NI Vision NI PXI/PCI-1411 User Manual Single-Channel Color Image Acquisition Device NI PXI/PCI-1411 User Manual February 2007 372157D-01
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Important Information Warranty The NI PXI/PCI-1411 is warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty period. This warranty includes parts and labor.
Compliance Compliance with FCC/Canada Radio Frequency Interference Regulations Determining FCC Class The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rules to protect wireless communications from interference. The FCC places digital electronics into two classes. These classes are known as Class A (for use in industrial-commercial locations only) or Class B (for use in residential or commercial locations). All National Instruments (NI) products are FCC Class A products.
Conventions The following conventions are used in this manual: » The » symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options to a final action. The sequence File»Page Setup»Options directs you to pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item, and select Options from the last dialog box. ♦ The ♦ symbol indicates that the following text applies only to a specific product, a specific operating system, or a specific software version.
Contents Chapter 1 Introduction About the NI 1411 .........................................................................................................1-1 Using PXI with CompactPCI.........................................................................................1-2 Software Overview ........................................................................................................1-2 NI-IMAQ Driver Software ..............................................................................
Contents Appendix B Technical Support and Professional Services Glossary Index NI PXI/PCI-1411 User Manual viii ni.
1 Introduction This chapter describes the NI PXI/PCI-1411 (NI 1411) and describes your software programming choices. About the NI 1411 The NI 1411 is a monochrome and color image acquisition device for PXI, PCI, or CompactPCI chassis that supports a diverse range of analog cameras from many camera companies. The NI 1411 acquires images in real time and can store these images in onboard frame memory, or transfer these images directly to system memory.
Chapter 1 Introduction Using PXI with CompactPCI Using PXI-compatible products with standard CompactPCI products is an important feature provided by the PXI Specification, Revision 1.0. If you use a PXI-compatible plug-in device in a standard CompactPCI chassis, you cannot use PXI-specific functions, but you can still use the basic plug-in device functions. The CompactPCI specification permits vendors to develop sub-buses that coexist with the basic PCI interface on the CompactPCI bus.
Chapter 1 Introduction NI-IMAQ performs all functions required for acquiring and saving images but does not perform image analysis. For image analysis functionality, refer to the National Instruments Application Software section of this chapter. NI-IMAQ also provides the interface path between the NI 1411 and LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, or a text-based programming environment.
Chapter 1 Introduction Vision Development Module The Vision Development Module is an image acquisition, processing, and analysis library of more than 270 functions for the following common machine vision tasks: • Pattern matching • Particle analysis • Gauging • Taking measurements • Grayscale, color, and binary image display You can use the Vision Development Module functions individually or in combination.
2 Hardware Overview This chapter presents an overview of the hardware functions on the NI 1411 and explains the operation of each functional unit making up the NI 1411. Functional Overview The NI 1411 features a flexible, high-speed data path optimized for the acquisition and formatting of video data from analog monochrome and color cameras.
Chapter 2 Hardware Overview Video Decoder The NI 1411 supports NTSC and PAL video standards in either composite or S-Video format. The onboard video decoder converts the incoming video signal to Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) data and passes this data to the color-space processor for further processing. The video decoder also allows you to control numerous parameters to optimize an acquisition.
Chapter 2 Hardware Overview The color-space processor can export the video data in 32-bit RGB or HSL formats or in individual 8-bit hue, saturation, or luminance planes. For more information on these image types, see the Image Representations section in Appendix A, Introduction to Color. SDRAM The NI 1411 comes with 16 MB of onboard high-speed synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM).
Chapter 2 Hardware Overview read and write cycles, both single and multiple. In slave mode, the NI 1411 is a medium-speed decoder that accepts both memory and configuration cycles. The interface logic ensures that the NI 1411 can meet PCI loading, driving, and timing requirements. Board Configuration NVRAM The NI 1411 contains onboard nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) that configures all registers on power-up.
