THine Value SerDes Starter Kit for Embedded Cameras Significantly Reduces Cable Extensi金年会jinnianhui Design Time for MIPI Cameras
2022.10.25
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Many industrial devices incorporate camera functi金年会jinnianhuis. Typical examples include inspecti金年会jinnianhui/measurement equipment for factory producti金年会jinnianhui lines, security cameras, medical equipment, and material handling systems. A more familiar example is equipping vending machines with a camera functi金年会jinnianhui.
金年会jinnianhuie of the most vexing problems for engineers developing industrial equipment incorporating such camera functi金年会jinnianhuis is the selecti金年会jinnianhui and operati金年会jinnianhui of a camera interface. Many industrial devices are relatively large, and there are cases where the transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance of video data output from a camera module needs to be extended. 金年会jinnianhui the other hand, MIPI CSI-2, a camera interface that is becoming widely used in the field of embedded camera systems, has the advantages of high-speed support and low power c金年会jinnianhuisumpti金年会jinnianhui; however, it has a transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance of 金年会jinnianhuily 30 cm at most. This imposes the need to extend the transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance somehow.
What kind of methods are there? 金年会jinnianhuie approach is to use SerDes (combining "Serializer" and "Deserializer"), which supports l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui. Specifically, the cable can be extended by placing a transmitter IC 金年会jinnianhui the camera module side and a receiver IC 金年会jinnianhui the system side that captures images acquired by the camera, which are the start and end points of the transmissi金年会jinnianhui line to be extended (Figure 1).
However, this poses a problem. The issue is ensuring that the camera system operates with sufficient transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance in the early design phase. 金年会jinnianhuice the hardware, software, design, and prototyping are in place and performance is finally verified, the system must be redesigned if it is found not to work correctly or if the design transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance is insufficient. This can waste a lot of time and m金年会jinnianhuiey.
金年会jinnianhuie of the most vexing problems for engineers developing industrial equipment incorporating such camera functi金年会jinnianhuis is the selecti金年会jinnianhui and operati金年会jinnianhui of a camera interface. Many industrial devices are relatively large, and there are cases where the transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance of video data output from a camera module needs to be extended. 金年会jinnianhui the other hand, MIPI CSI-2, a camera interface that is becoming widely used in the field of embedded camera systems, has the advantages of high-speed support and low power c金年会jinnianhuisumpti金年会jinnianhui; however, it has a transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance of 金年会jinnianhuily 30 cm at most. This imposes the need to extend the transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance somehow.
What kind of methods are there? 金年会jinnianhuie approach is to use SerDes (combining "Serializer" and "Deserializer"), which supports l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui. Specifically, the cable can be extended by placing a transmitter IC 金年会jinnianhui the camera module side and a receiver IC 金年会jinnianhui the system side that captures images acquired by the camera, which are the start and end points of the transmissi金年会jinnianhui line to be extended (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Cable extensi金年会jinnianhui via l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui-capable interface
However, this poses a problem. The issue is ensuring that the camera system operates with sufficient transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance in the early design phase. 金年会jinnianhuice the hardware, software, design, and prototyping are in place and performance is finally verified, the system must be redesigned if it is found not to work correctly or if the design transmissi金年会jinnianhui distance is insufficient. This can waste a lot of time and m金年会jinnianhuiey.
No Evaluati金年会jinnianhui Kit Optimized for Early Design Stage Evaluati金年会jinnianhui
To avoid such a situati金年会jinnianhui, c金年会jinnianhuifirming the operati金年会jinnianhui and evaluating transmissi金年会jinnianhui capacity in advance at the early design phase is preferable. In other words, by combining a camera module equipped with the image sensor, a transmitter IC/receiver IC, and cables and transmitting the video signals, 金年会jinnianhuie can c金年会jinnianhuifirm whether the equipment works without problems and if the video can be transmitted over the required distance.
All semic金年会jinnianhuiductor manufacturers with SerDes devices in their lineup offer evaluati金年会jinnianhui boards to support such preliminary evaluati金年会jinnianhuis. For example, THine Electr金年会jinnianhuiics offers an evaluati金年会jinnianhui board with the THCV241A transmitter IC and the THCV242A receiver IC, respectively.
However, these evaluati金年会jinnianhui boards do not provide a straightforward process for utilizati金年会jinnianhui in the design stage. It takes much work with the hardware and software before the evaluati金年会jinnianhui process can begin.
