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Gardasoft liquid lens provides faster focus and better images

Gardasoft is demonstrating how to capture high-quality images of fast-moving vehicles using an innovative liquid lens concept. This, the company says, provides significant performance benefits over traditional, fixed-focus lenses. Many ITS applications require vision systems which can cope with widely varying distances between object and camera. A challenge in the ITS space is the high speeds which can be encountered, particularly in free-flowing traffic. Gardasoft’s approach features a shape-changing
March 21, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Vision statement: Gardasoft’s JOOLS HUDSON

8699 Gardasoft is demonstrating how to capture high-quality images of fast-moving vehicles using an innovative liquid lens concept. This, the company says, provides significant performance benefits over traditional, fixed-focus lenses.

Many ITS applications require vision systems which can cope with widely varying distances between object and camera. A challenge in the ITS space is the high speeds which can be encountered, particularly in free-flowing traffic.

Gardasoft’s approach features a shape-changing liquid lens from Optotune, combined with a macro lens. Driven by Gardasoft’s TR-CL180 lens controller, the shape of the liquid lens can be changed in 10ms, enabling precise focusing over a wide range of distances.

“In fixed-focus lens applications, the aperture needs to be stopped down to provide sufficient depth of field for adequately focused images at each distance. This severely reduces the amount of light reaching the camera sensor, and also means that the images cannot be in precise focus at all distances,” explains Jools Hudson, marketing manager.

“With a liquid lens, the aperture can be opened up for greater light transmission while maintaining sharp focus at each distance. The result is a high capture rate and high-quality images.”

Here at Intertraffic, Gardasoft is using a model car to produce a series of three images. The model passes three optical sensors which send trigger pulses to a Gardasoft CC320 timing controller. This sends signals to the TR-CL180 controller, which drives the liquid lens to the required focus positions and also triggers the strobe light and camera for image acquisition.

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