USB 3.1 - Step by Step
USB 3.1 Gen 1 camera with USB Type-C Connector
The new expansion stage of the USB 3 uEye LE series is the release of the first USB 3.1 Gen1 industrial camera equipped with the new USB Type-C connector, but not yet with the transfer rate of 10 Gbps. Is this step reasonable?
For IDS use of the Type-C connector is a logical step. Considering only the transfer rate of the new USB 3.1 specification, there is not much use of it so far. Chipsets suitable for development of USB 3.1 Gen 2 industrial cameras will probably not be available until 2017.
Using the advantages
The market is strongly pushing additional USB 3.1 specifications for the connection technology and power supply called USB Type-C and Power Delivery. These topics provide great potential for industrial applications. Therefore, IDS started to include these components in the development of its own cameras.
On the one hand, our customers benefit directly from the obvious advantages of the new USB Type-C connector. Using the reversible plug on both host and client devices ensures simple handling and building of a USB camera system. On the other hand USB Type-C is the pathfinder for USB Power Delivery because it ensures powering devices with up to 100 W.
While developing the new camera connection IDS has already dealt with the associated opportunities of this intelligent power supply. Over the USB Power Delivery protocol devices negotiate the energy requirement for powering connected peripherals like flash or LED lights. So there is no need for an additional power supply. By using the new USB 3 uEye LE camera series customers can already use this new opportunities for their applications.
To take full advantage of the possibilities of the USB 3.1 Gen 2 transfer rate of 10 Gbps, the camera internals, especially the image sensor, have to operate at full power. Power Delivery guarantees a higher basic power supply. With regard to the connector and cable, everything is prepared for the integration of USB Superspeed plus.
Being prepared
We have finished our homework and want to encourage the users to be involved in USB 3.1 from the beginning. With the implementation and usage of this development step we gain a lot of experience with the new connection technology and power supply. For this purpose all parts of the specs accompanied by USB 3.1 have to be understood and implemented in a simply usable way.
As soon as the first suitable chipsets are available, USB 3.1 Gen 2 is only the next logical evolution. We are prepared.