National Instruments NI PCI-8254R - Manual (Page 10)

Chapter 1 Introduction
© National Instruments Corporation 1-3 NI PCI-8254R User Manual
Vision Assistant generates a Builder file, which is a text description
containing a recipe of the machine vision and image processing functions.
This Builder file provides a guide you can use for developing applications
in any ADE, such as LabWindows
™ /CVI ™ or Visual Basic, using the
Vision Assistant machine vision and image processing libraries. Using the
LabVIEW VI creation wizard, Vision Assistant can create LabVIEW VI
diagrams that perform the prototype you created in Vision Assistant.
You can then use LabVIEW to add functionality to the generated VI.
IEEE 1394 and NI 8254R
The NI 8254R uses FireWire ® (IEEE 1394) technology, compatible with
more than 50 machine vision grade cameras. FireWire is a cross-platform
implementation of the high-speed serial data bus—defined by the
IEEE 1394-1995 and IEEE 1394a-2000—that can move large amounts of
data between computers and peripheral devices. It features simplified
cabling via twisted pairs, hot swapping, and transfer speeds of up to 400
megabits per second. You can support up to 63 devices on the high speed
bus with IEEE 1394.
The IEEE 1394a standard offers up to 400 Mb/s bandwidth. The NI 8254R
provides two direct-connect IEEE 1394a ports, but more IEEE 1394
devices can be added with the addition of IEEE 1394 hubs. The NI 8254R
can acquire images from IEEE 1394 cameras conforming to the IIDC
1394-based Digital Camera Specification, Version 1.30 and higher.
The IEEE 1394 bus provides a fixed amount of bandwidth that is shared
between the two IEEE 1394a ports on the NI 8254R. These ports provide
direct connection for up to two DCAM-compliant IEEE 1394 cameras,
depending on the amount of bandwidth each camera requires. Higher frame
rates and larger image sizes require a higher data transfer rate and use more
bandwidth.
Functional Overview
The NI 8254R features a flexible, high-speed data path optimized for
receiving and formatting video data from IEEE 1394 cameras.
The following block diagram illustrates the key functional components of
the NI 8254R.