Looking for example programs for triggered image acquisition for multiple IEEE-1394 (firewire) cameras under LabVIEW.

[niOregon]

I would like to use the NI IMAQ for IEEE-1394 driver to control simultaneous triggered acquisition from 10 cameras once per second. Any suggestions for system design, cameras (monochrome), examples, etc... would be appreciated!

[Brent_R]

Theoretically this is possible. The NI-IMAQ driver will support it and the data rate should be well within the capacity of the 1394 bus, however I have not heard of anyone using more than 5 cameras on one system and we have not tried it here.

If you're planning to buy ten cameras, then you may be able to get the manufacturer to give you a demo.

Take a look at the first link below as a starting point for camera selection. The MetaControls site suggests that up to 30(!) camera can be connected on a single bus, however it doesn't look like their camera has any trigger functionality. I know the sony and basler cameras can be triggered.

http://1394ta.org/About/products/industrial_products.html

http://www.baslerweb.com/produkte/produkte_en_168.php

htt
p://www.metacontrols.com/cameras.html

Regards,

Brent R.
Applications Engineer
National Instruments