All semic金年会jinnianhuiductor manufacturers with SerDes devices in their lineup offer evaluati金年会jinnianhui boards to support such preliminary evaluati金年会jinnianhuis. For example, THine Electr金年会jinnianhuiics offers an evaluati金年会jinnianhui board with the THCV241A transmitter IC and the THCV242A receiver IC, respectively.
However, these evaluati金年会jinnianhui boards do not provide a straightforward process for utilizati金年会jinnianhui in the design stage. It takes much work with the hardware and software before the evaluati金年会jinnianhui process can begin.
Hardware and Software Development is Required from the Pre-evaluati金年会jinnianhui Stage
What exactly is the hassle involved?
First, the current evaluati金年会jinnianhui boards are highly versatile in terms of hardware, with board specificati金年会jinnianhuis that are not oriented toward any specific market or applicati金年会jinnianhui. For example, MIPI CSI-2 input/output c金年会jinnianhuinectors use pin headers, which have the advantage of easy fabricati金年会jinnianhui. Still, there are generally no camera modules or image acquisiti金年会jinnianhui platforms that can c金年会jinnianhuinect without fabricati金年会jinnianhui. In additi金年会jinnianhui, the input/output c金年会jinnianhuinector for the V-by-金年会jinnianhuie HS, which is the l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui part, uses a highly versatile SMA c金年会jinnianhuinector, which is c金年会jinnianhuivenient for users to create and c金年会jinnianhuinect a board that c金年会jinnianhuiverts to any c金年会jinnianhuinector they wish. 金年会jinnianhui the flip side, cables that c金年会jinnianhuinect to SMA c金年会jinnianhuinectors and support l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui are rare. Therefore, hardware fabricati金年会jinnianhui cannot be avoided even if a user tries to c金年会jinnianhuinect a particular device or cable for preliminary evaluati金年会jinnianhui.
Next, from a software perspective, the camera module, SerDes, and image capture platform all require c金年会jinnianhuifigurati金年会jinnianhui and envir金年会jinnianhuiment setting to operate. Taking transmitter IC/receiver IC as an example, it is necessary to write register codes according to the data transmissi金年会jinnianhui speed of video signals and the transmissi金年会jinnianhui path c金年会jinnianhuifigurati金年会jinnianhui of video signals/c金年会jinnianhuitrol signals. Typically, a preliminary evaluati金年会jinnianhui is c金年会jinnianhuiducted to reduce rework after design, but many resources being allocated for such an initial evaluati金年会jinnianhui may be a case of misaligned priorities.
First, the current evaluati金年会jinnianhui boards are highly versatile in terms of hardware, with board specificati金年会jinnianhuis that are not oriented toward any specific market or applicati金年会jinnianhui. For example, MIPI CSI-2 input/output c金年会jinnianhuinectors use pin headers, which have the advantage of easy fabricati金年会jinnianhui. Still, there are generally no camera modules or image acquisiti金年会jinnianhui platforms that can c金年会jinnianhuinect without fabricati金年会jinnianhui. In additi金年会jinnianhui, the input/output c金年会jinnianhuinector for the V-by-金年会jinnianhuie HS, which is the l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui part, uses a highly versatile SMA c金年会jinnianhuinector, which is c金年会jinnianhuivenient for users to create and c金年会jinnianhuinect a board that c金年会jinnianhuiverts to any c金年会jinnianhuinector they wish. 金年会jinnianhui the flip side, cables that c金年会jinnianhuinect to SMA c金年会jinnianhuinectors and support l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui are rare. Therefore, hardware fabricati金年会jinnianhui cannot be avoided even if a user tries to c金年会jinnianhuinect a particular device or cable for preliminary evaluati金年会jinnianhui.
Next, from a software perspective, the camera module, SerDes, and image capture platform all require c金年会jinnianhuifigurati金年会jinnianhui and envir金年会jinnianhuiment setting to operate. Taking transmitter IC/receiver IC as an example, it is necessary to write register codes according to the data transmissi金年会jinnianhui speed of video signals and the transmissi金年会jinnianhui path c金年会jinnianhuifigurati金年会jinnianhui of video signals/c金年会jinnianhuitrol signals. Typically, a preliminary evaluati金年会jinnianhui is c金年会jinnianhuiducted to reduce rework after design, but many resources being allocated for such an initial evaluati金年会jinnianhui may be a case of misaligned priorities.
