interfaces mvtec

Interface Documentation

Image Acquisition Interface for BitFlow Boards

Interface: BitFlow
Revision: 13.0.3
Date: 2018-10-23

General

This page provides the documentation of the HALCON BitFlow interface for the BitFlow frame grabber boards Alta-AN, Karbon-CL, Karbon-CXP, Cyton-CXP, Neon-CL, RoadRunner, RoadRunner-CL, R3, and R3-CL. Please note, that the RoadRunner-CL, R3, R3-CL boards are only supported by Windows 32-Bit. Although Raven, R64, and R64e-CL boards are still supported by this interface they are no more actively tested as they are out of production. Registered customers can download the latest revision of this interface from the MVTec WWW server.

System Requirements

  • Intel compatible PC with Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) or newer that is also supported by the vendor-specific SDK.
  • Successfully installed BitFlow driver BitFlow.sys (BitFlow SDK version 6.30).
    If you do not have this driver version, please contact BitFlow or the vendor from which you bought the frame grabber board.
  • BitFlow DLLs R2D.dll, Gn2.dll, CiD.dll, and BFD.dll.
    These DLLs must be in your search path %PATH%. If you do not have these DLLs, please contact BitFlow or the vendor from which you bought the frame grabber board.
  • HALCON image acquisition interface hAcqBitFlow.dll or hAcqBitFlowxl.dll, respectively.
    If you have properly installed the interface, both DLLs should reside in bin\%HALCONARCH% within the HALCON base directory %HALCONROOT% you have chosen during the installation of HALCON.

Installation

Only when installing or updating the interface manually follow these steps:
  • Windows: Extract the archive containing the interface files to the HALCON base directory %HALCONROOT% (Note: Administrator privileges may be required for this step). Additionally, you have to move the interface examples to the directory %HALCONEXAMPLES% manually.

Features

  • Multiple frame grabber boards.
  • Multiple compatible cameras per board (port switching).
  • Synchronous and asynchronous grabbing.
  • External trigger (with software override of the camera configuration file).
  • Up to 1000 frame buffers (e.g., for volatile and/or continuous grabbing).
  • Completely asynchronous grabbing of up to 40 images (with or without external triggering; see parameter 'continuous_grabbing' and the corresponding section below).
  • Support of multiple analog and digital cameras based on the BitFlow camera configuration files.
  • (Partial) software control of the number of bits per pixel (with software override of the camera configuration file).
  • Support of the digital output lines.
  • Support of line scan cameras.
  • Writing and reading of LUTs.
  • Dynamically changing the frame size of the grabbed image.
  • Support of start/stop trigger mode (for line scan cameras connected to RoadRunner or RoadRunner CL boards).
  • Serial communication with Camera Link cameras.
  • Support of user-specific callback function.

Limitations

  • Only one image acquisition instance per frame grabber board (however, multiple compatible cameras can be accessed using port switching).
  • No subsampling or cropping of image parts through the HALCON interface. This feature is supported through the use of camera files.

Parameters for info_framegrabber

Parameter Value List Type Kind Description
'bits_per_channel' [8, 10, 12] integer pre-defined Values for bits per channel.
'camera_type' ['CAMFILE:', 'cam;r64;rcl;rvc;anlg;bfml;kcxp', '<camera_path>', 'default'] string pre-defined Syntax for camera configuration file and default value.
'color_space' ['gray', 'rgb'] string pre-defined Values for color space.
'defaults' [1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 'progressive', -1, 'gray', -1.0, 'false', 'default', 'default', 0, 1] mixed pre-defined Default values for open_framegrabber.
'device' ['RoadRunner:0', 'RoadRunner:1', 'RoadRunner:2', 'RoadRunner:3', 'Gn2:0', 'Gn2:1', 'Gn2:2', 'Gn2:3', 'default'] string dynamic Pre-defined list of possible device IDs.
'external_trigger' ['false', 'true'] string pre-defined Values for the external trigger.
'field' [] Unused.
'general' [] string pre-defined Information about the HALCON BitFlow interface.
'generic' [] Unsupported query.
'horizontal_resolution' 1 integer pre-defined Value list for horizontal resolution.
'image_height' [] Unsupported query.
'image_width' [] Unsupported query.
'info_boards' ['device:<device_id>'] string dynamic Returns a list of installed BitFlow boards.
'parameters' ['<parameters>'] string pre-defined Pre-defined parameters of the HALCON interface.
'parameters_readonly' ['<parameters>'] string pre-defined Pre-defined read-only parameters of the HALCON interface.
'parameters_writeonly' ['<parameters>'] string pre-defined Pre-defined write-only parameters of the HALCON interface.
'port' [0, 1, 2, 3] integer pre-defined Pre-defined list of possible port numbers.
'revision' '<revision>' string pre-defined Revision number of the BitFlow interface.
'start_column' [] Unsupported query.
'start_row' [] Unsupported query.
'vertical_resolution' 1 integer pre-defined Value list for vertical resolution.

