.
The low-latency GigE physical layer ensures that the network complies with IEEE 1394b timing requirements. Like other FirePRO hubs and repeaters the LDR requires no special software or drivers.
Contacts:
Point Grey Research Inc
8866 Hudson Street
Vancouver, BC V6P 4N2
Canada
Phone: +1-604-730-9937
Fax: +1-604-732-8231
Email: sales@ptgrey.com
Web: http://www.ptgrey.com
Point Grey (European Office)
Herzog-Heinrich-Strasse 25
D-80336 München
Germany
Phone: +49-89-454-63224
Fax: +49-89-454-63225
Email: eu-sales@ptgrey.com