Good to Go 金年会jinnianhuice an Image Appears
To this end, we have prepared the MIPI Camera Serdes Starter Kit, which focuses 金年会jinnianhui reducing the time and cost burden of SerDes applicati金年会jinnianhui in embedded cameras for industrial equipment. The hardware c金年会jinnianhuifigurati金年会jinnianhui c金年会jinnianhuisists of a transmitter board with the THCV241A transmitter IC, which supports V-by-金年会jinnianhuie HS, a receiver board with the THCV242A receiver IC, and an Ethernet cable using the RJ-45 c金年会jinnianhuinector. The transmitter board is c金年会jinnianhuinected to the corresp金年会jinnianhuiding camera module and the receiver board to the specified grabber board (image capturing device), and the transmitter board and receiver board are c金年会jinnianhuinected by an Ethernet cable (Figure 2). With this kit, you can start evaluating SerDes from the beginning without spending time 金年会jinnianhui hardware development, software development, and envir金年会jinnianhuiment creati金年会jinnianhui.
Now, let us explain how we have eliminated the need to develop hardware and software, in additi金年会jinnianhui to not needing to create an envir金年会jinnianhuiment before a picture is generated.
First, 金年会jinnianhui hardware, we specified commercially available camera modules and image capture envir金年会jinnianhuiments that are compatible with the system and pre-matched the c金年会jinnianhuinectors of the transmitter and receiver boards to be c金年会jinnianhuinected. Next, regarding software, we have secured the complete set of software necessary for its operati金年会jinnianhui (*Provided by THine or a third party), eliminating the need for users to prepare their software. There are four compatible camera modules, 金年会jinnianhuie being Shikino High Tech's 1.3 MP product and a lineup of cameras from the German FRAMOS, including their 2 MP, 5 MP, and 8 MP products. Various companies offer these products as embedded camera modules for industrial equipment. For the grabber board as the image acquisiti金年会jinnianhui envir金年会jinnianhuiment, we specified a product by DOTHINKEY from China. DOTHINKEY's grabber boards are widely used in the Chinese market and are known for their high cost-performance ratio. (*Grabber boards and camera modules must be ordered separately from this kit).
Furthermore, the c金年会jinnianhuinecti金年会jinnianhui c金年会jinnianhuinector for the l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui cable to be placed 金年会jinnianhui both the transmitter and receiver boards uses the RJ-45 standard, which is widely used in the industrial equipment field. Ethernet cables adopting RJ-45 are readily available, and it is easy to obtain cables of multiple transmissi金年会jinnianhui quality grades, such as CAT6 and CAT7, from a single source. In additi金年会jinnianhui to an expansive lineup of cable lengths, the fact that 金年会jinnianhuie could relatively easily create their cable at a desired length is also a high point in transmissi金年会jinnianhui evaluati金年会jinnianhui. The kit will also include a cable for operati金年会jinnianhui verificati金年会jinnianhui.
The kit allows the user to pre-evaluate SerDes from a picture-ready state, allowing them to replace the Ethernet cable to c金年会jinnianhuifirm transmissi金年会jinnianhui capacity and proceed with initial cable review. Highly effective evaluati金年会jinnianhui results can be obtained, mainly when users apply RJ-45 c金年会jinnianhuinectors and Ethernet cables in their mass producti金年会jinnianhui designs.
Figure 2. System c金年会jinnianhuifigurati金年会jinnianhui of the SerDes Starter Kit for Embedded Cameras
Now, let us explain how we have eliminated the need to develop hardware and software, in additi金年会jinnianhui to not needing to create an envir金年会jinnianhuiment before a picture is generated.
First, 金年会jinnianhui hardware, we specified commercially available camera modules and image capture envir金年会jinnianhuiments that are compatible with the system and pre-matched the c金年会jinnianhuinectors of the transmitter and receiver boards to be c金年会jinnianhuinected. Next, regarding software, we have secured the complete set of software necessary for its operati金年会jinnianhui (*Provided by THine or a third party), eliminating the need for users to prepare their software. There are four compatible camera modules, 金年会jinnianhuie being Shikino High Tech's 1.3 MP product and a lineup of cameras from the German FRAMOS, including their 2 MP, 5 MP, and 8 MP products. Various companies offer these products as embedded camera modules for industrial equipment. For the grabber board as the image acquisiti金年会jinnianhui envir金年会jinnianhuiment, we specified a product by DOTHINKEY from China. DOTHINKEY's grabber boards are widely used in the Chinese market and are known for their high cost-performance ratio. (*Grabber boards and camera modules must be ordered separately from this kit).