Parameters for open_framegrabber

Parameter Values Default Type Description
Name 'BitFlow' string Name of the HALCON interface.
HorizontalResolution 1, <width> 1 integer Desired image resolution. Use '1' for full resolution or the corresponding absolute value (depending on your camera).
VerticalResolution 1, <height> 1 integer Desired image resolution. Use '1' for full resolution or the corresponding absolute value (depending on your camera).
ImageWidth 0 0 integer Width of the desired image part ('0' stands for the complete image).
ImageHeight 0 0 integer Height of the desired image part ('0' stands for the complete image).
StartRow 0 0 integer Row coordinate of the upper left pixel within the desired image part.
StartColumn 0 0 integer Column coordinate of the upper left pixel within the desired image part.
Field --- Ignored.
BitsPerChannel -1, 8, 10, 12 -1 integer Number of bits per channel. By specifying the default '-1' the corresponding setting of the camera configuration file is used.
ColorSpace 'gray', 'rgb' 'gray' string Desired color space of the HALCON image. If BitsPerChannel is set to -1, the value is ignored and overwritten by the settings of the camera configuration file.
Generic --- Ignored.
ExternalTrigger 'false', 'true' 'false' string Status of the external trigger.
CameraType '<file>', 'default' 'default' string This parameter is used to specify the camera configuration file (e.g., 'BfSynth256E1.cam' (RoadRunner) or 'Generic-Synthetic-1024x1024-1T.r64' (Neon) for a synthetic test image). If you specify 'default' the first camera you have set with SysReg is used. For Gen2 boards you can also provide a mode when passing the configuration file using 'mode@camfile.bfml' where 'mode' is one of the modes from the BFML file. If a mode is not provided with the configuration file then the default mode will be used.
Device '<BoardType>:<nr>', 'default' 'default' string Type ('Gen2' or 'RoadRunner') and number ('0', '1', '2' ...) of the frame grabber board (passed as one string!), e.g., 'RoadRunner:1' or 'Gn2:0'.
Note that R3 boards are treated in the way as RoadRunner boards and that Alta, Karbon and Neon boards are treated in the way as the legacy R64 boards. If you specify 'default' the interface automatically selects the first board.
Port <port> 0 integer The number attached to the desired camera via the BitFlow configuration program SysReg (starting with 0 for the first camera). Only evaluated in case the CameraType parameter has been set to 'default'.
LineIn --- Ignored.

Parameters for set_framegrabber_param

Parameter Values Default Type Description
'cc:X' <command> integer Low CPU usage write to the CCx_CON register
'continuous_grab_timeout' <milliseconds> 5000 integer Specifies the desired timeout (milliseconds) for aborting an acquisition when in continuous grabbing mode. This timeout is used only by the internal grabbing thread, it must see an image within this amount of time. If not, it will abort acquisition. This timeout is not used by the grab_image() functions. If -1 is specified, the timeout is set to INFINITE.
'continuous_grabbing' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string Activates or deactivates 'continuous grabbing'. For details, please see the corresponding section below.
'ctab_fill' ['index <index>: num_entries <num>: mask <mask>: value <value>'] string Ctab_fill parameter writes a masked CTAB fill value to the Camera Control Table. The following parameters must be specified:
  • index - A decimal number indicating the offset into the CTAB table.
  • num_entries - A decimal number, of the number of CTAB values to write.
  • mask - The CTAB extraction mask value which can be one of the following:
    • 0xFFFF - R64CTab
    • 0x00FF - R64HCTab
    • 0xFF00 - R64VCTab
    • 0x0001 - R64HCTabHStart
    • 0x0002 - R64HCTabHReset
    • 0x0004 - R64HCtabENHLoad
    • 0x0008 - R64HCTabReserved
    • 0x0010 - R64HCTabGPH0
    • 0x0020 - R64HCTabGPH1
    • 0x0040 - R64HCTabGPH2
    • 0x0080 - R64HCTabGPH3
    • 0x0100 - R64VCTabVStart
    • 0x0200 - R64VCTabVReset
    • 0x0400 - R64VCtabENVLoad
    • 0x0800 - R64VCtabIRQ
    • 0x1000 - R64VCTabGPV0
    • 0x2000 - R64VCTabGPV1
    • 0x4000 - R64VCTabGPV2
    • 0x8000 - R64VCTabGPV3
  • value - A hex value to fill the CTAB table with.

