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Built inside an IP65 enclosure, ‘Femto Mega I’ has a 1Mpixel time-of-flight sensor (but see below) plus a 120° field-of-view 4K RGB sensor, and a six degree-of-freedom inertial measurement unit.
Depending on mode, depth range is from 250mm to 3.86m and it has two fields of view: 120 x 120° (1,024 x 1,024 15frame/s) or 75 x 65° (640 x 576 30frame/s). There are streaming rates, it also has lower frame-rate snapshot modes.
Typical systematic depth error (accuracy) is under 11mm + 0.1%, and random depth error standard deviation (precision) is 17mm or better.
RGB resolution, spread over 80 x 51°, is 3,840 x 2,160 at 25frame/s or 1,920 x 1,080 at 30frame/s when streaming, and again there are slower snapshot modes.
The necessary image processing is via a local Nvidia Jetson Nano signle-board computer, and connections to the outside world are through Ethernet.
The unit measures 180 x 50 x 110mm (1.08kg) and sports a M12 connector for power and IO. Power needs are <11W via power-over-Ethernet or 12 – 24Vdc. Mounting is via M5 screws.
Operation is over 0 – 45°C and 8 – 90% humidity (non-condensing), in environments described as indoor and “semi-outdoor”, said the company, which also has the ‘Femto Mega’ (no ‘I’ on the end) for commercial environments, and the Femto Bolt, also commercial, which needs a separate computer.
Time-of-fight sensor
The depth camera intellectual property comes from Microsoft, and it is the ‘indirect’ time-of-flight (‘iToF’) technology that it used in the HoloLens 2.
It is now branded ‘Azure Depth’ and has been licensed by Analog Devices, German industrial controls company Sick, and Orbbec.
There is a detailed description if Azure Depth operation here
Robotic handling applications are foreseen for Femto Mega I, for example identifying the location, orientation and shape of items on a pallet for removal, or overseeing a conveyor to identify damaged goods or jams.
