Small high-speed camera to detect faults in fast moving processing equipment

March 2007 Sensors & Transducers

Photron has recently introduced one of the world's smallest high-speed video cameras, the FASTCAM MH-4. While focused on the automotive testing field (where cameras fitted inside the test vehicle must be fitted into incredibly small spaces to view, for example, the deployment of side and other airbags) it also has potential application in the area of fault finding in industrial high speed machinery where space is also at a premium. The camera head measures just 35 x 35 x 34 mm and the weight per head is a mere 90 g. In order to record high speed events the cameras have a 512 x 512 pixel resolution at a speed of 2000 frames per second (fps) and recording speeds of up to 10 000 frames per second at reduced resolution. The plug required to provide power and carry the recorded imagery can be mounted at all sorts of unusual positions so as to allow the camera to be customised to the particular task. There are a total of 12 cable connection options.

The processor provided for the MH-4 can accommodate up to four camera heads, allowing up to four objects to be imaged or providing four different views of the same object. The storage per head is 1 GB (2 seconds recording time at full framing rate) with 2 GB optional. Video output can be NTSC or PAL and the saved image formats include JPEG, AVI, TIFF and BMP. The cameras can be sychronised precisely to a master camera or external source. The camera control is accomplished using an external keypad with a Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) interface.

There are many Photron systems now working in South Africa, covering the needs of the defence testing, research and sports imaging fields. Sports science is a big field of Photron cameras where high speed imagery can help a golfer improve his stroke or in cricket replay controversial leg-before-wicket decisions. Cameras for the latter application typically operate at 2000 fps.

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