OpenMV Launches a Prophesee GenX320 "Event Camera" Module and FLIR Boson Thermal Sensor Adapter
Whether you want to see changes or heat, the new add-ons for the OpenMV Cam H7 Plus and Cam RT1062 have you covered.
Computer vision specialist OpenMV has added a couple of new camera modules to its line-up, each bringing something special to the table: the Prophesee GenX320 Event Camera with event-based vision capabilities, and an adapter for FLIR Boson thermal vision sensors compatible with the OpenMV Cam RT1062 and Cam H7 Plus.
"The Prophesee GenX320 camera module brings event-based vision sensing to the OpenMV Cam platform," the company writes of the first of its new sensor add-ons. "Inspired by the human retina, each sensor pixel responds independently and asynchronously to relative changes in illumination leading to efficient, high-speed, and low power vision sensing. Only changes in the scene are sensed, leading to low data rates even for fast motion. No more static background removal required."
The new module is based on Prophesee's GenX320 sensor, which is fundamentally different to a standard visible-light camera. "Prophesee creates both neuromorphic sensors and bio-inspired algorithms that function like the eye and brain," Prophesee co-founder and chief executive officer Luca Verre explains. "This holistic approach is a fundamental shift in computer vision – the departure from frame-based sensors, to event-based vision systems, also known as event cameras."
By sensing only the changes in the scene moment-to-moment, the company promises major gains in efficiency and performance: event histograms are streamed to the host device, an OpenMV Cam RT1062 or Cam H7 Plus, at up to 350Hz with a power draw as low as 3mW during active streaming. The company claims a 140dB dynamic range and the ability to sense changes in both light and dark areas — plus a low-light sensing capability that cuts off as low as 0.05 lux.
In addition to the GenX320, brought to our attention by Linux Gizmos, OpenMV has also launched an adapter for FLIR's Boson family of thermal image sensors. Designed as successors to the popular Lepton range, the Boson sensors deliver a thermal resolution up to 640×512 at 60Hz — up from 160×120 at 9Hz from the Lepton — for a total of 327,680 measurement spots.
"You can use it with your OpenMV Cam RT1062," OpenMV's Kwabena Agyeman explains of the adapter. "OpenMV Cam H7 Plus support is not enabled to save firmware space — but we've electrically tested the adapter and it works with the H7 Plus if you enable the sensor in our firmware by doing a custom build."
The OpenMV GenX320 Camera Module is now available to order on the company's store at $300; the FLIR Boson Adapter Module is available to order on the same site at $150, and requires the purchase of a FLIR Boson sensor separately with prices starting at $1,592 for a 320×256 module without lens.
