Standard industrial camera
Industrial cameras are cameras that are used in the industrial environment and therefore are not comparable with consumer cameras such as webcams, digital photo cameras, etc. In other words, industrial cameras are designed so that regardless for what purpose they are used they always deliver the same image quality - also in 24/7 continuous operation. High-quality, electronic components and image sensors are used, whose availability is guaranteed for a long time. In many industrial areas this is a decisive factor as certifications of complete systems also include their individual components such as industrial cameras. A change of the industrial camera would require a recertification.
The wide use of USB and Ethernet consumer interfaces signaled the time of digital industrial cameras. They have an analog/digital converter, meaning a frame grabber was no longer required and thus the handling was simplified considerably. Nevertheless, there was one problem: Each camera manufacturer went their own way in terms of the operation. This changed with the introduction of the machine vision standards GenICam, GigE Vision and USB3 Vision. Now the camera communication and the naming convention of the camera functions and settings are standardized for all manufacturers.