Note that this parameter is a write-only parameter!
Example: set_framegrabber_param(..., 'ctab_fill', 'index 0:num_entries 256:mask 0xffff:value 0x0000')
'dma_direction' 'bottom-up', 'top-down' 'top-down' string Read-out direction of the image.
'do_abort_grab' --- Aborts the current image acquisition.
'do_comm_close' --- Closes the comm port.
'do_comm_flush' --- Discards any bytes that are available in the input buffer of the comm port.
'do_comm_open' --- Opens and initializes the comm port for use on the board. The comm port will always be opened with 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit. The default timeout is 1 second.
'do_comm_param' '<string>' string Parameters for serial communication, separated by colons. The following parameters can be specified:
  • timeout: timeout in milliseconds.
  • baud_rate: baud rate. Valid baud rates are 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400.
  • parity: parity to be used. N=No parity, E=Even parity, O=Odd parity.
  • data_bits: size of the data. 5="5" bit data, 6 = 6 bit data, 7 = 7 bit data, 8 = 8 bit data.
  • stop_bits: number of stop bits. 1 = 1 stop bit, 15 = 1.5 stop bits, 2 = 2 stop bits
Example: set_framegrabber_param(..., 'comm_param', 'baud_rate 9600:data_bits 8:parity N')
'do_comm_write' <message> mixed Writes message to comm port. Note that message can either be a string value or a tuple of integers. The latter case also allows the writing of NULL characters. Examples: set_framegrabber_param(..., 'do_comm_write', 'TR="2"\r\n'), set_framegrabber_param(..., 'do_comm_write', [0, 127, 128])
'do_flush_buffers' --- Discards all image buffers in the output buffer queue in continuous grabbing mode.
'do_force_trigger' --- Generate a software trigger signal for the camera.
'encoder_scan_step' 0 ... 1023 integer Encoder divider value.
'grab_timeout' <milliseconds> 5000 integer Desired timeout (milliseconds) for aborting a pending grab. If -1 is specified, the timeout is set to INFINITE.
'hardware_exception_thread' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string Start/stop hardware exception thread to reset acquisition in continuous grabbing mode when there is a hardware exception.
'image_height' <height> integer Dynamically change the current image height of the grabbed image. This feature is limited to use with only free run camera files (see also the comments to CiAqFrameSize in the BitFlow SDK Reference).
'image_width' <width> integer Dynamically change the current image width of the grabbed image. This value has to be a multiple of 4 and is limited to use with only free run camera files (see also the comments to CiAqFrameSize in the BitFlow SDK Reference).
'lut' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string State of the lookup table.
'out:X' 'high', 'low' string State of one of the digital output lines (with X = 0, 1, or 2 for RoadRunner/R3-DIF family; RoadRunner/R3 CL family). The default depends on the board settings.
'overflow_thread' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string Start/stop overflow thread to reset acquisition in continuous grabbing mode when there is an overflow exception.
'overwrite_method' 'abort', 'ignore' 'abort' string Specify how the interface should handle situations where the external trigger is received faster than the images are read by the application in continuous grabbing mode (see also the corresponding section below).
'port' <port> integer Switch to the camera with the specified number (attached via the BitFlow configuration program SysReg - starting with 0 for the first camera). Using this port switching you can access multiple cameras with one frame grabber board (see below).
'read_buf_size' 0...32768 0 integer Number of bytes to read from the read buffer of an open comm port. This will most likely be set before each read, unless the message from the camera is always the same size.
'register_index_poke:xx' <value> integer Writes the given value of to register or bitfield index. The index is obtained by calling register_index_get. This function uses very little CPU and can be used during CPU intensive operations
'register_poke:xx' <value> integer Writes the given value to a register or bitfield. The bitfield names and the purpose are described in the hardware reference manual for the frame grabber being used. Note that this function is somewhat CPU intensive and should not be used during intensive processing.
'resnap' 'false', 'true' 'false' string Specifies whether to reset the DMA engine and to try a second snap in case of an overflow. Note that in continuous grabbing mode you can use the parameter 'overflow_thread' to reset acquisition when there is an overflow exception.
'ring_buffer_stop_margin' 1 integer This parameter controls the 'protection zone' used to look ahead when a buffer is about to be overwritten. When 'continuous_grabbing' is enable, the frame grabber acquires automatically into a circular set of buffers. There is a thread that watches acquisition and makes sure that buffers which have not yet been processed by the user's program are not overwritten by new images. If a buffers is about to be overwritten, acquisition is aborted. If the frame rate is high and/or the CPU is very busy, the thread might not get serviced in time to protect unprocessed buffers. By increasing the size, the overwrite protection can still be maintained under these conditions. This parameters only is used with 'continuous_grabbing' is enabled.
'serial_baudrate' <baud> 9600 integer Baud rate for serial communication.
'serial_message' '<string>' string Sends the string via the serial interface, see also 'do_comm_write'.
'serial_message_buf_size' 1 ... 32767 1024 integer Maximum buffer size for receive strings via 'serial_message'.
'serial_terminate_code' 0...255 LF(0x0A) integer Termination character of the receive string. If you call get_framegrabber_param with the parameter 'serial_message', the receive process is finished by receiving this character.
'serial_timeout' <milliseconds> 1000 integer Timeout for serial communication (in milliseconds).
'serial_write_delay' <milliseconds> 0 integer Timeout in milliseconds for serial write operations.
'software_trigger' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string Enables or disables the software trigger mode (shot grabbing). Note that the software trigger mode can only be used with a one shot camera file.
'start_async_after_grab_async' 'disable', 'enable' 'enable' string By default a new asynchronous grab command is automatically given to the acquisition device at the end of grab_image_async. If the parameter 'start_async_after_grab_async' is set to 'disable', this new grab command is omitted.
'start_column' 0 ... <max> integer Column coordinate of the upper left pixel within the desired image part.
'start_row' 0 ... <max> integer Row coordinate of the upper left pixel within the desired image part.
'trigger_timeout' <milliseconds> 60000 integer Timeout (milliseconds passed as an integer) for aborting a pending grab when waiting for an external trigger.
'volatile' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string Grayscale only. In the volatile mode the two image acquisition interface buffers are used directly to store HALCON images. This is the fastest mode avoiding to copy raw images in memory. However, be aware that older images are overwritten again and again as a side-effect. Thus, you can only process one image while you grab another image. Older images are invalid!
'wait_frame_exposure_timeout' <milliseconds> 1000 integer Sets the timeout [ms] used by 'wait_frame_exposure'.

