We’ve written a couple of articles about Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology in recent weeks notably about ranging sensors such as VL53L8 dToF sensor and Toppan hybrid ToF sensor, but Orbbec has used the technology in their Femto camera line designed to capture 3D objects and scenes.
The Femto 3D cameras support a depth-of-field (DoF) from 0.2 to 5 meters, multi-camera synchronization, can be used in complete darkness, and are equipped with a 6-Axis IMU tracking sensor for motion tracking. The ToF cameras should find their way into applications for healthcare, warehousing/shipping, autonomous robotics, augmented reality, and other sectors.
Three models are available with the following highlights:
- Femto – 0.2 to 5 meters optical range with a depth resolution of 640 x 480 @ 30fps, and 5.8W power consumption. 99.4 x 68 x 25mm form factor.
- Femto W – Wide depth field of view (H90, V74) and color field of view (H98.6, V64.2) designed for high accuracy identification at a closer range (0.2 to 2.5 meters).
- Femto Live – 0.5 to 3 meters range with a color resolution of up to 3840 x 2160 @ 30fps.
For reference, let’s have a closer look at the Femto specifications in particular:
- Range – 0.2 to 5m
- RGB image resolution – Up to 1920 x 1080 @ 30fps
- Depth image resolution – 640 x 480 @ 30fps
- RGB FOV – H 86.2°, V 55.2°, D 94.2°
- Depth FOV – H 64.6°, V 50.8, D 78°
- Sensor – 6-axis IMU
- Host interface – USB 3.0 Type-C port
- Power Supply – Via USB Type C Port
- Power Consumption – Average 5.8W; Peak 9.3W
- Dimensions – 98.3 x 65.5 x 21mm
- Weight – 200g +/- 5g
- Temperature Range – 0 to 40°C
The camera supports the same Orbbec SDK as used with earlier models such as the Persee+ 3D AI camera and that works with hosts running Android, Linux, or Windows. Femto 3D cameras should offer higher accuracy and lower latency than earlier structured light cameras from the company, and be especially useful to track human forms, measure small live objects, and implement obstacle avoidance and/or gesture recognition algorithms.
More details about the Femto and Femto W cameras can be found on the product page, but the company has yet to publish detailed information about the 4K-capable Femto Live model.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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I don’t understand what the depth resolution is. It’s said there’s a range of 0.2 to 5 meters, and the 640×480 makes me think it’s the resolution of the depth image. But that doesn’t tell us what the depth resolution is. If it outputs 0 for 0.2m, 1 for 5m and undefined between the two, it’s useless. If it’s 5-bit with 20cm resolution, it’s probably not very useful for a wide variety of applications. If it’s millimeter resolution, it’s certainly way more useful and technically impressive to me.
Looks just like the Azure Kinects. Only the Femto Live looks like an upgrade from one.