One of the most frequent questions we ask while choosing the camera for our embedded development is how do I choose the right camera. The right CMOS sensor with the right lens assembly.

1. Technical Insights - Embedded
Choosing your embedded camera and the right software for your Embedded Development
One of the most frequent questions we ask while choosing the camera for our embedded development is
how do I choose the right camera. The right CMOS sensor with the right lens assembly.
Here are the questions we should ask before choosing the camera
• Do I require a fixed focus or an auto focus camera?
• Does my application need capture at very close distances like 10cm or do I need to capture pictures
beyond 20m? How far is my target object from the camera?
• What is the resolution I need to support my application?
• Do I need an OS to use the camera? If yes, what OS should I use?
• Is my environment noisy?
• What type of sensor do I need?
• What is the ambient lighting condition for my application? What is the performance level expected in
low-light condition?
• If my application requires video capture, what is the capture rate required at the desired capture
resolution?
FossilShale Embedded Technologies Private Limited - www.fossilshale.com
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2. Technical Insights - Embedded
• If my application requires preview, what is the preview resolution required and preview fps (frames per
second) required? How much processing is required after capture of each frame?
 How can I interface custom camera with my target board? What are the requirements on power
supply, clock and interfacing?
Let's take an example here. If you need to capture data from a visiting card then the camera needs to
have a fixed focal length and that needs to be less than 10cm. By fixed focal length, the distance between
the camera and the object of focus is fixed with 30-40% variance in distance. Also a VGA resolution is
good enough for this type of application since the capture area is very small. The application here such as
scanning the visiting card and getting the data out of it would involve programming in a high level
language and would use many commonly available libraries that run on top of an OS like Android/
Windows/Linux. Hence a need of an OS becomes necessary. If the environment is noisy then it is
important to choose a sensor that has a high S/N ratio. Finally applications like this need a black and
white sensor.
Another example would be. If you need to capture picture at a variable distances from the camera. This
would mean that you need an auto focus camera and if you need to capture Video and save it or would
want to give an application interface for the end user to develop applications using the camera, it would
become mandatory to go for a standard interface like Microsoft Direct show or Video for Linux.
FossilShale Embedded Technologies Private Limited - www.fossilshale.com
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