VisionBox Interface Library

Introduction

The VisionBox Interface Library for C++ gives the user access to interfaces and special features of the following IMAGO devices:

VisionBox AGE-X, all generations VisionBox LE MANS VisionBox DAYTONA VisionBox AI VisionBoards (PCIe cards) Machine Vision Controller Camera Link grabber Smart NIC with PoE/ToE VisionCam XM VisionSensor PV Machine Vision Manager (external USB device)

Real-Time Communication Controller

The Real-Time Communication Controller (RTCC) is the central device controlling the different interfaces. The major part of the controller is implemented by a FPGA. It provides user-programmable logic and internal units operating independent from the operating system. Many time-critical applications can be realized without using a real-time operating system.

Note that the VisionSensor PV without I/O Expansion doesn't provide the RTCC and therefore has a limited range of functions.

The Library

• The library is platform and architecture independent.
• All classes and functions for this library reside in the namespace VIB.
• The library provides a single header file to the user: VIB_Interface.h
• The different hardware devices and functional units are represented by device class objects like VIB::DigitalOutput, VIB::Multiplexer, ..., see page Devices for a list of available device class types.
• All library functions are thread-safe. Each device object can only be opened by one process at the same time.

Please have a look at the First Steps and Devices page for code examples and an introduction on how to use the API.

Hardware support

The following table lists the supported devices / classes for the different hardware platforms. Please note that the actual presence of devices depends on the actual hardware configuration and installed options:

Supported device classes for different hardware platforms

Platform	Hardware component	Device class support (hover for description)
		Service This class contains functions associated with the hardware component (serial number, system temperature, watchdog, firmware updates).	Strobe This class controls the LED Strobe Controller.	CameraTrigger This class controls the digital camera trigger output.	Led This class controls the status LEDs.	DigitalInput This class controls a group of digital input signals.	DigitalOutput This class controls a group of digital output signals.	Rs422 This class controls the RS-422 interface.	TriggerGenerator This class controls the FPGA Trigger Unit.	Multiplexer This class controls the RTCC Multiplexer which connects signal sources and sinks with each other.	IOScheduler This class controls the I/O Scheduler which can store and emit output signals in hard real-time.	PowerOverEthernet This class represents the PowerOverEthernet (PoE) module, which allows gathering information about the current state of attached PoE devices.	TriggerOverEthernet This class represents the TriggerOverEthernet (ToE) module which allows the generation of GigE Action Commands.	CameraLinkIn This class represents the Camera Link grabber module.	Rs232 This class allows sending and receiving data over a serial port.	LCD This class controls the status display of the Machine Vision Controller.
VisionBox AGE-X1	Mainboard with RTCC	yes	yes		yes	yes		yes	yes	no		no		no		no
VisionBox AGE-X2	Mainboard with RTCC	yes	yes		yes	yes		no	yes	yes		no		no		no
	Smart NIC	yes	no		no	no		no	no	no		yes		no		no
	Camera Link	yes	no		no	no		yes	no	no		no		yes		no
VisionBox AGE-X3	I/O board with RTCC	yes	yes		yes	yes		no	yes	yes		no		no		no
VisionBox AGE-X4[1]	Mainboard without RTCC	yes	no		no	no		no	no	no		no		no		no
VisionBox AGE-X5 / AGE-X6	Mainboard with RTCC	yes	yes		yes	yes		no	yes	yes		no		no		no
	Smart NIC	yes	no		no	no		no	no	no		yes		no		no
	Camera Link	yes	no		no	no		yes	no	no		no		yes		no
VisionBox LE MANS [1]	Mainboard with RTCC	yes	yes		yes	yes		yes	yes	yes		no		no		no
VisionBox DAYTONA	Mainboard with RTCC	yes	no		yes	yes		yes	yes	yes		no	yes	no		no
VisionBox AI	Mainboard with RTCC	yes	yes		yes	yes		yes	yes	yes		no		yes		no
VisionBox AI Basic	Mainboard without RTCC	yes	no		yes	no		no	no	no		no		no		no
VisionBoards (PCIe cards)	Machine Vision Controller (RTCC)	yes	yes		no	yes		yes	yes	yes		no		no		yes
	Smart NIC	yes	no		no	no		no	no	no		yes		no		no
	Camera Link card	yes	no		no	no		yes	no	no		no		yes		no
VisionCam XM (1/2)	Camera with RTCC	yes	yes	no	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes		no		yes	no	no
VisionSensor PV (1/2/3)	Camera without RTCC	yes	no		no	yes		no	no	no		no		no		no
VisionSensor PV3 + I/O Expansion	Camera with external RTCC	yes	no		yes	yes		yes	yes	yes		no		no		no
Machine Vision Manager 1	USB device with RTCC	yes	yes		yes	yes		yes	yes	yes		no	yes	no		no
Machine Vision Manager 2	USB device with RTCC	yes	yes		no	yes		no	yes	yes		no		no		no

1. The VisionBox AGE-X4 and the VisionBox LE MANS additionally use VisionBoards.
   The VisionBox AGE-X4 normally contains a PCIe Machine Vision Controller card, because the RTCC is not present on the mainboard.