NVIDIA Partner Network
Partners in the Development of Your NVIDIA Jetson-based Embedded Vision Application
Building on over 35 years' experience in machine vision, The Imaging Source is pleased to partner with NVIDIA to allow developers to quickly realize their embedded vision projects. The collaboration will speed time-to-market and improve performance of The Imaging Source cameras with NVIDIA® Jetson Orin™ platform.
The partnership advances The Imaging Source's strategy to extend the availability of their industrial and board cameras to MIPI CSI-2 and FPD Link™ III and soon-to-be-released GMSL2 interfaces which will open up The Imaging Source camera portfolio to a new audience of developers and partners.
The Imaging Source's pre-assembled embedded development kits for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin platform deliver plug-and-play efficiency for the rapid development of embedded vision and AI projects for applications in automotive, logistics, agriculture, automation and industrial internet of things (IIoT).
Computer Vision at the Edge
Affordable processing power, improved machine learning algorithms and overall reduced system footprint have allowed edge computing and developments in AI (especially deep learning) to converge. Deep learning enables machine vision solutions for applications whose inspection criteria are not readily quantified or defined - delivering new possibilities for inspection, assembly, and quality assurance applications.
The combination of NVIDIA's best-in-class AI functionality with The Imaging Source's wide portfolio of robust and reliable industrial cameras enables embedded vision developers to realize applications that were previously impossible or required significant programming effort.
The Imaging Source provides open source drivers to support its MIPI CSI-2, FPD-Link III, and soon-to-be-released GMSL2 cameras on the NVIDIA Jetson Orin platform.
Fig. 1: Low-cost processing power and advances in deep learning technologies have enabled the increasing adoption of edge-based vision applications.
Supported NVIDIA Platforms
NVIDIA Jetson Orin is the leading embedded platform for image processing and deep learning applications. The Imaging Source's camera modules, 6-channel carrier board and edge camera support the NVIDIA Jetson platform.
It delivers compact, power-efficient, cost-effective solutions and is ideal for computer vision and embedded vision tasks requiring significant processing power for high-performance AI computing.
Fig. 2: Powerful platform for embedded vision - The Imaging Source's Reference Design with NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16GB, carrier board with 2-channel MIPI CSI-2 interfaces and two 36S MIPI CSI-2 cameras.
Supported Camera Interfaces
The Imaging Source supports three camera interfaces for embedded vision: MIPI CSI-2, FPD-Link III, and the upcoming GMSL2.
The MIPI CSI-2 protocol enables direct sensor-to-ISP connection, avoiding latency issues and minimizing footprint. The MIPI CSI-2 camera modules are perfect for single and multi-camera embedded vision applications in automotive and IoT as well as standard machine vision applications.
The Imaging Source's MIPI CSI-2 cameras, available with either FPD-Link III or GMSL2 serializer boards, offer nearly the same feature set as standard MIPI CSI-2 cameras but allow cable lengths up to 15 meters between the sensor and processor. Image data, commands and power supply are transmitted via a thin coaxial cable.
Fig. 3: Cameras for embedded vision from The Imaging Source. Shown here with MIPI CSI-2, FPD-Link III and GMSL2 interfaces.
Camera Sensors
A range of the latest color and monochrome Sony Pregius (global shutter) and STARVIS (rolling shutter) sensors make up The Imaging Source's embedded camera portfolio. These cost-effective CMOS sensors deliver exceptional image quality and color fidelity. The portfolio's range of resolutions (0.4 MP - 20 MP) and frame rates mean that there is a sensor for almost any embedded application.
Fig. 4: A broad portfolio of Sony and onsemi sensors ensures that a range of resolutions and frame rates are available to meet application requirements.