Parameters for get_framegrabber_param

There may exist additional read-only parameters with the following postfixes:
  • '_description': These parameters provide the tool-tip of the corresponding parameter as a string.
  • '_range': These parameters provide the minimum, maximum, step width, and default values for the corresponding integer or float parameter as a tuple with 4 elements, e.g., get_framegrabber_param(.., 'Shutter_range', ..) will return the output tuple [min, max, step, default].
  • '_values': These parameters provide the valid value list for the corresponding parameter as a tuple, e.g., get_framegrabber_param(.., 'volatile_values', ..) will return the output tuple ['enable', 'disable'].

All these postfixed parameter names are not returned when calling info_framegrabber(.., 'parameters', ..) and are used to enable the easy parameterization via a generic graphical user interface, particularly the HDevelop Image Acquisition Assistant.

Parameter Values Default Type Kind Description
'available_callback_types' ['<callback_type>'] string dynamic Query all callback types which are supported by this interface.
'bits_per_channel' -1, 8, 10, 12 -1 integer pre-defined Number of bits per channel of the resulting HALCON image. In case of -1 the current bit depth of the camera is used. By specifying a value greater than 8 the grabbed images are delivered as uint2 images.
'camera_connected' 'false', 'true' string pre-defined Query the presence of the connected camera.
'camera_type' '<default>' 'default' string pre-defined Name of the camera configuration file.
'color_space' '<color_space>' 'gray' string pre-defined Desired color space and thus the number of image channels of the resulting HALCON image.
'comm_read_int' [<int1>, ..., <intN>] integer dynamic Returns the N number of bytes set by read_buf_size from an open comm port. This command will return when the read_buf_size of bytes are available or when the serial timeout period has passed. Upon success, read_buf_size number of bytes will be returned as a tuple of N integer values. In an error case, no data is returned. Note that this parameter allows also the reading of NULL characters.
'comm_read_str' <camera_response> integer dynamic Returns the number of bytes set by read_buf_size from an open comm port. This command will return when the read_buf_size of bytes are available or when the serial timeout period has passed. Upon success, read_buf_size number of bytes will be returned as a string. In an error case, no data is returned.
'continuous_grab_timeout' <milliseconds> 5000 integer pre-defined Returns the current continuous grabbing timeout value in milliseconds.
'continuous_grabbing' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string pre-defined Activates or deactivates 'continuous grabbing'. For details, please see the corresponding section below.
'device' '<device_id>' 'default' string dynamic Current device ID.
'dma_direction' 'bottom-up', 'top-down' 'top-down' string pre-defined Read-out direction of the image.
'encoder_scan_step' 0 ... 1023 integer dynamic Encoder divider value.
'external_trigger' 'false', 'true' 'false' string pre-defined Status of the external trigger.
'field' '<default>' 'progressive' string pre-defined The value is not used, so a default value is returned.
'firmware_directory' <value> string dynamic Returns the path of the default firmware directory.
'firmware_file_name' <value> string dynamic Returns the file name of the used firmware.
'generic' <default> -1 integer pre-defined The value is not used, so a default value is returned.
'grab_timeout' <milliseconds> 5000 integer pre-defined Current grab timeout in milliseconds.
'hardware_exception_count' <num> integer dynamic Returns the number of hardware exceptions that have occurred.
'hardware_exception_thread' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string pre-defined Start/stop hardware exception thread to reset acquisition in continuous grabbing mode when there is a hardware exception.
'horizontal_resolution' <resolution> 1 integer pre-defined Current value of horizontal resolution.
'image_height' <height> 0 integer pre-defined Height of the desired image part ('0' stands for the complete image).
'image_width' <width> 0 integer pre-defined Width of the desired image part ('0' stands for the complete image).
'in:X' 'high', 'low' string pre-defined Returns the desired state of one of the digital input lines (with X = 0 for a RoadRunner, X = 1 or 2 for a RoadRunner CL).
'line_in' <default> 1 integer pre-defined The value is not used, so a default value is returned.
'lut' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string pre-defined State of the lookup table.
'name' 'BitFlow' string pre-defined Name of the HALCON interface.
'next_buffer_acquired' <buffer> integer dyanmic Returns the index of the next acquired buffer in continuous grabbing mode. The buffer number is between 0 and the number of allocated buffers.
'next_buffer_acquired_abs' <num> integer dynamic Returns the buffer index that is being returned by the next call of grab_image or grab_image_async in continuous grabbing mode. The incrementation is done continuously. The returned buffer number will be between 0 and 2^32.
'next_buffer_returned' <buffer> integer dynamic Returns the buffer index that is being returned by the next call of grab_image or grab_image_async in continuous grabbing mode. The buffer number is between 0 and the number of allocated buffers.
'num_buffers' 2 - 1000 2 integer pre-defined Number of buffers used for the image acquisition.
'num_buffers_overwritten' <value> integer dynamic Returns the number of overwritten buffers. Only active, if the overwrite method is set.
'num_free_buffers' <num> integer dynamic Returns the number of free buffers in continuous grabbing mode.
'out:X' 'high', 'low' string pre-defined State of one of the digital output lines (with X = 0, 1, or 2 for RoadRunner/R3-DIF family; RoadRunner/R3 CL family). The default depends on the board settings.
'overflow_count' <num> integer dynamic Returns the number of overflows that have occurred.