Chapter 2 • © National Instruments Corporation Hardware Overview Scaling down—The scaling down circuitry also controls the active acquisition region. The NI 1411 can scale down a frame by reducing the number of pixels per line, the number of lines per frame, or both. For active pixel selection, the NI 1411 can select every pixel, every other pixel, every fourth pixel, or every eighth pixel.
3 Signal Connections This chapter describes cable connections for the NI 1411. I/O Connector The NI 1411 uses one S-Video and two BNC connectors on the front panel to connect to video data inputs and the external trigger signal. Figure 3-1 shows the position of the three connectors. VIDEO S-VIDEO TRIG Figure 3-1.
Chapter 3 Signal Connections Signal Description Table 3-1 describes each signal connection on the NI 1411 device connectors: Table 3-1. I/O Connector Signals Signal Name Description VIDEO Composite Video—The signal allows you to make a referenced single-ended (RSE) connection to the video channel. S-VIDEO S-Video—A connector composed of two signals, as follows: Y—The Y signal of the S-Video connection contains the luma and synchronization information of the video signal.
A Introduction to Color Color is the wavelength of the light we receive in our eye when we look at an object. In theory, the color spectrum is infinite. Humans, however, can see only a small portion of this spectrum—the portion that goes from the red edge of infrared light (the longest wavelength) to the blue edge of ultraviolet light (the shortest wavelength). This continuous spectrum is called the visible spectrum, as shown in Figure A-1. Figure A-1.
Appendix A Introduction to Color The perception of a color depends on many factors, such as: • Hue, which is the perceived dominant color. Hue depends directly on the wavelength of a color. • Saturation, which is dependent on the amount of white light present in a color. Pastels typically have a low saturation while very rich colors have a high saturation. For example, pink typically has a red hue but has a low saturation. • Luminance, which is the brightness information in the video picture.
Appendix A Introduction to Color Hue, Saturation, Luminance, and Intensity Planes The 8-bit hue, saturation, luminance, and intensity planes can also be returned individually if you want to analyze the image. Luminance, Intensity, Hue, or Saturation are defined using the Red, Green, and Blue values in the following formulas: Luminance = 0.299 × Red + 0.587 × Green + 0.
Technical Support and Professional Services B Visit the following sections of the National Instruments Web site at ni.com for technical support and professional services: • Support—Online technical support resources at ni.
Appendix B Technical Support and Professional Services • Calibration Certificate—If your product supports calibration, you can obtain the calibration certificate for your product at ni.com/calibration. If you searched ni.com and could not find the answers you need, contact your local office or NI corporate headquarters. Phone numbers for our worldwide offices are listed at the front of this manual. You also can visit the Worldwide Offices section of ni.
Glossary Symbol Prefix Value p pico 10 –12 n nano 10 –9 μ micro 10 – 6 m milli 10 –3 k kilo 10 3 M mega 10 6 G giga 10 9 T tera 10 12 Symbols + Positive of, or plus. / Per. Ω Ohm. ± Plus or minus. – Negative of, or minus. A A Amperes. AC Alternating current. acquisition window The image size specific to a video standard or camera resolution. active line region The region of lines actively being stored.
Glossary active pixel region The region of pixels actively being stored. Defined by a pixel start (relative to the horizontal synchronization signal) and a pixel count. address Value that identifies a specific location (or series of locations) in memory. API Application programming interface. area A rectangular portion of an acquisition window or frame that is controlled and defined by software. array Ordered, indexed set of data elements of the same type.
Glossary composite video A type of color video transmission where synchronization, luma, and chroma information are transmitted on one analog signal. contrast A constant multiplication factor applied to the luma and chroma components of a color pixel in the color decoding process. coring The process of eliminating color information in low-color situations (if the saturation is lower than a predefined value). CPU Central processing unit. D DAQ Data acquisition.
Glossary E EEPROM Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory. ROM that can be erased with an electrical signal and reprogrammed. external trigger A voltage pulse from an external source that triggers an event such as A/D conversion. F field For an interlaced video signal, a field is half the number of horizontal lines needed to represent a frame of video. The first field of a frame contains all the odd-numbered lines, the second field contains all of the even-numbered lines.
