The Allied Vision 1 Product Line for Embedded Systems

Interview conducted by Mychealla RiceJul 11 2017

Paul Maria Zalewski, Product Line Manager, from Allied Vision talks to AZoOptics about the new revolutionary vision technology for embedded systems.

The new Allied Vision 1 Product Line is a full range of digital cameras designed for embedded vision applications but fulfilling the high standards of industrial and scientific image processing also referred to as “machine vision”.

Please tell us a bit about Allied Vision and the work you do?

Allied Vision is a global player with 340 employees and nine locations worldwide. We develop and manufacture industrial cameras for various markets like factory automation, medical & scientific and so-called growth markets, with new and growing applications such as UAVs, smart cities and telematics.

My job at Allied Vision as a Product Line Manager is the commercial management of the new 1 Product Line. This also includes the market analysis and the specification of the current product line and upcoming developments based on this camera platform. Overall, it is the strategic role within the 1 Product Line.

Please tell us a bit about the Allied Vision 1 Product Line?

The 1 Product Line is a versatile camera platform, which is flexible enough to address various markets, applications and technologies. The product line starts with two different camera series, each with individual characteristics depending on customers' needs.

The 130 Series covers very price sensitive markets and applications, which require a focus on the essentials within a camera. This includes a nice image capability combined with low power consumption for an affordable price. The 140 Series, on the other hand, focuses on advanced image processing combined with flexibility and a great price/performance ratio.

These series can be equipped with either a USB3 and MIPI CSI-2 interface, which make them well suitable for both PC-based systems and embedded systems.

One main component, which both series have in common is the ALVIUM technology. ALVIUM is a self-developed, system-on-chip (SoC) by Allied Vision. The chip includes a large set of image processing features, a flexible sensor interface to connect various image sensors and standard host interfaces.

These core elements in one single chip enable us to provide an attractive, compact camera with broad functionality at a very affordable price.

How will the Allied Vision 1 Product Line revolutionise the embedded industry? What are the features and benefits?

The 130 C and 140 C are camera solutions designed for the embedded industry; both cameras are equipped with MIPI CSI-2, a state-of-the-art interface that comes from the mobile industry. It is the preferred option for developers since the CPU load on the embedded board is extremely low while capturing or streaming images and videos.

Nearly all of today’s embedded boards are equipped with such an interface. So far, CMOS camera modules (CCM) for mobile phones are the only remaining option for embedded system designers.

These modules are driven by the consumer market, but do not cover all needs for other markets which want to make use of embedded systems.

With the Allied Vision 1 Product Line, we want to give customers a fundamental new option of designing their embedded system with cameras. This includes the fundamental interface, MIPI CSI-2.

Furthermore, we offer to shift image processing tasks to our camera to reduce the CPU load on the embedded board. This free capacity on the CPU can be used for other tasks or the designer has the option to use a lower cost board to reduce overall system costs.

Finally, a critical factor is the power consumption of the camera. Due to our own chip, we can offer an attractive package in terms of performance / watt ratio.

How will the product line support sensors and other camera models?

Due to our flexible sensor interface in ALVIUM, we are able to connect nearly every available and upcoming CMOS sensor into our platform.

For the future, we have designed a so-called upgrade connector in our platform. That means we can add even more intelligence to our cameras and release new series with additional features and capabilities.

What is in store for the future of Allied Vision?

We will further analyse the market and listen to our customers. We want to expand our portfolio for PC-based and embedded systems.

This will include additional interface options and more intelligence. Another important aspect is the support of new processors on embedded boards. Each processor needs an individual MIPI CSI-2 driver, which we offer our customers besides the camera itself.

Where can our readers go to find out more?

To find out more about the Allied Vision 1 Product Line please visit our https://www.alliedvision.com website.

About Paul Maria Zalewski

Paul Maria Zalewski is a product management professional at Allied Vision Technologies, a hidden champion in the machine vision camera industry. Paul is the visionary behind a new camera platform for the embedded world, which initially was started with a novel approach of camera design.

He collects puzzle pieces of the market environment in collaboration within internal teams and customers on a global basis and composes them to new product ideas and strategies. Previously, Paul worked in various positions in Marketing and Business Development for leading tech companies in Germany, Denmark and the United States. He graduated with a Master of Science (M.Sc.) from Muenster University of Applied Sciences with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management.