Manual
Photo Finish OPTIc2.NET
Page 10
1.5 Function
The line scan camera has not the usual aerial sensor (e.g. like a video camera), but a CCD-
line scan sensor. The photo finish camera does not record a complete picture at once, but
only one vertical line. The recording speed for this vertical line is adjustable until up to 3000
times per second. Each line is stored on the hard disk and is shown on the screen in chrono-
logical order. If something moves in front of the camera (e.g. an athlete) you receive a picture
of it. Each vertical line is allocated to a time.
The following example shows how a picture is recorded. If you use a scan rate of 1/1000
seconds it means that the finish line is scanned 1000 times per second. Each of these pic-
tures records a small piece of the object. If the speed is adjusted correctly, it shows the ob-
ject in the right size.
The next example shows the same object, but now crossing the finish line with a higher
speed and the same scan rate of 1/1000. The shape of the recorded picture depends on the
speed of the picture and the scan rate. Therefore, it is very important to record with the cor-
rect scan rate to get the realistic shape of the image. The image below shows the object
shortened if using the same scan rate as at a faster speed. Of course, the object is scanned
less often under such circumstances.
Part of the OPTIc2 is an electronic image processing system. The recorded picture is stored
on the hard disk of the PC (bitmap format) and can be printed anytime with a printer that
supports Windows.