Glossary HSYNC Horizontal synchronization signal. The synchronization pulse signal produced at the beginning of each video scan line that keeps a video monitor’s horizontal scan rate in step with the transmission of each new line. hue Represents the dominant color of a pixel. The hue function is a continuous function that covers all the possible colors generated using the R, G, and B primaries. See also RGB. hue offset Rotates the Hue plane with a specified offset angle.
Glossary IRQ Interrupt request. See interrupt. K k Kilo. The standard metric prefix for 1,000, or 103, used with units of measure such as volts, hertz, and meters. K Kilo. The prefix for 1,024, or 210, used with B in quantifying data or computer memory. kbytes/s A unit for data transfer that means 1,000 or 103 bytes/s. Kword 1,024 words of memory. L line count The total number of horizontal lines in the picture. LSB Least significant bit. luma The brightness information in the video picture.
Glossary memory window Continuous blocks of memory that can be accessed quickly by changing addresses on the local processor. MSB Most significant bit. MTBF Mean time between failure. mux Multiplexer. A switching device with multiple inputs that selectively connects one of its inputs to its output. N NI-IMAQ Driver software for National Instruments image acquisition hardware.
Glossary pixel count The total number of pixels between two horizontal synchronization signals. The pixel count determines the frequency of the pixel clock. PLL Phase-locked loop. Circuitry that provides a very stable pixel clock that is referenced to another signal, for example, an incoming horizontal synchronization signal. protocol The exact sequence of bits, characters, and control codes used to transfer data between computers and peripherals through a communications channel. pts Points.
Glossary S S-Video A type of color video transmission where timing and luma information are transmitted on one analog signal and chroma is transmitted on a separate analog signal. saturation The amount of white added to a pure color. Saturation relates to the richness of a color. A saturation of zero corresponds to a pure color with no white added. Pink is a red with low saturation. scaling down circuitry Circuitry that scales down the resolution of a video signal.
Glossary V VCO Voltage-controlled oscillator. An oscillator that changes frequency depending on a control signal; used in a PLL to generate a stable pixel clock. VI Virtual Instrument. (1) A combination of hardware and/or software elements, typically used with a PC, that has the functionality of a classic stand-alone instrument (2) A LabVIEW software module (VI), which consists of a front panel user interface and a block diagram program. VSYNC Vertical synchronization signal.
Index A connector for NI 1411 (figure), 3-1 conventions used in the manual, v custom cables, 3-2 acquisition acquisition window control, 2-4 acquisition, scaling, and ROI circuitry, 2-3 start conditions, 2-4 acquisition window, 2-4 application software Vision Builder AI, 1-3 Vision Development Module, 1-3 D Declaration of Conformity (NI resources), B-1 diagnostic tools (NI resources), B-1 DMA controllers, scatter-gather, 2-3 documentation conventions used in the manual, v NI resources, B-1 drivers (NI re
Index hue, saturation, luminance, and intensity planes, A-3 LUTs (look-up-tables), 2-2 start conditions, 2-4 trigger control and mapping circuitry, 2-3 video acquisition, 2-1 video decoder, 2-2 help, technical support, B-1 hue 32-bit HSL and HSI, A-3 definition, A-2 hue, saturation, luminance, and intensity planes, A-3 M mapping circuitry and trigger control, 2-3 memory board configuration NVRAM, 2-4 SDRAM, 2-3 motion control, integrating with, 1-4 I N I/O connector (figure), 3-1 image representations
Index T configuring, 2-4 RGB image representation, A-2 technical support, B-1 training and certification (NI resources), B-1 TRIG signal (table), 3-2 trigger control and mapping circuitry, 2-3 troubleshooting (NI resources), B-1 S saturation 32-bit HSL and HSI, A-3 definition, A-2 hue, saturation, luminance, and intensity planes, A-3 scaling down circuitry, 2-5 scatter-gather DMA controllers, 2-3 SDRAM, 2-3 signal connections custom cables, 3-2 I/O connector (figure), 3-1 signal description (table), 3-2
