This linear camera is used for experiments in a structured, light-controlled environment. The camera reads one line of 102 pixels with 256 gray-levels. This data is available via Hemisson's i²c extension bus, ie. Hemisson's standard serial interface. Do not expect a high quality image. Consider this linear camera more like a string of 102 horizontal digital light sensors than a regular camera.

It is perfect for teaching elementary vision concepts and developing algorithms. The great advantage of this camera over a true camera (e.g. the Hemisson Wireless Camera) is that you do not need a separate interface to process the image data. The gray-level pixel data from the Linear Camera comes directly over Hemisson's serial connection when requested. Hemisson's 115,200 bps data speed is ample for this limited camera. Please see the product support pages for demonstration software.

The standard mount of the Linear Camera provides a horizontal scan. RoadNarrows has manufactured a mounting adapter to turn the Linear Camera 90°, so that you can have a vertical scan. This extends the experiments that you can do with the Linear Camera. Because of Hemisson's holonomic motion capability, you can produce a 360° scan of its environment by slowly moving Hemisson in a circle. The data would then produce an 102 x n image, where n is the number of snapshots you take with the camera as it is going in a circle.

This adapter is available here: 90° Mount Adapter for Hemisson Linear Camera.

The optic block is standard (M12x0.5) which can be changed to fit to your specific needs. As with other smart Hemisson modules, it has a PIC16F876 onboard processor. The controller is dedicated to visual data processing. The source code of the visual processing is released under LGPL license and can be modified. To download your own code on HemLinCam, you can use the Hemisson software tools available from K-Team.