Skip to main content

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.

Stand 11.116

%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external www.gardasoft.com Gardasoft website link false http://www.gardasoft.com/ false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Versatile cameras from Lumenera
    October 29, 2014
    Lumenera offers a wide range of cameras specifi cally designed for use in advanced transportation systems. Compact, lightweight, versatile, with onboard memory buffering, a choice of data interface and ruggedised for harsh environments, Lumenera’s cameras are ideally suited for transportation applications such as tolling, red light and speed enforcement and automated parking. Lumenera has selected the most innovative sensor technology, paired with unique optimisation to deliver excellent imag
  • Connected cones make for safer sites
    May 31, 2013
    David Crawford welcomes new lives for old road safety products. Traffic cones and barrels have traditionally been on the bottom shelf of the road construction and maintenance industry, typically forming visible soft safety barriers for temporary works at a lower cost than concrete alternatives. On both sides of the Atlantic, however, they are fast gaining new roles as instrumented components in advanced construction safety arrays. The EC-sponsored €1 million (US$1.31 million) Safelane collaborative innovati
  • Regulation time-lag will hit driverless technology hard says leading consultancy BDO
    August 8, 2018
    The legislation surrounding driverless cars is lagging so far behind the technology involved that the industry is unlikely to see a regulatory framework in place any time soon says leading international business, finance and taxation consultancy BDO. And IEEE, "the world’s largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity" can only see problems ahead as the politicians fall further and further behind. BDO has been looking at a report from www.Spectr
  • Intertraff shows D-cop speed and red light enforcement camera
    March 24, 2014
    Intertraff is unveiling its next generation speed and red light enforcement camera, D-cop. The company, which has installed hundreds of cameras worldwide from the USA to India, has been developing and producing ANPR cameras and software alongside speed and red light cameras for 15 years.