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C4-2350-GigE Camera Hardware Reference Manual Rev. 2.1
C4 Camera Series Overview
Introduction
The C4 camera series is a revolutionary product family of intelligent high speed sensors. It is optimised
for 3D profile measurement by means of laser triangulation technique. The 3D profile extraction is
performed in the camera by using high performance Field Programmable Gate Array processors. At
the same time the 3D profile data is sent to the PC over a Gigabit Ethernet interface (GigE). This
extreme data reduction boosts the measuring speed to unprecedented levels without affecting the
performance of the connected image processing unit.
Measuring Principle
The C4 camera acquires height profiles and height images based on the laser triangulation principle.
According to this method a laser line is projected on the object from one direction. The C4 camera
views the object from another angle defining the triangulation geometry. The resulting sensor image is
evaluated by the C4 camera core and converted into a single height profile. By scanning the laser line
over the object a complete height image can be acquired.
The figures below demonstrate some typical triangulation geometries. The following notation is used in
the approximation of height resolution:
∆
X= resolution along the laser line (lateral),
∆
Y= resolution perpendicular to the laser line (longitudinal in the direction of motion),
∆
Z= height resolution.
