Laser Scanning System uses BitFlow Frame Grabber to Improve Driver Visibility on Foggy Roads

WOBURN, MA, NOVEMBER 15, 2021 — Fog is produced by the suspension of very fine moisture droplets in the air. When light hits these droplets, it scatters and results in a loss of contrast and a dense white background. As these droplets get smaller, fog gets thicker and makes roadways more blanketed, reducing visibility, limiting contrast, and distorting the perception of speed. Reports from the Federal Highway Administration cite an annual average of 31,385 fog-related car accidents resulting in more than 500 deaths.

To help drivers achieve improved visibility through fog, researchers1 from Purdue University and the University of Science and Technology of China developed an experimental off-axis spatiotemporally gated multimode laser scanning system. Extensive testing has shown the system yields high-quality images at seven scattering path lengths, which far exceeds the capability of conventional imaging solutions, such as LIDAR that typically lacks the spatial resolution and contrast of optical measurement.

During testing, image capture was performed using a Photonfocus 2-megapixel CMOS camera with full-well capacity recording at 128 x 118 pixel resolution to simulate pupil plane detection. The camera was configured for external exposure control mode so that the external trigger signal controlled both the exposure start and duration. Using a region of interest containing the 128 × 118 pixels, researchers achieved 4 kHz frame rate with 50% duty cycle. These images were continuously transferred to a computer memory through a BitFlow Neon CLB Base/PoCL Camera Link frame grabber. Featuring PoCL, this board can acquire from all Base CL cameras up to 24 bits at 85 MHz and has enough industrial I/O to handle even the most complicated synchronization tasks.

Image quality was evaluated by placing a flat wood deer shape figurine inside a rectangle glass tank filled with water and subject to different levels of scattering. Milk gradually was added into the water tank while scattering path length was measured. Researchers utilized a 592 nm diode laser source of 7 mm coherence length and employed hologram recording to achieve temporal gating.

To adapt the system for practical implementation on motor vehicles, researchers plan to abandon laser interferometry and directly employ a nanosecond pulsed light source and electronic gating on the detected signal as in LIDAR imaging. Also, they will locate an illumination module and detection module on each side of a vehicle using two separated synchronized beam scanners that will scan a common focus.

BitFlow Axion-xB Frame Grabbers Improve Performance of Camera Link Imaging Systems

New frame grabbers acquire stable, low-latency data from CL Base Cameras

WOBURN, MA, FEBRUARY 2, 2021 — Design engineers in the machine vision industry now have more configuration options than ever before with the introduction of the new Axion-xB line of frame grabbers from BitFlow, with support for the highest performance Camera Link® Base cameras on the market. Available in single, dual and quad link versions for maximum design flexibility, the new frame grabbers demonstrate BitFlow’s ongoing commitment to the highly popular Camera Link (CL) standard.


“Axion-xB frame grabbers represent a major upgrade from our renown Neon family of CL frame grabbers that we are phasing out in favor of this faster, more economical design,” said Donal Waide, Director of Sales for BitFlow, Inc. “Today, we are making it much easier for developers to bring the power, acceleration and versatility of technologies we’ve incorporated in our high-end CoaXPress frame grabbers into a Camera Link system environment, including the BitFlow StreamSync DMA engine and buffer manager that eliminates the need for on-board memory.”

As data generated by faster, higher-resolution cameras continues to grow exponentially, the Axion-xB’s PCIe Gen 2 interface — with the DMA optimized for modern computers — is now in line with the rest of the Axion family. Features such as, easier switching between different tap formats, more powerful acquisition engine and a more flexible I/O and timing generator are all now readily available in a dedicated low cost CL Base orientated frame grabber.


NEON UPGRADE SOLUTION The Axion-xB line addresses the challenge to developers of delivering greater return on machine vision system investments. One way to add value is to upgrade to the Axion-xB from existing Neon frame grabbers. Moving from the Neon family to the Axion family is simple. No code alterations are required — designers just recompile with the latest BitFlow SDK (6.5). Or if a 3rd party application is installed, such as Cognex Vision Pro or LabVIEW, the user can download the latest driver from BitFlow and the program will be immediately supported.


BitFlow Axion-xB frame grabbers are complimented by a sophisticated application software package and the BitFlow SDK for Windows and Linux operating systems. They can be integrated with virtually every available software library to permit seamless custom application development.

BitFlow Reaches for the Stars Helping Mount Wilson Observatory Capture Celestial Images

WOBURN, MA, JANUARY 7, 2021 — Located on Mount Wilson, California, Georgia State University’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy array (CHARA) is the world’s largest optical interferometer and has delivered landmark sub-milliarcsecond results in the areas of stellar imaging, binaries, and stellar diameters. CHARA is comprised of six separate telescopes across Mount Wilson that act together as one enormous telescope to attain the resolving power to define amazingly small details. To operate, the light obtained from each telescope is combined and a final reconstructed image can be observed that is of far higher resolution than would otherwise be possible.

