Machine Vision from Sky Blue Microsystems

Founded in 1999 and operating continuously as Sky Blue Microsystems GmbH, we are proud to represent state-of-the-art industrial machine vision products internationally from best-in-class manufacturers around the world at the best price-performance.

Based in Munich in the center of the European Union, and in London UK, we represent machine vision products globally by Kaya Instruments, Gidel, Engineering Design Team (EDT), and NorPix in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and worldwide beyond.

All our products include a GUI, API, and SDK, where applicable, and all of our products are tested and certificated to the appropriate standards, such as CE, UL, FCC etc. and ISO 9001.

Cameras, Frame Grabbers, and Range Extenders with CoaXpress, Camera Link, 10GigE Vision, SDI, and fiber interfaces

Our cameras and frame grabbers support CXP1, CXP2, CXP-6, CXP-12, CLHS-X, 10GigE, and HD-SDI

CoaXPress cameras and frame grabbers for Machine Vision

Our industrial imaging components conform to the high bandwidth machine vision CoaxPress interface currently managed by JIIA (Japan Industrial Imaging Association), including CxP Version 1.0 and Version 1.1, and the new CxP Version 2.0. CXP1, also called CXP-6, runs at 6.25 Gbps. CXP2, or CXP-12, transfers data twice as fast at 12.5 Gbps. Our cameras support CoaXpress Version 2, or CXP2 or CXP12, and our frame grabbers also support CoaXpress Versions 1.0 and 1.1 and the new CoaXpress Version 2, also known as CXP2 or CXP12. Coaxpress Version 2 is backwards compatible with CoaxPress Version 1, so that a CXP2 camera can be connected to a CXP1 frame grabber, although it will only transmit at 6.25 Gbps. Similarly, a CXP-6 camera can be connected to a CXP-12 frame grabber.

Camera Link and CLHS X-Protocol frame grabbers and cameras

We also have products that conform to the Camera Link interface standard, including Camera Link High Speed X-Protocol, also designated as Camera Link HS, CL-HS, or CLHS-X. CLHS allows short connection via copper at up to 15 meters and at 3.125 Gbps, and long distance connection over kilometers using fiber optic cables at 10 Gbps. Ask us about our “secret stash” of Camera Link cameras before these become eol (end of life), although we can supply many cameras supporting the new Camera Link High Speed interface, especially CLHS fiber cameras. We have a wide range of Camera Link compliant frame grabbers, also new frame grabbers for CL-HS and CLHS-X. 

10GigE Vision cameras and frame grabbers

10GigE Vision allows camera-to-frame-grabber communication at 10 Gbps for industrial machine vision applications. We provide 10GigE Vision cameras and frame grabbers with fiber cable for distances reaching over 100 km.

Fiber and SDI industrial and broadcast cameras and frame grabbers, also MIPI frame grabbers

In addition, our manufacturers allow direct fiber connection between cameras and frame grabbers using their own proprietary fiber interfaces, allowing camera-to-frame-grabber transfer rates between 10 Gbps and 40 Gbps. 

And many of our cameras can also be connected by standard, high definition, and ultra high definition Serial Digital Interface (SDI), often used in broadcast video. 6G-SDI runs at 6 Gbps and 12G-SDI, also known as HD-SDI cameras, runs at twice that rate.

We also offer a frame grabber supporting up to six MIPI cameras.

All our cameras are available in ruggedized form to MIL-STD-810 for harsh environments. MIL-SPEC-810 cameras are tested for pressure, temperature, rain, humidity, salt, rust, sand, dust, acceleration, shock and vibration.

Frame grabber direct DMA is available to NVIDIA Javier GPUs. 

Our industrial machine vision cameras are low power down to 3 W, compact, small form factor, and low weight, and most are available with mono or color sensors. Monochrome cameras capture greyscale or black and white images, whereby color industrial cameras capture colour images or frames.

No GigE and no USB3 cameras or frame grabbers

We are oriented to industrial applications, often in automation or other advanced fields, which usually exceed the capabilities of GigE Vision and USB3 interfaces to the camera. GigE Vision can communicate with the host via NIC (network interface card) without a frame grabber, whereas we provide frame grabbers in PCIe format for the ten-times faster interface, 10GigE Vision, to replace the NIC.

HD-SDI, CLHS, CoaXPress, and CoaXPress over Fiber Cameras

Kaya Instruments Iron Series Global Shutter CMOS Industrial Machine Vision Cameras

The Kaya Iron series area scan cameras are low SWaP (size, weight, and power) small, light, low power, low light cameras sporting the Sony Pregius IMX462, IMX305, IMX265, IMX255, IMX253, IMX252, and IMX250 color and mono sensors, or the GPixel GMAX3238, GMAX3265, GMAX2518, GMAX2509, GMAX2505, GMAX0505, GSENSE2020BSI, GSENSE2020e, and GSENSE2011e mono and color sensors.

