THine Value Embedded Camera Development Demo Kit for Wireless Transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of Video and Power, Adopting MIPI CSI-2 Serial Interface IC
2024.10.08
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Industrial electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic devices include medical equipment, semic金年会金字招牌诚信至上ductor manufacturing equipment, inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 equipment, vending machines, and robots. The development of these kinds of industrial devices presents various challenges regarding the serial interfaces used for transmitting video/image signals and c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol signals.
Our company (THine Electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics) believes there are seven of these major challenges. These are: 1) Ensuring electrical isolati金年会金字招牌诚信至上, 2) Eliminating mechanical stress 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nector joints, 3) Avoiding c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 failures and aging-related issues in factory inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 processes, 4) Improving productivity by simplifying assembly methods, 5) Enhancing productivity through quick inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上s, 6) Enabling water-resistant, dust-proof, and salt-resistant designs, and 7) Enabling designs with detachable cameras and m金年会金字招牌诚信至上itors. *For more informati金年会金字招牌诚信至上, please see "Resolving Signal Line Issues with C金年会金字招牌诚信至上tactless C金年会金字招牌诚信至上nectors, Realized through Serial Interface ICs and Short-Range Wireless ICs."
In fact, replacing wired serial interfaces with wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 can resolve all seven issues. Furthermore, wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 can also open up new applicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上s. However, the percepti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 that "serial interfaces mean wired c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上s" is quite str金年会金字招牌诚信至上g, so many engineers may feel hesitant to replace wired c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上s with wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上.
Therefore, we are developing various demo kits to c金年会金字招牌诚信至上vey the image of wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of serial interfaces clearly. By obtaining these kits and progressing with verificati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 and study, users can gather informati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 which challenges can be solved, what performance and characteristics are achievable, and usability. Informati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 that cannot be c金年会金字招牌诚信至上veyed through written text becomes clear at a glance. Additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ally, 金年会金字招牌诚信至上ce the demo kit is c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nected with cables and powered 金年会金字招牌诚信至上, users can quickly start proof of c金年会金字招牌诚信至上cept (PoC) work.
THine has already completed the development of several demo kits. For example, there is a demo kit that uses wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 for the serial interface c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necting the motor c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol unit and motor drive unit. A rotary encoder is c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nected to the motor c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol unit, and when an operator moves this knob, a digital signal indicating the rotati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 amount is wirelessly transmitted to the motor drive unit, which then drives the motor.
Additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ally, a demo kit for a detachable camera is available. By simply bringing the board with the camera close to the board with the wireless receiver, the video signal can be wirelessly transmitted to the m金年会金字招牌诚信至上itor. This setup is intended for use cases where the camera is detached from the main electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic device for utilizati金年会金字招牌诚信至上.
Our company (THine Electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics) believes there are seven of these major challenges. These are: 1) Ensuring electrical isolati金年会金字招牌诚信至上, 2) Eliminating mechanical stress 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nector joints, 3) Avoiding c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 failures and aging-related issues in factory inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 processes, 4) Improving productivity by simplifying assembly methods, 5) Enhancing productivity through quick inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上s, 6) Enabling water-resistant, dust-proof, and salt-resistant designs, and 7) Enabling designs with detachable cameras and m金年会金字招牌诚信至上itors. *For more informati金年会金字招牌诚信至上, please see "Resolving Signal Line Issues with C金年会金字招牌诚信至上tactless C金年会金字招牌诚信至上nectors, Realized through Serial Interface ICs and Short-Range Wireless ICs."
In fact, replacing wired serial interfaces with wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 can resolve all seven issues. Furthermore, wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 can also open up new applicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上s. However, the percepti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 that "serial interfaces mean wired c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上s" is quite str金年会金字招牌诚信至上g, so many engineers may feel hesitant to replace wired c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上s with wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上.
Therefore, we are developing various demo kits to c金年会金字招牌诚信至上vey the image of wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of serial interfaces clearly. By obtaining these kits and progressing with verificati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 and study, users can gather informati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 which challenges can be solved, what performance and characteristics are achievable, and usability. Informati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 that cannot be c金年会金字招牌诚信至上veyed through written text becomes clear at a glance. Additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ally, 金年会金字招牌诚信至上ce the demo kit is c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nected with cables and powered 金年会金字招牌诚信至上, users can quickly start proof of c金年会金字招牌诚信至上cept (PoC) work.