Achieving observations of faint targets such as young stellar objects and active galactic nuclei required a new higher sensitivity adaptive optics system to correct atmospheric turbulence and path aberrations between the six telescopes in the array and the beam combiner lab. A BitFlow Neon CLB was used in the optics system as a low-latency frame grabber solution for the Andor iXon Ultra 897 EMCCD cameras capturing light from each telescope. The frames are then written to an instrument shared memory to be accessed directly by the main wavefront sensor server for processing and analysis.

Simple and affordable, the Neon CLB is a Base/PoCL Camera Link frame grabber that acquires images up to 24 bits at 85 MHz. It is one component in CHARA’s entirely commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system. In all, the optics system features six Andor ENCCD cameras, six frame grabbers, 12 OKO MMDM deformable mirrors, and six Intel CPU 6 core computers, one for each telescope. The fundamentals of the computers and the BitFlow frame grabbers are identical, meaning they use the same motherboard, processor, and RAM. Other frame grabbers were originally tested by the system designers but the latency jitter was too high compared to the BitFlow Neon CLB. In addition, the BitFlow grabber worked ideally with the Andor iXon Ultra 897’s non-standard Camera Link out: base configuration, 3-tap interface and 16-bit greyscale.

Using the BitFlow frame grabber, the cameras now operate at a 440Hz measured frame rate and have a -3dB closed-loop bandwidth of 19Hz. This is a similar performance to the adaptive optics system of the Auxiliary Telescopes of the VLTI (Very Large Telescope Interferometer) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile which is so powerful that it can detect an astronaut on the moon.

According to the CHARA researchers, the initial on-sky tests of the optics system have been very promising with more than a magnitude sensitivity improvement. In addition to observations of faint young stellar object disks and active galactic nuclei, researchers are using it to observe celestial objects in weather conditions that previously were not possible.

CAPTION: Georgia State University’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy array on Mt. Wilson is the world’s largest optical interferometer
CAPTION: BitFlow Neon CLB is being used as a low-latency frame grabber solution for the CHARA array

BitFlow in Boston, MA 2018

BitFlow recently exhibited at the Vision Show Boston at the Hynes Convention Center.

We had a great location at the entrance to the show.

Our Cyton CXP and HALCON demo caught the attention of many show attendees.

A CoaXPress camera demo highlighting our Aon-CXP and Cyton CXP4 was on display along with a sequence capture demo.  Cameras from JAI, IO Industries and Sentech were included in these demos.

Our Neon CLQ, Aon-CXPAxion 1xE and Cyton CXP4 frame grabbers were all on display.

The show was well attended and there was a lot of traffic at our booth.

If you attended the show and did not have a chance to stop by our booth, please visit us online, submit an inquiry or give us a call at 781-932-2900.

Automation World, Seoul, South Korea, March 29-31, 2017

BitFlow is exhibiting this week at Automation World at the Coex Korea Exhibition Center in Seoul.  Our newly released single link CoaXPress frame grabber, the Aon-CXP is on display along with our Neon CLB, Neon CLQ, Axion 2xE, Cyton CXP2 and BitBox.  12 MP cameras from JAI and Adimec are included in a demo with the BitBox and our Cyton CXP4 highlighting CoaXPress and the BitBox capabilities.

Come see us at Booth S136!

BitFlow in Stuttgart, Germany

BitFlow recently exhibited at the Vision 2016 show in Stuttgart, Germany.

The newly released BitBox, an IO Box with high speed serial communication to the frame grabber, was on display alongside the CoaXPress splitter and the Aon.  The Aon is a low cost, single link CXP frame grabber that was designed similar to the Cyton-CXP family.  The CoaXPress splitter can take a CoaXPress signal from a camera and send it to up to four different systems for processing and/or display.

Also on display was a demonstration of GPU interfacing technology showcasing the capabilities of the frame grabber’s interactions with GPUDirect and DirectGMA.

Components Express, Inc. showcased our Cyton-CXP4 with one of their CoaXPress cables in their booth.

Our distributor, Cosyco, highlighted our Cyton-CXP and the Neon-CLQ in their booth.

If you attended the show and did not get a chance to speak with us at our booth, please visit us online, submit an inquiry or give us a call at 781-932-2900.

Automation Expo 2016, Mumbai, India, August 22-25, 2016

Our distributor Menzel Vision & Robotics recently exhibited at the well attended Automation Expo at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Center in Mumbai.  They showcased our Axion-CL, Cyton-CXP and Neon-CLB frame grabbers.   They also received an award for their innovative product display in their booth.

If you attended the show and didn’t get a chance to speak with Menzel Vision, please visit their website.