IPD-DALSA has introduced the company's first Gigabit Ethernet (GigE)-ready Vision Appliance, the IPD VA61! DALSA's Vision Appliances are easy-to-use, embedded machine vision solutions that are both powerful and quick to deploy for automated quality inspection applications. Complete with two expandable GigE camera ports, industrial I/O and a high-performance processor, the VA61 is well suited to tackle a range of applications involving multiple monochrome or color GigE cameras.

The VA61 supports the full range of DALSA's compact Genie cameras from 640x480 to 160x1200 resolution, with either monochrome or color output. The flexible GigE camera ports allow mising of camera resolutions and easy expansion to support cost-effective, multi-camera applications. Such systems, for example, are ofter deployed in automotive plants to perform multiple point inspections on assembled product.

The VA61 can power and drive cameras locally via dedicated camera I/O connections or interface with them remotely using Ethernet only. For remote applications, DALSA offers an industrial camera interface module that decouples the cameras from potentially harmful industrial environments. The Digitial Camera Interface module, called the DCI-100, regulates camera power and conditions the I/O for trigger and light interfacing. The module also provides additional I/O control that is accessible through any standard RS-232 port.

In keeping with DALSA's Vision Appliance philosophy, the VA61 is available with choice of software options to address the application needs of all machine vision users. These include iNspect, the easy-to-use inspection tool designed specifically for end users, and Sherlock, the advanced and highly flexible inspection tool designed for vision integrators and OEM's. Both software packages offer a wide selection of tools and capabilities for applications requiring positioning, identification, verification, measurement and flow detection. For machine builders with unique needs, the VA61 Vision Appliance is available complete with camera drivers for integration with third party software.