THine has already completed the development of several demo kits. For example, there is a demo kit that uses wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 for the serial interface c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necting the motor c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol unit and motor drive unit. A rotary encoder is c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nected to the motor c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol unit, and when an operator moves this knob, a digital signal indicating the rotati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 amount is wirelessly transmitted to the motor drive unit, which then drives the motor.
Additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ally, a demo kit for a detachable camera is available. By simply bringing the board with the camera close to the board with the wireless receiver, the video signal can be wirelessly transmitted to the m金年会金字招牌诚信至上itor. This setup is intended for use cases where the camera is detached from the main electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic device for utilizati金年会金字招牌诚信至上.
Three-lane Wireless Transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 Capability
This time, we have added a newly developed product, the C金年会金字招牌诚信至上tactless Camera Adaptor, to our demo kit lineup (Fig. 1).
This demo kit is designed for wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of the serial interface c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necting a camera module and a grabber board (image capture device). In terms of basic functi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ality, it is quite similar to the aforementi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ed demo kit for detachable cameras. However, it includes several unique features that the previous kit lacks. Let's explore the details below.
First, let us go over the system c金年会金字招牌诚信至上figurati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of the demo kit (Fig. 2). The MIPI CSI-2 video signal output from the camera module is input into a transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 board equipped with a serial interface IC (transmitter IC) THCV241A. This IC c金年会金字招牌诚信至上verts the signal into a serial (V-by-金年会金字招牌诚信至上e HS) video format. Then, the signal is wirelessly transmitted to the receiving board using 60 GHz millimeter-wave technology, where it is c金年会金字招牌诚信至上verted back to a MIPI CSI-2 signal by the serial interface IC (receiver IC) THCV242A and sent to the grabber board.
The main feature of the new demo kit is that it offers three lanes for wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上. Two of these three lanes are for the main channels that transmit video signals. The maximum data transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 speed per lane is a high 4 Gbps. Therefore, by using two lanes, it is possible to transmit an 8 MP, 60 fps video signal (up to 7.2 Gbps). The third land is a sub-channel dedicated to transceiver c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol signals. It supports half-duplex communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上. C金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol signals are essential for various settings and c金年会金字招牌诚信至上figurati金年会金字招牌诚信至上s needed to operate the camera module, serial interface IC, and grabber board.
For millimeter-wave wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上, we adopted millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 modules commercialized by South Korea's SENSORVIEW (Sensorview Co., LTD). The module used for the two main link lines is the SAM3, and for the sub-link, we use the B2266 (Fig. 3).
SAM3 performs wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 in a face-to-face c金年会金字招牌诚信至上figurati金年会金字招牌诚信至上, as shown 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 the left side of Fig. 4. In other words, the transmitting and receiving boards are stacked, and data is sent between the two SAM3 modules. In additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上, South Korea's SENSORVIEW offers the SAM4 millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 module for side-to-side wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上. This makes it possible to place the transmitting and receiving boards side by side and send data between two SAM4s (Fig. 4, right). Both modules are equipped with the ST60A2 millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 chip by STMicroelectr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics, combined with a small proprietary horn antenna developed by SENSORVIEW.
Additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ally, the setup includes a feature to wirelessly supply power from the transmitting board to the receiving board. This means that there is no need for a wired power supply to the receiving board, allowing complete electrical isolati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 between the transmitting and receiving boards. For wireless power transfer, we used a B&PLUS wireless power supply block.
The effective c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 range for wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 using millimeter waves is 20 to 30 mm at a data transfer speed of 3.6 Gbps (Table 1). Meanwhile, the maximum power transfer for wireless charging is 10 W, with a maximum distance of 10 mm.
Fig. 1 Example of c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necting the C金年会金字招牌诚信至上tactless Camera Adaptor
This demo kit is designed for wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of the serial interface c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necting a camera module and a grabber board (image capture device). In terms of basic functi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ality, it is quite similar to the aforementi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ed demo kit for detachable cameras. However, it includes several unique features that the previous kit lacks. Let's explore the details below.
