Digital monochrome CCD camera for robust pixel correspondant, data compression, and preprocessing in an integrated PC-based image-processing environment

This paper describes the development of a compact digital CCD camera which contains image digitization and processing which interfaces to a personal computer (PC) via a standard enhanced parallel port. Digitizing of precise pixel samples coupled with the provision of putting a single chip FPGA for data processing, became the main digital components of the camera prior to sending the data to the PC. A form of compression scheme is applied so that the digital images may be transferred within the existing parallel port bandwidth. The data is decompressed in the PC environment for a real- time display of the video images using purely native processor resources. Frame capture is built into the camera so that a full uncompressed digital image could be sent for special processing.