ToF Frequently Asked Questions & Troubleshooting

This collection of frequently asked questions is intended as a guide if issues with your device occur. Information specific to your camera model can be found in the Hardware User Manual and Software User Manual. For tips on how to get started with your camera and how to optimise the 3D data it produces, take a look at the ToF User Guide.

Start-up and Connection

My camera is not starting up. What can I do?

Make sure your camera is connected to the appropriate power supply. If you are not sure about the power supply requirements, consult the Hardware User Manual of your camera.

If you would like to supply your camera via Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), make sure all relevant network components (e.g., switches, cables, injectors) fulfill the power requirements. The Argos3D P231 requires either PoE+ (if used with the PoE+ adapter) or PoE++ (if used without the PoE+ adapter).

If your camera is equipped with a status LED, it can provide information about issues with the power supply. Consult the Software User Manual of your camera for details.

Keep in mind that the start-up process can take a few seconds.

How can I tell if the camera is running?

Because the factory-default camera mode is video mode, the camera will capture frames as soon as it has started up. This means you can hear a buzzing noise and you can see the illumination elements flash red through the camera window.

If your camera is equipped with a status LED, it can provide information about the status of the camera. Consult the Software User Manual of your camera for details.

I cannot connect to my camera. What can I do?

To identify the reason for connection issues, you can go through the following steps:

1. Make sure your camera is running. (See this FAQ for details)
2. Make sure there is an Ethernet or USB link between the camera and your computer. If you use an Ethernet connection, the Ethernet status LED should be illuminated.
3. Make sure the network adapter of your PC is set to an IP address within the same subnet as the camera. The default values for the network adapter of your PC are an IP address of 192.168.0.1 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. (See this FAQ for details)
4. Make sure your firewall does not block traffic between your camera and your computer. In particular, the firewall must allow UDP multicast traffic if you want to establish a data connection. (See this FAQ for details)
5. Make sure the network settings are correct. The factory-default settings of your camera are:
   • IP address: 192.168.0.10
   • Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
   • UDP control interface port: 10003 (only needed for TIM-UP-19k-S3-ETH and Argos3D P22x)
   • TCP control interface port: 10001 (not needed for TIM-UP-19k-S3-ETH and Argos3D P22x)
   • Stream destination IP address: 224.0.0.1 (multicast)
   • Stream destination port: 10002

The ToF User Guide and the BltTofApi examples illustrate how to configure the network settings to the factory-default values.

In the BltTofSuite, the colored dot next to the device IP address indicates whether the camera is pingable. If the camera is not pingable (red dot), although you successfully followed all previous steps, your camera might not be configured to the factory-default network settings. If this is the case, you can try to find your camera using device discovery. This feature is available both when using the BltTofSuite (see ToF User Guide) and when using the BltTofApi (see BltTofApi examples). If the camera is discovered, the correct network settings can be used to establish the connection. Keep in mind that not all cameras support device discovery.

How can I tell if the control interface connection is established?

A working control interface connection allows you to read and write settings and registers. Using the BltTofSuite, this can be done in the Visualizer window. Using the BltTofApi, this can be done using, for example, the BTAreadRegister function (see BltTofApi examples).

How can I tell if the data interface connection is established?

A working data interface connection allows you to obtain frames captured by the camera. Using the BltTofSuite, the captured frames are shown in the Visualizer window. Using the BltTofApi, the frames can be obtained using the BTAgetFrame function or the frameArrived callback (see BltTofApi examples).

Flashing Ethernet status LEDs indicate that the camera is streaming data. Also, the value of the ‘0x000e: FrameCounter’ register is increasing. To ensure that the BltTofSuite is receiving UDP packets from the camera, check the value of the register ‘LibParam: DataStreamBytesReceivedCount’. To do the same check using the BltTofApi, use the BTAgetLibParam function (see BltTofApi examples) to read ‘BTA_LibParamDataStreamBytesReceivedCount’.

My connection issues are caused by my firewall. What can I do?

To ensure smooth communication, allow all traffic between the camera and computer through your firewall. This process is specific to your operating system and firewall. If your firewall is blocking UDP multicast traffic and you cannot or do not want to change this setting, try to change the camera’s stream destination to the IP address of your computer instead of the multicast address (224.0.0.1). This requires a working control interface connection.

How do I change the IP address of my computer’s network adapter?

This process is specific to your operating system. In the following, we provide instructions for Windows 8 and 10: Open the ‘Control Panel’ and click on ‘Network and Sharing Center’. On the left side of the window, click on ‘Change adapter settings’. Right-click on the Ethernet adapter you would like to use and open ‘Properties’. Here, click on ‘Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)’ in the list of items and open ‘Properties’. Choose ‘Use the following IP address:’ and type in the address and subnet mask you would like to use (see FAQ above for default values). Confirm the changes by clicking ‘OK’ in the ‘Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties’ window and the ‘Ethernet Properties’ window.

When I connect the camera, I experience issues with my network. What can I do?