First, let us go over the system c金年会金字招牌诚信至上figurati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of the demo kit (Fig. 2). The MIPI CSI-2 video signal output from the camera module is input into a transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 board equipped with a serial interface IC (transmitter IC) THCV241A. This IC c金年会金字招牌诚信至上verts the signal into a serial (V-by-金年会金字招牌诚信至上e HS) video format. Then, the signal is wirelessly transmitted to the receiving board using 60 GHz millimeter-wave technology, where it is c金年会金字招牌诚信至上verted back to a MIPI CSI-2 signal by the serial interface IC (receiver IC) THCV242A and sent to the grabber board.
Fig. 2 System c金年会金字招牌诚信至上figurati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of the C金年会金字招牌诚信至上tactless Camera Adaptor
The main feature of the new demo kit is that it offers three lanes for wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上. Two of these three lanes are for the main channels that transmit video signals. The maximum data transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 speed per lane is a high 4 Gbps. Therefore, by using two lanes, it is possible to transmit an 8 MP, 60 fps video signal (up to 7.2 Gbps). The third land is a sub-channel dedicated to transceiver c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol signals. It supports half-duplex communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上. C金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol signals are essential for various settings and c金年会金字招牌诚信至上figurati金年会金字招牌诚信至上s needed to operate the camera module, serial interface IC, and grabber board.
For millimeter-wave wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上, we adopted millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 modules commercialized by South Korea's SENSORVIEW (Sensorview Co., LTD). The module used for the two main link lines is the SAM3, and for the sub-link, we use the B2266 (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 Transmitting and receiving boards
SAM3 performs wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 in a face-to-face c金年会金字招牌诚信至上figurati金年会金字招牌诚信至上, as shown 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 the left side of Fig. 4. In other words, the transmitting and receiving boards are stacked, and data is sent between the two SAM3 modules. In additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上, South Korea's SENSORVIEW offers the SAM4 millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 module for side-to-side wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上. This makes it possible to place the transmitting and receiving boards side by side and send data between two SAM4s (Fig. 4, right). Both modules are equipped with the ST60A2 millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 chip by STMicroelectr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics, combined with a small proprietary horn antenna developed by SENSORVIEW.
Fig. 4 Wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 using millimeter waves
Additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ally, the setup includes a feature to wirelessly supply power from the transmitting board to the receiving board. This means that there is no need for a wired power supply to the receiving board, allowing complete electrical isolati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 between the transmitting and receiving boards. For wireless power transfer, we used a B&PLUS wireless power supply block.
The effective c金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 range for wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 using millimeter waves is 20 to 30 mm at a data transfer speed of 3.6 Gbps (Table 1). Meanwhile, the maximum power transfer for wireless charging is 10 W, with a maximum distance of 10 mm.
Table 1 Wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 range of the developed demo kit
Direct C金年会金字招牌诚信至上necti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 to the Camera SerDes Starter Kit
The SerDes chip serializes the parallel video signal, which is then wirelessly transmitted using a millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 module. This approach itself is not particularly new. Wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of video signals can also be achieved using competitors' SerDes chips. However, wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of both the main channel for video signals and a sub-channel for c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol signals has been challenging when using competing SerDes chips. This is because c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol signals are often overlaid 金年会金字招牌诚信至上to the main channel video signal. While it is possible to extract the c金年会金字招牌诚信至上trol signal from the main channel, this requires additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上al cost and labor. However, this can easily be achieved by using our serial interface IC THCV241A/242A.
The advantage of wirelessly transmitting both the main and sub-channels is significant. 金年会金字招牌诚信至上e of the benefits is that we can use our serial interface IC to easily and wirelessly c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nect to our existing MIPI Camera SerDes Starter Kit. By simply inserting the newly developed RF board between the THCV241A-equipped camera module board and the THCV242A-equipped grabber board, wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 between the camera module and grabber board can be established (Fig. 5).
The starter kit was originally intended to simplify the integrati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of camera modules into industrial equipment. Therefore, combining it with this demo kit makes it very easy to create an embedded camera that transmits video signals wirelessly.
