BitFlow Announces the Karbon-CL
For Immediate Release
Boston, MA - May 9, 2006 - BitFlow, Inc. announced the world's first four-camera PCI Express frame grabber, the Karbon-CL, at Vision East 2006. At this exhibition, the Karbon-CL was demonstrated acquiring data at 650 MB/S from the Basler A504 10-tap Camera Link Camera. The Karbon-CL can acquire simultaneously from up to four Base CL cameras or two Full CL cameras (including 10-tap CL). The Karbon-CL has x8 PCI Express interface providing data bandwidth into host memory of up to 2.0 GB/S. This board is the first member of BitFlow's Karbon family, which will provide a platform that can host an wide variety of virtual frame grabbers. These virtual frame grabbers can be customized to meet an OEM's specific needs.
The Karbon-CL has been designed with two main applications in mind. First, in situations where more than one camera is needed, the Karbon-CL can reduce both the system cost and the hardware footprint by its ability to acquire from up to four cameras. Second, in situations where extremely high data rates and/or frame rates are required, the Karbon-CL has been designed to handle up to 160 bits at 85 MHz pixel clock rate and can DMA at data rates up to 2.0 GB/S. For example, the Karbon-CL can handle two of the new 10-tap CL cameras that have recently become available.
The Karbon-CL has been design with industrial applications in mind. The board has a full set of output signals for controlling the camera, strobes and other hardware on the factory floor. The board also has trigger, encoder and user specifiable inputs for controlling acquisition and other software processes. In addition, when being used in two or four camera mode, there is a full complement of I/O signals for each camera. On the acquisition side, the board uses BitFlow's FlowThru technology, which provides zero latency access to data, super low CPU usage, and unlimited DMA destination size. The Karbon-CL will not only acquire from complex cameras at very high data rates, but it will also play nicely with your computer's CPU resources and integrate well with the external equipment in your machine vision environment.
Pricing and Availability
The Karbon-CL will be available in third quater of 2006. Initially two models will be offered. There will be a two base CL camera (or one full) model and a four base CL camera (or two full) model. Pricing of these models will be announced when the boards are available for shipment. Contact BitFlow (www.bitflow.com) for more information.
About BitFlow
BitFlow is a privately held United States corporation based in Woburn, Massachusetts. BitFlow is a leading producer of analog, digital and Camera Link frame grabbers. The company also provides image analysis and machine vision software and application development software for the imaging industry. BitFlow has shipped tens of thousands of interface boards to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), military, Research and Development, and educational customers since it was founded in 1993.