BOBCAT Hardware User’s Manual
Imperx, Inc.
Rev. 2.0.2
6421 Congress Ave.
11/20/2012
Boca Raton, FL 33487
+1 (561) 989-0006
223 of 265
6.1
INTRODUCTION
The BobCat series of GigE Vision cameras are fully compliant with the Gen<i>Cam
standard. The cameras include an embedded camera description file ( XML ) that contains
all of the information required to automatically map a camera‟s features to its internal
registers. The Gen<i>Cam standard defines the syntax and semantics of the camera
description file. It also defines a mechanism for the user to configure the camera by
reading/writing the camera registers associated with the features.
The camera description file ( XML ) contains a set of nodes where each node represents a
feature of the camera. Each node has a set of attributes that define the feature including a
description, type ( ie. integer, boolean, etc. ), register address, minimum value, maximum
value, increment, etc. All of this information is contained in the XML file. The XML file is
transferred from the camera to the host application when a connection is first established.
The host application then parses the XML file and presents the user with a “node tree‟
representation.
The BobCat series of cameras include a full-featured host application, called PureGEV,
which allows the user to connect to a camera, view/save images from the camera and
control its features via a “node tree” user interface representation.. Please refer to the
PureGEV Quick Start Guide for details on how to install and use the PureGEV application.
A “node tree” is a tabular list of all of the camera features ( that were described in the XML
file ). The user can control a feature by simply clicking on it with the mouse and editing the
field. Some features provide drop down menu lists, while others support direct data entry.
Features that are read-only ( ie. status indicators ) are de-highlighted and un-editable. Some
features depend on the state of other features. For example, the GainAutoBalance is only
active if the SensorDigitizationTaps is equal to Two. Some features are locked while image
streaming is active. For example, the PixelFormat feature can only be changed while
images are not being streamed.
The following tables illustrate the node tree as it is displayed by the PureGEV application.
For a detailed description of the features, please refer to Chapter 2.