'overflow_thread' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string pre-defined Start/stop overflow thread to reset acquisition in continuous grabbing mode when there is an overflow exception.
'overwrite_method' 'abort', 'ignore' 'abort' string pre-defined Specify how the interface should handle situations where the external trigger is received faster than the images are read by the application in continuous grabbing mode (see also the corresponding section below).
'port' <port> 0 integer pre-defined Current port number.
'read_buf_size' 0...32768 0 integer dynamic Number of bytes to read from the read buffer of an open comm port. This will most likely be set before each read, unless the message from the camera is always the same size.
'register_index_get:xx' <value> integer dynamic Returns a register which can be used for quick access (i.e. with low CPU usage) to registers. The index returned from this function can be used with both register_index_poke and register_index_peek. The bitfield names and the purpose are described in the hardware reference manual for the frame grabber being used. Note that this function is somewhat CPU intensive and should not be used during intensive processing.
'register_index_peek:xx' <value> integer dynamic Returns the current value of a register or bitfield index. The index is obtained by calling register_index_get. This function uses very little CPU and can be used during CPU intensive operations
'register_peek:xx' <value> integer dynamic Returns the current value of a register or bitfield. The bitfield names and the purpose are described in the hardware reference manual for the frame grabber being used. Note that this function is somewhat CPU intensive and should not be used during intensive processing.
'resnap' 'false', 'true' 'false' string pre-defined Specifies whether to reset the DMA engine and to try a second snap in case of an overflow. Note that in continuous grabbing mode you can use the parameter 'overflow_thread' to reset acquisition when there is an overflow exception.
'revision' '<revision>' string pre-defined Revision number of the BitFlow interface. Further the build date of the interface will be listed.
'ring_buffer_stop_margin' 1 integer pre-defined This parameter controls the 'protection zone' used to look ahead when a buffer is about to be overwritten. When 'continuous_grabbing' is enable, the frame grabber acquires automatically into a circular set of buffers. There is a thread that watches acquisition and makes sure that buffers which have not yet been processed by the user's program are not overwritten by new images. If a buffers is about to be overwritten, acquisition is aborted. If the frame rate is high and/or the CPU is very busy, the thread might not get serviced in time to protect unprocessed buffers. By increasing the size, the overwrite protection can still be maintained under these conditions. This parameters only is used with 'continuous_grabbing' is enabled.
'sdk_build' <value> string dynamic Returns the build version.
'sdk_revision' <value> string dynamic Returns the version number of the SDK.
'serial_baudrate' <baud> 9600 integer dynamic Baud rate for serial communication.
'serial_message' '<string>' string dynamic Receives a string via the serial interface, see also 'comm_read_str'.
'serial_message_buf_size' 1 ... 32767 1024 integer dynamic Maximum buffer size for receive strings via 'serial_message'.
'serial_terminate_code' 0...255 LF(0x0A) integer dynamic Termination character of the receive string. If you call get_framegrabber_param with the parameter 'serial_message', the receive process is finished by receiving this character.
'serial_timeout' <milliseconds> 1000 integer dynamic Timeout for serial communication (in milliseconds).
'serial_write_delay' <milliseconds> 0 integer dynamic Timeout in milliseconds for serial write operations.
'software_trigger' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string pre-defined Enables or disables the software trigger mode (shot grabbing). Note that the software trigger mode can only be used with a one shot camera file.
'start_async_after_grab_async' 'disable', 'enable' 'enable' string pre-defined Status of 'start_async_after_grab_async'.
'start_column' <column> 0 integer pre-defined Returns the current start column of the HALCON image.
'start_row' <row> 0 integer pre-defined Returns the current start row of the HALCON image.
'trigger_timeout' <milliseconds> 60000 integer dynamic Timeout (milliseconds passed as an integer) for aborting a pending grab when waiting for an external trigger.
'vertical_resolution' <resolution> 1 integer pre-defined Current value of vertical resolution.
'volatile' 'disable', 'enable' 'disable' string pre-defined Grayscale only. In the volatile mode the two image acquisition interface buffers are used directly to store HALCON images. This is the fastest mode avoiding to copy raw images in memory. However, be aware that older images are overwritten again and again as a side-effect. Thus, you can only process one image while you grab another image. Older images are invalid!
'wait_frame_exposure' <num> integer dynamic Returns if the exposure of the camera has finished. If the value 0 is returned, an error occurred. The return value 1 indicates, that a timeout was reached (see 'wait_frame_exposure_timeout). In case of success, the value 2 is returned.
'wait_frame_exposure_timeout' <milliseconds> 1000 integer dynamic Sets the timeout [ms] used by 'wait_frame_exposure'.

Operator set_framegrabber_lut

Set the lookup-table values if LUTs are supported by the used board. Note that also the number of 'bits_per_channel' is important for the number of input values.

Operator get_framegrabber_lut

Query the lookup-table values.

Operator set_framegrabber_callback

All actually supported callback types of a specific image acquisition device can be queried by calling get_framegrabber_param with the parameter 'available_callback_types'. Once the callback is registered, on every occurrence of the underlying event (e.g., the notification that the exposure has finished) the specified callback function will be called. If the callback function is set to NULL, the corresponding callback will be unregistered.

