Sentis-ToF-M100 Multiple camera operation

If more than one camera should be operated simultaneously with an overlapping Field of View or they can interfere by reflections some things must be taken in consider. The Sentis-ToF-M100 provides differnt possibilities for a simultaneous operation of multiple devices.

• Use different modulation frequencies: If you don’t use other synchronize mechanisms and both devices runs in free mode, there may be still an interference between the devices, resulting in an increased noise of the distance data. The bigger the difference of the modulation frequencies the smaller the interference. Be aware that changing the modulation frequency may also change the ambiguity range.

• Synchronizing by software trigger: It is possible to synchronize the devices by using the software trigger. You can capture images on demand using the configuration interface (refer to the Software User Manual) alternating between the devices.

• Synchronizing by hardware trigger: You can use the dedicated hardware trigger pin (refer to the user manuals) to capture images on demand alternating between the devices. For higher frame-rates you can capture the images even simultaneously as long as you ensure that the devices uses the same integration time and different modulation frequencies.

• Using PTP: With one of the next Sentis-ToF-M100 firmware releases it will be possible to synchronize the camera by using the PTP protocol. The PTP protocol will be used to synchronize the clocks between devices on the same Ethernet subnet. This makes it possible to configure certain capturing scenarios by software. The firmware including the PTP protocol will be presumably available in Q2 2014. Please take a regular look at the firmware update section for updates and additional information.