System information

MX Cameras
3-14 Vicon MX Hardware System Reference
Camera Strobe Units
The strobe unit attached to the front of an MX camera are configured
with LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), which illuminate the capture
volume. The strobe unit generates a bright flash of light, which
illuminates the markers (coated with a highly retroreflective material)
attached to the subject, and which coincides with the time the
camera’s shutter (if present) is open. The reflected strobe light passes
through an optical filter with a spectral response such that only light
with the same characteristics as the strobe passes into the lens. The
lens collects the light and forms a focused image of the markers on
the camera’s sensor plane. The camera electronically converts the
pattern of light into data that represents the position and radius of
each marker in the image. For details on the filters supplied with each
strobe unit, see Camera Lens Filters on page 3-9.
The MX+ camera strobe unit, shown in Figure 3-7, uses surface-
mount LEDs. These have a wide illumination angle and are all aligned
forwards, giving even illumination across the volume without the
need to manually optimize the LEDs. These strobe units are available
in Visible Red (VR) and Near Infrared (NIR) versions.
Figure 3-7: Strobe unit (MX+)
The MX camera strobe unit, shown in Figure 3-8, uses through-hole
LEDs. These have a narrower illumination angle than the surface-
mount LEDs and require manual bending of the LEDs to optimize the
MXhardware_Reference.book Page 14 Thursday, September 7, 2006 11:36 AM