Prosilica, a digital camera manufacturer based in Canada, is supplying GigE vision cameras to NASA as part of an upgraded space shuttle video/camera recording system.
Developed by image acquisition and processing specialists Alacron, the Fast-Vault system, which is currently in development, will record the vehicle's health and status during lift-off and free fall back to Earth. The system must be able to endure vibration and shock at high G forces as well as record multiple hundreds of Mb per second over an extended period. In addition, Fast-Vault must store and retain data despite power loss, provide camera control, and have the ability to download data afterwards via common data interfaces (including GigE).
The Fast-Vault system is a combination of two onboard systems into a 6U VME form-factor board; a high-speed, 320Gb flash memory system; and an I/O subsystem that provides interfaces to multiple cameras, along with analogue and digital inputs. Prosilica's cameras GC650, GC660 and GC1380H will be incorporated and are currently being tested by NASA.
'We are delighted that our cameras have been selected for use in this high-performance system as this reinforces Prosilica's reputation as manufacturer of versatile and high quality machine vision products' said Prosilica CEO Marty Furse.