The signature of the callback function is Herror (__stdcall *HAcqCallback)(void *AcqHandle, void *Context, void *UserContext) and uses the following parameters:
  • AcqHandle Acquisition handle of the corresponding image acquisition instance.
  • Context Optional context data of the specific callback. In the BitFlow interface, this parameter is not used, i.e., Context is set to NULL.
  • UserContext User context as set via set_framegrabber_callback.

Using user-callback functions
Note that the execution time of a user-specific callback function should always be as short as possible since during the execution of a callback function the handling of further internal callbacks might be blocked. This can be achieved by removing the current processing from the user-specific callback function to a separate thread that is controlled via signals or events.

Type Description
'exposure_end' Corresponds to the end of the exposure.
'transfer_end' Corresponds to the end of the image DMA.

Operator get_framegrabber_callback

This interface supports device specific events via the operators set_framegrabber_callback and get_framegrabber_callback. For more information see set_framegrabber_callback.

Operator grab_image_start

Starts a new asynchronous grab. See also grab_image_start.

Operator grab_image

grab_image starts a new synchronous grab. See also grab_image. Note that the interface converts the image from the device to the desired image format specified by the parameters 'image_width', 'image_height', 'start_row', 'start_column', 'bits_per_channel', and 'color_space'.

Operator grab_image_async

grab_image_async returns an image and starts the next asynchronous grab. See also grab_image_async. Note that the interface converts the image from the device to the desired image format specified by the parameters 'image_width', 'image_height', 'start_row', 'start_column', 'bits_per_channel', and 'color_space'.

Operator grab_data

Not supported by this interface.

Operator grab_data_async

Not supported by this interface.

Operator close_framegrabber

This operator closes the device. See also close_framegrabber.

Multiple Cameras (Port Switching)

It is possible to connect more than one camera to a BitFlow board. You will need specific camera configuration files to do this, which have to be installed in your system with the BitFlow configuration program SysReg (please contact BitFlow for details). SysReg attaches a number to each camera (starting with 0). This number is used as port parameter in the HALCON interface. To access a specific camera, you have to specify the corresponding port. This setting can be changed dynamically using the operator set_framegrabber_param (port switching). However, in this case the used cameras must be compatible, that is of the same type or with similar features (if in doubt please contact your local vendor or BitFlow).

With this mechanism you can access multiple cameras with one frame grabber handle. Note that a pending asynchronous job is aborted when changing the port. Therefore, it does not make much sense to use grab_image_async in combination with port switching. Please note further the simple HDevelop example program bitflow_2ports.dev you will find in %HALCONROOT%\examples\hdevelop\Image\Acquisition.

Continuous Grabbing

The continuous grabbing mode is used for completely asynchronous grabbing with or without external triggering: If you activate this mode via set_framegrabber_param(..., 'continuous_grabbing', 'enable') images will be acquired (with each trigger if triggering is enabled) and stored in N buffers in a cyclic way without any additional explicit software trigger like grab_image. Thus, your HALCON application can process other data without losing a frame. This is, for example, very useful for the acquisition of images under specific lighting conditions which are triggered by a sequence controller with a fixed timing. In continuous grabbing mode both grab_image and grab_image_async simply will return the next frame (or wait if it has not been acquired so far). Note that with the standard asynchronous grabbing there can only be one grab job pending. Thus, you can only acquire one frame in parallel to processing, e.g., the previous frame. Now you can acquire N frames in parallel with N between 2 and 1000 (as specified with the parameter 'num_buffers'). Note that you have to specify the desired number of buffers via set_framegrabber_param(...'num_buffers'...) before enabling the continuous grabbing mode!

In this continuous grabbing mode you might encounter situations where the images are acquired at a faster rate than they are read by your application. Thus, the N buffers will fill up and finally you will encounter a buffer that was not read so far, but should be overwritten by the next frame. You can decide what to do in this situation via the parameter 'overwrite_method':
  • 'abort': Before overwriting any frame, abort the acquisition. This is the safest method. The main user will be able to process any good buffers still in the system before an error is returned.
  • 'ignore': Ignore the problem and overwrite the buffer. Thus, some of the older frames that already have been acquired (but not processed so far) will be lost.

HDevelop Examples

For this interface there are the following examples available:
  • bitflow_2boards.hdev - Grabbing images with two BitFlow frame grabber boards.
  • bitflow_2ports.hdev - Shows the usage of two cameras and port switching.
  • bitflow.hdev - Benchmark.
  • bitflow_cont.hdev - Parameterization of a BitFlow frame grabber board.
  • bitflow_change_size.hdev - Set different image sizes.
  • bitflow_cl_serial_usage.hdev - Shows the usage of serial communication of a BitFlow frame grabber board.
  • bitflow_cont_async_oneshot.hdev - Parameterization of a BitFlow frame grabber board.
  • bitflow_cxp_register_poke_peek.hdev - Read/write registers of a CXP BitFlow frame grabber board.
  • bitflow_lut.hdev - Setting a look-up table.
  • bitflow_open_by_switch_connector.hdev - Opening the board by sitch and connector.
  • bitflow_register_poke_peek.hdev - Read/write registers of a CL BitFlow frame grabber board.
  • bitflow_simple.hdev - A simple example to show the usage of the interface.
  • bitflow_simple_sw_trigger.hdev - Shows the usage of software trigger.
  • bitflow_version.hdev - Shows all versions.