This gives a lightweight, compact machine vision camera with megapixel range between 2 MP and 65 MP, and frequency or frames per second range for your industrial camera between 60 fps and 400 fps. Pixel sizes for these cameras range between and 3 µm and 6.5 µm, and power is as low as 3W.

Kaya Instruments Iron CoaXPress, CoF, SDI, and CLHS-X Cameras

The compact Kaya Iron industrial machine vision cameras support CoaXPress, CLHS-X Camera Link High Speed X-Protocol at 10 Gbps, SDI, and CoaXPress over Fiber interfaces. These area scan cameras run CoaXPress Versions 1 and 2, or CXP1 and CXP2, which are camera bandwidths of 6.25 Gbps and 12.5 Gbps, or CXP-6 and CXP-12. Camera SDI interface speeds are 6G-SDI and HD-SDI (high definition serial data interface for broadcast cameras, etc) or 12G-SDI. It is also possible to connect these cameras to a frame grabber via proprietary fiber option interface. These low power 3 Watt industrial cameras are available as a board-level camera, in a lightweight housing, or as a ruggedized camera in a small form factor.

Kaya Instruments JetCam fiber optic CLHS Industrial Machine Vision Cameras

The Kaya JetCam series are high-speed but low-cost global shutter CMOS cameras. They sport LUX 160 and 19HS sensors, and Python 25K sensors in color or monochrome.

The JetCam machine vision cameras megapixel range is between 2 MP and 25 MP, and the frequency or frame rate range is between 70 fps and 2400 fps. Pixel sizes are between 3.9 µm and 10 µm.

The Kaya JetCam industrial cameras support fiber optic communications including the CLHS Camera Link High Speed interface at 20 Gbps or 40 Gbps.

Fiber, HD-SDI, CLHS-X, 10GigE Vision, Camera Link, and CoaXPress Frame Grabbers

PCIe and PCI-104 Frame Grabbers for Industrial Machine Vision

We offer a wide range of digital image acquisition frame grabbers in PCIe and PCI/104 form factors from Kaya Instruments, Gidel, and Engineering Design Team (EDT).  PCIe frame grabber boards are available as FH full height or HH half height, and support PCIe generations 1, 2, or 3 with 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 lanes. Please be aware that certain hardware configurations, independent of our frame grabber boards, will share, or divide, PCIe lanes among the occupied slots, thus reducing the bandwidth available to any one board. In other words, your system may have 8 lanes, but these may be shared amongst the PCIe boards installed in the available PCIe slots.

Our image acquisition frame grabbers also conform to the PC/104 small rugged form factor for industrial embedded systems, graphics, networks and other high-speed I/O applications that require a machine vision PC104 frame grabber format. Our frame grabbers include the PC/104+ protocol, which is the PCI 104 Plus standard, or PCIe/104 frame grabber.

We also have frame grabbers that support the PMC form factor, and as FMC mezzanine carrier board frame grabbers, in addition to our PCIe and PCI104 frame grabber formats.

CoaXPress Frame Grabbers for CXP1, CXP2, CXP-6, CXP-12, 6 Gbps, and 12 Gbps, CXP Versions 1 and 2

Our CoaXPress frame grabbers support Versions 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 for bandwidths of 6G and 12G transfer rates between the camera and frame grabber.

10GigE Vision Frame Grabbers

As the GigE protocol expanded to 10G bandwidth and also found more applications in industrial machine vision, so frame grabbers for the 10GigE Vision interface are now available in PCIe Gen 3 8 lane format. Connectors are standard fiber optic transceivers SFP, SFP+, and quad QSFP+ for 10 Gbps or 40 Gbps transfer rate from up to 4 or 5 10GigE Vision cameras to the frame grabber.

CLHS-X Camera Link High Speed X-Protocol and Fibre Optic Frame Grabbers

Camera Link HS frame grabbers on PCIe Gen3 8x PCIe boards use standard fiber optic transceivers. Bandwidth is 10G per SFP or SFP+ connection, or 40G frame grabbing with QSFP+ quad. The same hardware as CameraLinkHS and 10GigE Vision frame grabbers can be used for proprietary fiber optic frame grabber interface protocols.

Camera Link Frame Grabbers for CameraLink CL

Camera Link digital image acquisition frame grabbers are provided by Gidel and EDT for 1 or 2 CL cameras with SPF, SDR26 or MDR26 connectors in PCI, PCIe, or PMC form factors.