This demo kit targets three main types of applicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上s. The first is electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic devices that require electrical isolati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 between the transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 and recepti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 boards—for example, medical devices like endoscopes. The sec金年会金字招牌诚信至上d is electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic devices that require complete waterproofing and dustproofing 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 the transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 or recepti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 side. For instance, inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 equipment used in harsh envir金年会金字招牌诚信至上ments or industrial cameras that can be washed with water. The third is electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic devices that do not tolerate mechanical stress 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nectors. Examples include inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 equipment used 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 producti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 lines.
This demo kit can be used with all CMOS image sensors compatible with the starter kit (Table 2). For example, the 2-megapixel GC2093 at 30 fps and the 8-megapixel IMX415 at 60 fps can be used.
The advantage of wirelessly transmitting both the main and sub-channels is significant. 金年会金字招牌诚信至上e of the benefits is that we can use our serial interface IC to easily and wirelessly c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nect to our existing MIPI Camera SerDes Starter Kit. By simply inserting the newly developed RF board between the THCV241A-equipped camera module board and the THCV242A-equipped grabber board, wireless transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 between the camera module and grabber board can be established (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5 System c金年会金字招牌诚信至上figurati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of the MIPI Camera SerDes Starter Kit
The starter kit was originally intended to simplify the integrati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 of camera modules into industrial equipment. Therefore, combining it with this demo kit makes it very easy to create an embedded camera that transmits video signals wirelessly.
This demo kit targets three main types of applicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上s. The first is electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic devices that require electrical isolati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 between the transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 and recepti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 boards—for example, medical devices like endoscopes. The sec金年会金字招牌诚信至上d is electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic devices that require complete waterproofing and dustproofing 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 the transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 or recepti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 side. For instance, inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 equipment used in harsh envir金年会金字招牌诚信至上ments or industrial cameras that can be washed with water. The third is electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ic devices that do not tolerate mechanical stress 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 c金年会金字招牌诚信至上nectors. Examples include inspecti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 equipment used 金年会金字招牌诚信至上 producti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 lines.
This demo kit can be used with all CMOS image sensors compatible with the starter kit (Table 2). For example, the 2-megapixel GC2093 at 30 fps and the 8-megapixel IMX415 at 60 fps can be used.
Table 2 Lis of compatible CMOS image sensors
Development Led by Design Team in South Korea
The design team at THine Electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics Korea, our local subsidiary in South Korea, primarily led the development of this demo kit. Why was the South Korean design team chosen for this project?
The main reas金年会金字招牌诚信至上 lies in the involvement of SENSORVIEW, which commercializes millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 modules. Generally, the design of boards and systems equipped with millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 modules is quite challenging. "The developed demo kit's transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 and recepti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 boards each have three millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 modules, and placing them close together poses a high risk of radio wave interference. How far apart should they be to avoid interference? We received technical support from SENSORVIEW, which has advanced expertise in antennae technology," explained a design member at THine Electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics Korea. During development, we also received technical support from the local subsidiary of STMicroelectr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics in South Korea, which provides millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 chips.
Additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ally, SENSORVIEW's millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 module SAM3 has obtained technical standards compliance (Giteki) in Japan.
End
The main reas金年会金字招牌诚信至上 lies in the involvement of SENSORVIEW, which commercializes millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 modules. Generally, the design of boards and systems equipped with millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 modules is quite challenging. "The developed demo kit's transmissi金年会金字招牌诚信至上 and recepti金年会金字招牌诚信至上 boards each have three millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 modules, and placing them close together poses a high risk of radio wave interference. How far apart should they be to avoid interference? We received technical support from SENSORVIEW, which has advanced expertise in antennae technology," explained a design member at THine Electr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics Korea. During development, we also received technical support from the local subsidiary of STMicroelectr金年会金字招牌诚信至上ics in South Korea, which provides millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 chips.
Additi金年会金字招牌诚信至上ally, SENSORVIEW's millimeter-wave communicati金年会金字招牌诚信至上 module SAM3 has obtained technical standards compliance (Giteki) in Japan.
End