C++ Examples

For this interface there is also a further C++ Visual Studio Project to demonstrate the usage of the operators get_framegrabber_callback and set_framegrabber_callback. Please check the directory %HALCONEXAMPLES%\cpp\console\vs2005\. If you prefer building the example via the console, please check the following folder %HALCONEXAMPLES%\cpp\console\. With a Linux OS please use $HALCONEXAMPLES/cpp/console/.

C# Examples

For this interface there is also a further C# Visual Studio Project to demonstrate the usage of the operators get_framegrabber_callback and set_framegrabber_callback. Please check the directory %HALCONEXAMPLES%\cpp\console\vs2005\.

Release Notes

  • Revision 13.0.3 (Oct 23, 2018):
    • The BitFlow SDK has been updated to 6.30.
    • The technical dependency from the HALCON Library has been removed.
    • When querying the 'camera_type' parameter if the camera file path contained UNICODE characters it was not displayed correctly. This problem has been fixed.
    • The parameter 'ring_buffer_stop_margin' has been added.
  • Revision 13.0.2 (Oct 20, 2017):
    • Renamed the parameter 'do_abort_capture' to 'do_abort_grab'. The parameter 'do_abort_capture' will continue to work for compatibility but should be avoided.
    • Information about the use of modes with Gen2 boards has been added to the CameraType parameter in open_framegrabber.
  • Revision 13.0.1 (Oct 28, 2016):
    • HALCON 13 version of the interface.
  • Revision 6.2 (Sep 28, 2016):
    • The BitFlow SDK has been updated to 6.20.
    • The parameter 'num_simultaneous_cameras' is no longer supported. For backward compatibility it is still available, but you get an error message, if you want to use it.
    • The parameters 'do_comm_read_int' and 'do_comm_read_str' have been renamed to 'comm_read_int' and 'comm_read_str'. For backward compatibility the old names still work.
    • Setting an empty value in set_framegrabber_param led to a crash. This problem has been fixed.
    • The example 'bitflow_2simultaneous' has been removed.
    • The examples 'bitflow_2boards' and 'bitflow_cont' have been adapted.
    • The examples 'bitflow_change_size', 'bitflow_cl_serial_usage', 'bitflow_cont_async_oneshot', 'bitflow_cxp_register_poke_peek', 'bitflow_open_by_switch_connector', 'bitflow_register_poke_peek', 'bitflow_simple_sw_trigger', and 'bitflow_version' have been added.
  • Revision 6.1 (Oct 20, 2015):
    • The BitFlow SDK has been updated to 6.00.
    • New board types Karbon-CXP and Cyton-CXP were added.
    • New parameters 'num_buffers_overwritten', 'sdk_revision', 'sdk_build', 'firmware_file_name', 'firmware_directory' were added.
    • The use of the serial communication led to a crash. This problem has been fixed.
    • This documentation did not list all available callback types. This problem has been fixed.
    • The legacy Raven and R64 and R64e-CL frame grabber families has been removed from the documentation.
  • Revision 6.0 (Oct 31, 2014):
    • HALCON 12 version of the interface.
  • Revision 5.2 (Aug 28, 2013):
    • Adapted to BitFlow SDK 5.70.
    • Added parameters 'cc:x', 'continuous_grab_timeout', 'register_peek', 'register_poke', 'register_index_peek', 'register_index_poke', and 'register_index_get'.
    • Adapted implementation of the serial communication.
    • Added functionality to handle 'exposure_end' callbacks.
    • Added hint for support of older frame grabbers to section 'General' in this document.
  • Revision 5.1 (Oct 29, 2012):
    • Fixed bug in grab_image_start that could lead to a deadlock situation in combination with succeeding asynchronous image acquisition operators.
  • Revision 5.0 (May 15, 2012):
    • HALCON 11 version of the interface (included in HALCON 11 DVD).
    • Adapted to BitFlow SDK 5.60.
    • Add new parameters 'next_buffer_acquired_abs', 'wait_frame_exposure' and 'wait_frame_exposure_timeout'.
    • Fixed thread safety problem in grab_image and grab_image_async that could occur if a pending grab was aborted via the 'do_abort_grab' parameter of set_framegrabber_param.
  • Revision 4.2 (Aug 27, 2010):
    • Adapted to BitFlow SDK 5.30.
    • Added parameters 'dma_direction', 'lut', 'serial_write_delay', 'start_column', and 'start_row'.
    • Improved internal thread handling.
    • Removed parameter 'show_internal_errors'; please use set_system('do_low_error', ...) instead.
    • HALCON 10 version of the interface (included in HALCON 10 DVD).
  • Revision 4.1 (Jan 22, 2010):
    • Add functionality to handle 'transfer_end' callbacks.
  • Revision 4.0 (Dec 1, 2008):
    • HALCON 9.0 version of the interface (included in HALCON 9.0 DVD).
    • Bug fix in parameters 'do_comm_param' and 'ctab_fill'.
    • Bug fix in get_framegrabber_param for the parameters 'overflow_thread' and 'hardware_exception_thread' to ensure consistency with set_framegrabber_param.
  • Revision 3.3 (Apr 22, 2008):
    • Adaptation to BitFlow SDK 5.00 with support of the new Alta-AN, Karbon-CL, and Neon-CL boards.