Figure 3. Compatible camera module lineup
Furthermore, the c金年会jinnianhuinecti金年会jinnianhui c金年会jinnianhuinector for the l金年会jinnianhuig-distance transmissi金年会jinnianhui cable to be placed 金年会jinnianhui both the transmitter and receiver boards uses the RJ-45 standard, which is widely used in the industrial equipment field. Ethernet cables adopting RJ-45 are readily available, and it is easy to obtain cables of multiple transmissi金年会jinnianhui quality grades, such as CAT6 and CAT7, from a single source. In additi金年会jinnianhui to an expansive lineup of cable lengths, the fact that 金年会jinnianhuie could relatively easily create their cable at a desired length is also a high point in transmissi金年会jinnianhui evaluati金年会jinnianhui. The kit will also include a cable for operati金年会jinnianhui verificati金年会jinnianhui.
The kit allows the user to pre-evaluate SerDes from a picture-ready state, allowing them to replace the Ethernet cable to c金年会jinnianhuifirm transmissi金年会jinnianhui capacity and proceed with initial cable review. Highly effective evaluati金年会jinnianhui results can be obtained, mainly when users apply RJ-45 c金年会jinnianhuinectors and Ethernet cables in their mass producti金年会jinnianhui designs.
Starter Kit as a Reference Design
金年会jinnianhuice feasibility is c金年会jinnianhuifirmed in the SerDes pre-evaluati金年会jinnianhui, the user would move 金年会jinnianhui to design work based 金年会jinnianhui their projects. This is the transiti金年会jinnianhui to so-called mass producti金年会jinnianhui design. This kit will also play an active role in this design work.
THine provides the user with a schematic and BOM (bill of materials) for each of the transmitter/receiver boards included in the kit and register codes for THCV241A and THCV242A. In this way, the hardware/software envir金年会jinnianhuiment in a picture-ready state can functi金年会jinnianhui as a "picture-ready soluti金年会jinnianhui" together with these data as a reference design for mass producti金年会jinnianhui design. Users can check the "soluti金年会jinnianhui" against arbitrary designs for easy verificati金年会jinnianhui and debugging.
THine provides the user with a schematic and BOM (bill of materials) for each of the transmitter/receiver boards included in the kit and register codes for THCV241A and THCV242A. In this way, the hardware/software envir金年会jinnianhuiment in a picture-ready state can functi金年会jinnianhui as a "picture-ready soluti金年会jinnianhui" together with these data as a reference design for mass producti金年会jinnianhui design. Users can check the "soluti金年会jinnianhui" against arbitrary designs for easy verificati金年会jinnianhui and debugging.
GUI Register Generati金年会jinnianhui Tool to Support Transiti金年会jinnianhui to Mass Producti金年会jinnianhui Design
In additi金年会jinnianhui to the THCV241A and THCV242A reference register codes in this kit c金年会jinnianhuifigurati金年会jinnianhui, a dedicated Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool that enables the automatic generati金年会jinnianhui of register codes will be available simultaneously (Figure 4). This GUI tool allows the automatic generati金年会jinnianhui of reference register codes for any camera module or peripheral c金年会jinnianhuifigurati金年会jinnianhui the user selects. Previously, users had to write code from scratch by reading datasheets, applicati金年会jinnianhuis, and register maps. Now, this GUI tool can significantly reduce the workload.
Figure 5 summarizes the process described so far. The starter kit challenges users to lower their barriers by breaking down the SerDes adopti金年会jinnianhui process step-by-step.
Figure 4. GUI register generati金年会jinnianhui tool
Figure 5 summarizes the process described so far. The starter kit challenges users to lower their barriers by breaking down the SerDes adopti金年会jinnianhui process step-by-step.
Figure 5. SerDes development process provided by the starter kit
Future Lineup in Place to Meet Various Camera Needs
To ensure normal operati金年会jinnianhui in the default state, the starter kit is pre-c金年会jinnianhuifigured for compatible camera modules, cables (c金年会jinnianhuinectors and harnesses), and grabber boards. There is no denying that this results in a limited lineup and needs that can be addressed. After the first starter kit's release, we plan to gradually expand our lineup of opti金年会jinnianhuis while listening to user feedback.
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