Abstract
High-speed imaging equipment can be an expensive investment, especially when certain applications require custom solutions. In this paper, we present a low-cost high-speed prototype camera built on a low-end Zynq-7000 System-on-Chip (SoC) platform and off-the-shelf components with the aim of removing the entry barrier into various high-speed imaging applications. The camera is standalone (does not require a host computer) and can achieve 211 frames per second (fps) at its maximum resolution of 1280x1024, and up to 2329 fps at a 256x256 resolution. With a current cost of only several hundred dollars and resource utilization of ~5%, the open-source design’s modularity and customizability allows users with sufficient hardware or programming experience to modify the camera to suit their needs, potentially driving the cost lower. This can be done by utilizing the large remaining programmable logic for custom image processing algorithms, creating user interface software on the CPU, attaching extensions through the peripheral Module connections, or creating custom carrier or daughter boards. The development and design of the camera is described and a figure-of-merit is presented to provide a value assessment of some available commercial high-speed cameras against which our camera is competitive. Finally, the camera was tested to record low frequency spatial vibration and was found to be useful in investigating phenotypes associated with aging in a leading animal model, the nematode (worm) Caenorhabditis elegans.
Highlights
High-speed cameras have given us the ability to observe and analyze physical processes previously thought to be on timescales outside the realm of human comprehension
We provide a working prototype solution built upon a Zynq SoC (System-on-Chip) containing a CPU and FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) with a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) image sensor that can lead the way towards the development of these low-cost high-speed cameras
Maximum framerates were calculated by measuring the number of clock cycles between Frame Start signals from the sensor to obtain the time per frame and inverting the value
Summary
High-speed cameras have given us the ability to observe and analyze physical processes previously thought to be on timescales outside the realm of human comprehension. They are developed for machine vision applications [1] such as automatic inspection, used to conduct highspeed impact testing [2,3], and have allowed scientific research into the biomechanics of animals [4] and of humans in sports science [5], ballistics [6], and the broad field of fluid dynamics [7]. Configurations of the Phantom–a popular high-speed video camera brand by Vision Research–can be priced $100,000 and up [8], creating a steep entry barrier.
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