    • New parameters 'start_async_after_grab_async', 'software_trigger', 'do_force_trigger', 'do_abort_capture', 'gport', 'encoder_scan_step', 'serial_timeout', 'serial_baudrate', 'serial_message', 'serial_terminate_code', 'serial_message_buf_size', 'ctab_fill', 'camera_connected', 'do_flush_buffers', and 'num_free_buffers'.
    • Default value of parameter 'overwrite_method' changed to 'abort'.
    • Default value of parameter 'show_internal_errors' changed to 'false'.
    • Added read-only parameters with postfix '_description', '_range', and '_values' to enable the easy parameterization via a generic graphical user interface.
  • Revision 3.2 (Feb 27, 2008):
    • New parameter 'do_flush_buffers'.
  • Revision 3.1 (Jan 30, 2008):
    • Bug fix concerning the general serial communication with Camera Link cameras (correct use of clserbit.lib instead of clallserial.lib).
  • Revision 3.0 (May 15, 2007):
    • HALCON 8.0 version of the interface (included in HALCON 8.0 DVD).
    • Bug fix in parameter 'do_comm_param'.
  • Revision 2.12 (Feb 02, 2007):
    • Support of Windows XP x64 for R64 and R64e boards (using BitFlow SDK version 4.80).
  • Revision 2.11 (Aug 16, 2006):
    • Support of 3x 10bpp and 3x 12bpp RGB cameras.
    • Bug fix for 16bpp images.
  • Revision 2.10 (Jan 18, 2006):
    • Adaptation to the new BitFlow SDK 4.50 with support of the new R64e boards.
    • New parameters 'next_buffer_acquired' and 'next_buffer_returned'.
    • Updated to Camera Link version 1.1 compliance.
  • Revision 2.9 (Jul 27, 2005):
    • HALCON 7.1 version of the interface (included in HALCON 7.1 CD).
    • Speed-up for acquisition of RGB images (avoiding cache alignment failures when converting the interleaved image data into HALCON image objects).
  • Revision 2.8 (Nov 24, 2004):
    • The serial communication with Camera Link cameras now supports the reading and writing of NULL characters. Thus, the parameter 'do_comm_write' accepts also a tuple of integer values. Furthermore, the parameter 'do_comm_read' has been split into the two new parameters 'comm_read_str' and 'comm_read_int' to allow the reading of strings as well as the reading of integer tuples.
    • The maximum number of used frame buffers has been increased to 1000.
    • The query types 'bits_per_channel', 'camera_type', 'color_space', 'device', 'external_trigger', 'field', and 'port' for info_framegrabber provide now specific value lists for the corresponding parameters in open_framegrabber.
  • Revision 2.7 (Aug 30, 2004):
    • New parameters 'overflow_thread', 'hardware_exception_thread', 'overflow_count', and 'hardware_exception_count' to reset acquisition in continuous grabbing mode when there is a hardware or overflow exception.
    • New parameters 'do_comm_param', 'do_comm_open', 'do_comm_close', 'do_comm_write', 'do_comm_read', 'do_comm_flush', and 'read_buf_size' to control the serial communication with Camera Link cameras.
  • Revision 2.6 (Jul 25, 2003):
    • HALCON 7.0 version of the interface (included in HALCON 7.0 CD).
    • Adaptation to the new BitFlow SDK 4.00 with support of the new R64 boards.
  • Revision 2.5 (Nov 19, 2002):
    • New parameter 'in:X' to query the state of the digital input lines (GPIN).
  • Revision 2.4 (Jul 4, 2002):
    • Adaptation to the new BitFlow SDK 3.00 with support of the new R3 and R3-CL boards.
    • New parameter 'resnap' to enable a second grab in case of an overflow.
  • Revision 2.3 (Aug 30, 2001):
    • HALCON 6.1 version of the interface (included in HALCON 6.1 CD).
    • Bug fix in open_framegrabber together with multi processor machines.
    • Bug fix forces correct LUT setting with model 11 RoadRunner boards.
  • Revision 2.2 (Jun 8, 2001):
    • Adaptation to the new BitFlow SDK 2.50. Older revisions are no longer supported!
    • Support of start/stop trigger mode (for line scan cameras connected to RoadRunner or RoadRunner CL boards).
    • Dynamically changing the frame size of the grabbed image via set_framegrabber_param.
    • Default value of parameter 'overwrite_method' changed from 'abort' to 'holdoff'.
  • Revision 2.1 (Nov 24, 2000):
    • Bug fix in overriding the BitsPerChannel parameter during open_framegrabber
    • Automatic enabling of GPOUT when set_framegrabber_param(...'out:X'...) is called (regardless of the settings in the camera file).
  • Revision 2.0 (Nov 14, 2000):
    • Adaptation to the HALCON 6.0 image acquisition interface.
  • Revision 1.2 (Nov 10, 2000):
    • Bug fix in masking the LUT when using a 10 bit camera.
    • Bug fix in continuous grabbing mode together with external triggering.
    • Bug fix in cleaning up after an unsuccessful call of open_framegrabber
    • Bug fix in switching between connected cameras.
  • Revision 1.1 (Oct 27, 2000):
    • Adaptation to the new BitFlow SDK 2.10. Older revisions are no longer supported!
    • In contrast to the old HALCON RoadRunner and HALCON Raven interfaces the special long frame mode is no longer necessary. Therefore, the parameters 'long_frames', 'long_frame_size', and 'qtab_part' are no longer supported.