新闻
The POR FESR programme of the Regione Lombardia promotes a model of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the objectives identified by the Europe 2020 Strategy and the regional development policies in support of the productivity and competitiveness of companies and the entire territorial system.
Opto Engineering decided to take advantage of this opportunity to finance research and development of new project capabilities with the aim of enhancing its recent achievements through the generation of new technology and products.
In 2022, Opto Engineering launched ITALA® matrix cameras, cameras equipped with a Gigabit Ethernet communication interface entirely designed and manufactured in Italy and featuring state-of-the-art electronics and a robust design, ideal for all industrial environments.
The Gigabit Ethernet standard is widely used and appreciated in industry for its robustness and security of communication, as well as for the possibility of using the network infrastructure to control several rooms simultaneously and the possibility of cabling up to 100 meters.
However, the technology also has its limitations, first and foremost the information transmission speed of 1 Gigabit per second. When compared to other communication interfaces on the market, such as USB3.0 (5 Gbit/s), CameraLink (5.44 Gbit/s) and CoaXPress (12.5 Gbit/s per channel), the speed difference is obvious.
In particular, the USB 3.0 standard is quite popular in industrial cameras due to the simplicity of connecting and powering devices to the PC and the higher speeds, although 5 Gbit/s is hardly ever actually reached.
The project financed by the Regione Lombardia has enabled the Opto Engineering R&D team to design and develop a new family of industrial cameras that can exploit the advantages of network connection, while increasing data transmission speed to match and exceed most of the standards currently used.
Development has therefore focused on the realization of industrial matrix cameras based on 10 Gigabit Ethernet communication. This technology, which is physically similar to Gigabit Ethernet, allows data transmission speeds of close to 10 Gigabits per second, thus surpassing the USB 3.0 standard in speed but retaining the superior advantages of robustness and reliability of the network connection.
The set goals of developing the technology, acquiring the specific know-how and making the devices work were promptly achieved. The high speed, robustness and reliability of the technology realized, combined with the high performance of the 4th generation Sony image sensors, produce a device with unrivaled performance, ready to solve the most challenging applications in terms of optical quality and speed.
Be ready for the next generation of ITALA® coming in 2024!