Machine Vision Frame Grabbers for 1 – 8 cameras, synchronise frame grabbers together for more cameras

Our industrial vision frame grabbers allow connection from between one and eight cameras each. Multiple frame grabbers can be deployed in parallel and can be synchronized together. Thus you can sync frame grabbers with between 1 and 8 cameras to work as if many more cameras are connected. Frames are merged or knitted together in the frame grabber FPGA IP Core software and a single composite image presented to your CPU or GPU, if so required. In addition, the Gidel InfiniVision is a software-based, virtual frame grabber for up to 100 cameras.

CoaXpress and Camera Link Range Extenders over Fiber

Solve the distance limitations of Camera Link and CoaXPress with a fiber optic range extender. Locate your Camera Link camera hundreds of meters, or 10 kilometres or even up to 100 km from your machine vision frame grabber, and receive images reliably. 

We also offer a CXP range extender over coax cable that allows you to retain your PoCXP power over CoaXPress and camera control, thus extending the typical range of coax cabling in CXP1 systems at CXP-6 6 Version 1 6 Gbps bandwidth.

Electrical isolation is also achieved with a CL range extender over fiber for Camera Link.

CoaXpress and Camera Link Camera Simulators

Our industrial machine vision camera simulators provide test patterns or present your own data simulating CXP CoaXPress and CL Camera Link cameras. Hardware, in the form of a CXP or CameraLink frame grabber, is included. The required application software GUI, API, and SDK for a CXP or CL camera simulator is included.

Our CoaxPress camera simulators support CXP Versions 1 and 2, or CXP1 CXP-6, and CXP2 CXP-12 camera simulation with frame grabber hardware and the required FPGA IP Core software.

CoaXpress FPGA Intellectual Property (IP) Cores

CXP Frame Grabber Host Side IP and CXP Camera Device Side IP, open or encrypted

We provide FPGA IP Cores for CoaXPress Cameras and Framegrabbers. Our Device-Side and Host-Side CXP IP Cores are available as either an encrypted netlist, whereby you cannot amend the IP yourself, or in “open” format, whereby you can amend and extend your CoaXPress IP Core yourself. The machine vision standards CoaXPress Version 1.0, 1.1 and the new CXP Version 2.0 are all supported. Support is available for the development of CXP1 CXP-12 cameras and CXP2 CXP-6 frame grabbers using these CXP IP cores.

Gidel FPGA IP Core for Real-time JPEG Compression

This is a fast, low-latency, compact jpeg compression CoaXPress IP Core.

Gidel FPGA IP Core for Real-time Lossless Compression

Gidel’s lossless compression FPGA IP Core is real-time compression for Color Filter Arrays such as Bayer, Monochrome, and RGB images and videos.

Multi-Camera High Speed Recording Software

We offer simultaneous high-speed streaming video recording in continuous mode from multiple machine vision cameras by NorPix.

Our software supports single or multiple cameras, and is DVR compatible with hundreds of cameras and frame grabbers.

Product Spectrum

Cameras and Image Acquisition Frame Grabbers from Stemmer Imaging and Rauscher

We invite our visitors to review our technical capabilities and price performance with comparable products from Stemmer Imaging, one of Europe’s leading machine vision technology providers for science and industry, who help customers solve their machine vision tasks in 19 European countries. 

Stemmer Imaging provides CCD and CMOS area scan and line scan cameras supporting CoaXPress, CameraLink, and HD-SDI from Allied Vision, Teledyne DALSA, JAI, ViewWorks, VRmagic, The Imaging Source, and more.

Image acquisition frame grabbers with CoaXPress and Camera Link interfaces are available from Stemmer Imaging, manufactured by Euresys, Teledyne, and Silicon Software.

For easy vision system automation SDK software development kits, Stemmer Imaging represents Teledyne DALSA  Sherlock, iNspect, and Sapera, as well as Silicone Software Visual Applets.

Rauscher also distributes machine vision industrial automation cameras and frame grabber image acquisition products. Rauscher constructs vision automation solutions using area scan cameras by Basler and Adimec, and line scan cameras by ViewWorks and Teledyne e2v.

Rauscher has a close relationship with Matrox Imaging for frame grabber acquisition systems supporting CoaXPress 1.1 and CXP 2.0 with single, dual, and quad links. Matrox also manufacture CameraLink frame grabbers for base, medium, and full modes, available from Rauscher.

Rauscher also provide the MIL Matrox Imaging Library and Matrox Design Assistant software.