The data traffic caused by the camera can potentially lead to issues within a network, depending on, for example, the network bandwidth, the chosen frame mode, and the IP address the camera streams to. By default, the camera streams data to the multicast IP address 224.0.0.1, which can cause problems in large networks. If multicast streaming is not necessary, the UDP stream address can be changed to the IP address of a specific host. The data traffic can be further reduced by choosing a frame mode that only contains the frames that are actually required by the application. Consult the Software User Manual of your camera for details.

Data quality

How can I reduce the level of noise in my data?

In general, a higher integration time and a higher modulation frequency will reduce the level of noise in the captured frames. You can also use spatial and/or temporal filtering to reduce noise. Consult the Software User Manual of your camera and the ToF User Guide for more details on these techniques. Apart from camera settings, removing unnecessary light sources from the scene and the surroundings can improve the noise level in your data.

How can I reduce the number of under- and/or overexposed pixels in my data?

If this is possible in your setup, try to change the position of your camera with respect to the objects you want to capture (or vice versa). At short distances from the camera, objects are more likely to be overexposed and at long distances, objects are more likely to be underexposed. Changing the camera or object position might also help to avoid reflections on the object’s surface that could cause overexposure.

Apart from the spatial arrangement of your setup, the integration time is a major influence on the number of under- and overexposed pixels. You can try varying the integration time and using HDR mode. For more details and instructions, consult the Software User Manual of your camera and the ToF User Guide.

How can I capture frames in HDR mode?

In order to configure your camera to use HDR mode, the required settings need to be written to the corresponding registers. Consult the Software User Manual of your camera and the ToF User Guide for more details and instructions.

How can I capture frames in Vernier mode?

In order to configure your camera to use Vernier mode, the required settings need to be written to the corresponding registers. Consult the Software User Manual of your camera and the ToF User Guide for more details and instructions.

I do not reach the framerate I requested. What can I do?

If the framerate received by the BltTofSuite or the BltTofApi is lower than the framerate you set, this is an indication that the time needed to capture and process a frame is too long. If the framerate is a critical parameter for your application, re-assess the configuration of your camera to reduce the capture and processing time. More details can be found in the Software User Manual of your camera and in the ToF User Guide.

How can I tell which filters are active?

Spatial and temporal filters are enabled and disabled using the following registers: ‘0x01e0: ImgProcConfig’, ‘0x01e9: ImgProcConfig2’, and ‘0x01f0: ImgProcAdvanced’. Detailed descriptions of these registers can be found in the Software User Manual of your camera. By default, all filters are disabled with the exception of the flying-pixel filter for the Argos3D - P23x.

Far away objects appear at an incorrect distance and/or I see discontinuities in the distance data. What can I do?

If these effects are observed, the disambiguity range is too small for the distances the camera covers. An example of how this manifests in the distance data is shown in the ToF User Guide. The disambiguity range is set by the modulation frequency and can therefore be adapted easily. A lower modulation frequency is associated with a larger disambiguity range. Consult the Software User Manual of your camera and the ToF User Guide for more details and instructions.

There are artifacts in my data. What can I do?

Artifacts in the distance data can have a variety of origins and are specific to the scene you would like to observe. In general, it is advisable to, if possible, remove from the scene unnecessary objects with bright and specular reflections (e.g., mirrors, shiny metal objects).

Objects very close to the camera can perturb the distance data as well. For example, the camera should not be placed on a flat surface in such a way that the surface is within the camera’s field of view at small distances since unwanted reflections from the surface can cause artifacts in the distance data.

When using two or more cameras in the same space, be aware that interference effects may occur (see this question below).

In addition, multipath interference can lead to artifacts in the data. If a sensor pixel receives light that travelled along several different paths (as opposed to only the shortest path), the signal is distorted and the true distance might be over- or underestimated. This effect is referred to as multipath interference and can occur in scenes that contain, for example, corners or concave shapes in general.

Miscellaneous

How do I perform a firmware update?

If you would like to update the firmware on your device using the BltTofSuite, follow the instructions in this guide: Argos3D and Sentis3D Firmware Update. The guide describes each step and includes screenshots of the process.

The standard field of view of my camera model is not suitable for my application. What can I do?

For many camera models, it is possible to adapt the field of view by changing the illumination and receiver optics. Please contact customer support if your application requires a non-standard field of view.

I am using several cameras in the same space. What do I need to consider?

When the signal emitted from one camera reaches the sensor of another camera, artifacts in the data may occur due to interference effects. Several methods can be employed to avoid interference, including a specific choice of triggering pattern and/or modulation frequencies. Please contact customer support for more detailed information.

My problem is not mentioned in or solved with these FAQ. What can I do?

Your problem might be solved in a more recent version of the BltTofSuite or the BltTofApi. Consult the release notes and changelog, and update your software to the latest version.

Both the BltTofSuite and the BltTofApi provide a feature to log their activity. Set the verbosity to a value of 9 or higher for a detailed log that you can check for indications of what the issue is and how you can fix it. The user manuals of the BltTofSuite and the BltTofApi contain instructions for obtaining a log file.

If these steps fail, contact customer support with a detailed description of your issue and a log file at a verbosity value of 9 or higher.