The Starfish PRO camera’s design started with the basic core electronic circuitry that made up the original Starfish Guide camera. This design included all the features necessary for basic camera operation such as image sensor timing generation, USB computer interface, and power regulation circuitry. However, we also added circuitry to support more advanced features like the 64MByte frame buffer and variable readout speed clock generation circuitry.
After defining the basic camera electronics design, we then looked for ways to integrate all of the circuitry into a very compact, physical design. A close look at our Image Processor board shows that most of the logic elements are contained in a few key components. We were able to employ Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices that not only allowed us to place over 90% of the logic elements into a single integrated circuit, but also allowed us to provide field upgrade capabilities that will allow feature enhancement through firmware upgrades in the future.
|