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GigE Vision is an interface standard introduced in 2006 for high-performance industrial cameras. It provides a framework for transmitting high-speed video and related control data over Ethernet networks. The standard was initiated by a group of 12 companies and the committee has since grown to include more than 50 members. The 12 founding members are: Adimec, Atmel, Basler AG, CyberOptics, DALSA, JAI A/S, JAI PULNiX, Matrox, National Instruments, Photonfocus, Pleora Technologies and Stemmer Imaging. The Automated Imaging Association (AIA) oversees the ongoing development and administration of the standard. GigE Vision is a registered trademark of the AIA.

GigE Vision is based on the Internet Protocol standard. The standard is trying to unify protocols currently used in machine vision industrial cameras and let 3rd party organizations develop compatible software and hardware. The GigE Vision standard is an open standard only by definitions that allow commercial licensing and do not require free dissemination (for example, the ITU-T). Obtaining a copy of the standard requires submitting company data including business activity and anticipated use of the standard. Commercial use is priced commercially, with no price quote publicly available Committee membership is open only to companies that are members of the AIA, EMVA or JIIA, with non-commercial entities unrepresented. One consequence of the license is that it is not possible to write open source software using the GigE Vision specification, as it could reveal the details of the standard, which is why most image acquisition SDKs for GigE Vision are closed source.

Features of the GigE Vision standard

• Fast data transfer rates - typically up to 1000Mbit/s (based on 1000BASE-T). However, devices capable of operating using 10 Gigabit Ethernet began appearing on the market in 2012.
• Data transfer length up to 100m (some producers claim even 150m). The use of switches, repeaters or fiber optic converters can increase the length. The performance of each implementation of the GigE Vision standard varies with the quality of the compliant equipment used. Some implementations will achieve very low latency, even in the presence of switches and repeaters, while others will not.
• Based on established standard allowing networking with other Ethernet devices and computers.
• Delivers a standardized environment for the delivery of new-generation, networked video applications based on switched client/server Ethernet architectures.

Overview of the technology

GigE Vision has four main elements:

• GigE Vision Control Protocol(GVCP). Runs on the UDP protocol. The standard defines how to control and configure devices. Specifies stream channels and the mechanisms of sending image and configuration data between cameras and computers;
• GigE Vision Stream Protocol(GVSP). Runs on the UDP protocol. Covers the definition of data types and the ways images can be transferred via GigE;
• GigE Device Discovery Mechanism. Provides mechanisms to obtain IP addresses;
• An XML description file based on a schema defined by the European Machine Vision Association's GenICam standard, a scheme that allows access to camera controls and image stream.

Support by free software

The network packet analyzer Wireshark decodes and documents GigE Vision transmissions, though some rare variants (such as the byte-based version used by Pleora Inc.) are not supported.

See also

• Automated Imaging Association
• Camera Link

References

1. GigE Vision Standard
2. GigE Vision Standard Development Committee
3. About AIA
4. GigE Vision Standard Download Request Form
5. GigE Vision License/Product Registration
6. GenICam™ standard home page

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