High-Performance Image Acquisition and Processing System with MTCA.4

Abstract

Fast evolution of high-performance cameras in recent years has made them promising tools for observing transient and fast events in large-scale scientific experiments. Complex experiments, such as ITER, take advantage of high-performance imaging system consisting of several fast cameras working in the range of visible and infrared light. However, the application of such devices requires a usage of high-performance data acquisition systems able to read and transfer large amount of data, reaching even 10 Gbit/s for a single camera. The MTCA.4 form factor fulfils the requirements of demanding imaging systems. The paper presents a first implementation of a complete image acquisition system built on the basis of MTCA.4 architecture, which is dedicated for the operation with high-resolution fast cameras equipped with Camera Link interface. Image data from the camera are received by the frame grabber card and transmitted to the host via the PCIe interface. The modular structure of MTCA.4 architecture allows connecting several cameras to a single MTCA chassis. The system can operate in two modes: with internal CPU installed in the MTCA chassis or with external CPU connected to the chassis with PCIe link. The usage of the external CPU opens a possibility to aggregate data from different subsystems. The system supports precise synchronization with the time reference using Precise Timing Protocol (IEEE 1588). The timing modules ensure clock distribution and triggers generation on backplane lines. These allow synchronization of image acquisition from different cameras with high precision. The software support for the system includes low-level drivers and API libraries for all components and a high-level EPICS-based environment for system control and monitoring.

Image Acquisition System Based on Synchronized High-Resolution Gigabit Ethernet Cameras

“…This means that the total cost of the system can be reduced to as low as $500 when using, for instance, a Dell Optiplex 790 MiniTower Business High Performance Desktop Computer for data processing and a Tiva Connected LaunchPad evaluation kit for camera and illumination synchronization [2]. This is much less then using custom-developed electronic devices with specialized multi-core DSPs or FPGA technology, like in [25,39,40]. Moreover, both DSPs and the FPGA technology are difficult to develop for, which implies high costs of software development and maintenance.…”

“…Most available solutions, like [25,39,40] are composed of custom-developed electronic devices that use specialized multi-core DSPs and/or FPGA technology. Furthermore, they are often designed for specific purposes, which makes them difficult to integrate into other solutions.…”

Polish electronics in high energy physics & aerospace technology

“…The Image Acquisition System (IAS) was designed using the MicroTCA.4 standard [8]. The system is dedicated to operating with high-resolution fast cameras equipped with a Camera Link interface.…”

Contribuciones en sistemas de adquisición de datos inteligentes para entornos de fusión por confinamiento magnético

“…Un sistema de adquisición de imágenes, utilizando esta arquitectura, ha sido desarrollado como una primera implementación para distintos diagnósticos que se llevaran a cabo en ITER (Makowski, Mielczarek et al 2014). Dicho sistema trabaja con cámaras de alta resolución que utilizan el interface CameraLink, permitiendo trabajar con distintos framegrabber al mismo tiempo.…”

“…Cada uno de estos subsistemas dará soporte al control de los campos magnéticos para confinar el plasma o para controlar el sistema de refrigeración del agua. Todos estos elementos conforman el sistema de control, comunicación y acceso a datos, denominado Control, Data Access and Comunication Control system (CODAC), de acuerdo a la Figura 11 (Wallander, Abadie et al 2010 (Makijarvi 2014) que permitan implementar los diferentes sistemas requeridos en cada uno de los diagnósticos. El catálogo presenta diversas soluciones hardware para diferentes tecnologías y fabricantes, con el objetivo de estandarizar y facilitar la obtención de diferentes soluciones garantizando una serie de requisititos definidos por esta organización.…”