PMD flexx2 User manual
pmd 3D Sensing Family
exx2 | Getting Started
Guide
1. exx2Overview 4
2. exx2Specications 5
3. IncludedwiththeProduct 6
3.1. OperationRequirements 7
4. Installation 7
4.1. Windows10 8
4.2. Linux 9
5. APIDocumentation(RoyaleDocumentation) 9
6. RoyaleViewer 10
7. UseCases-ModesThatChangetheRangeandFramerate 11
8. Support 13
Table of Contents
32
Complies with FDA performance standards for laser products except for conformance with IEC
60825-1 Ed. 3., as described in Laser Notice No. 56, dated May 8, 2019
Compliant product labeling not axed to the product due to size restrictions. Compliant labeling
is provided here within the user information
• Noscheduledmaintenanceisnecessarytokeeptheproductincompliance.
• Noserviceisallowedbytheuser.Unitistobeservicedorrepairedonlybyfactoryauthorizedtechni-
cians.Pleasecontactpmddirectlyifyourequireservicing.
• Theproductandembeddedlaserisnevertobeoperatediftheunitisdefectiveorthecoverorseal
isbrokenordamaged.
• Productisnottobeopened.Disassemblyofproductmyresultineyeorskinexposuretolaser
radiation.
Usethedeviceinaccordancewithitsdesignateduse.Installationandconnectionmustcomplywith
applicablenationalandinternationalstandards.
Do not operate the device with a power supply other than a standard USB3.0 power supply.
Caution –useofcontrolsoradjustmentsorperformanceofproceduresotherthanthose
speciedhereinmayresultinhazardousradiationexposure
1. exx2 Overview 2. exx2 Specications
Parameter Flexx2
Dimensions 72.1mmx19.2mmx10.2mm
Time of Flight (ToF) Sensor IRS2381Inneon®REAL3™3DImageSensorIC
basedonpmdtechnology
Resolution 224x172DepthPixels
38,000DepthPoints
Weight, without USB Cable 13g
Measurement range 0.1–4m
Framerate Upto60fps(3Dframes);9pre-denedoperationmodes
Power consumption USB3.0compliant,average300mWforfullsystem
Illumination 940nm,VCSEL,LaserClass1
Software RoyaleSDK(C/C++based,supportsMatlab,OpenCV,ROS1/2)
Viewing angle (H x V) 56°x44°
Interface USB3.0(data&power)
Depth resolution <=1%ofdistance,allmodes
Sunlight Tolerance At100KLumens(FullSunlight),Loses~10%maxrangevs.Indoors
Operating System Windows10,Linux/ARM
• TheFlexx2isa3Dimaging,
Time-of-Flight(ToF)USB
camerathatcanbeusedfor
experimentation,development,
orasacomponentinan
end-product
• TheFlexx2hasaUSB3
connectionwhichisplugged
intoaWindowsPCoran
embeddedLinuxdevelopment
systemsuchasaRaspberry
Pi3
• TheFlexx2has38,000depth
points,andthecameraout-
putstwodatastreams:the
depthmapandtheInfrared(IR)
image,bothofwhichcanbe
usedin3Dimagingalgorithms
Althoughtestedonmanydevices,wecannotguaranteeseamlessoperationwithall
USBchipsetsonthemarket.UtilizeanactiveUSBhubifproblemsoccurwithnotebook
ortabletoperation
54
3. Included with the Product
1. exx2USB33DCamera
2. OneMeterUSB3CordwithUSBCatoneendforFlexx2,
theotherendUSB-BforPCorEmbeddedDevice
3. GettingStartedGuide
3.1. Operation Requirements
The camera development kit may be use under the following conditions:
• TheFlexx2isintendedforindooruse
• ConnectthismoduletoacompliantUSB3.0portonly.
• DonotusetheFlexx2inhot,cold,dustyorhumidenvironment.
• KeeptheFlexx2awayfrommoisture.
• Donottouchthelenswithyourhandoranysharpobjects.
• Useonlyaclean,dry,softclothforcleaning.
4. Installation
Pleaseusethesoftwaredownloadatwww.pmdtec.com/softwaretodownloadthe
softwarepackageincludingfullAPIdocumentationforRoyale,thepmdSoftware
DevelopmentKit(SDK).
Thepasswordforthedownloadis:Sh!2CBpf
UnpacktheZIPle.Youwillndseveralpackedlesinsidethatcorrespondtothe
supportedOSplatforms.ChoosetheleforyourOSandunpackittoalocationofyour
choicee.g.yourdesktoporafolderonyourPC.
76
4.2. Linux
PleaseextracttheLinuxpackage(willresultina“libroyayle-4.X.-LINUX-x86-64Bit”or
“libroyale-3.X.-LINUX-x86-32Bit”folder).Thentransferthecompletefoldertoyour
computer.
MakesurethatyouhaveproperpermissionstotheUSBdevice.Theinstallation
packagecontainsaproperruleslewhichcanbeused.Itislocatedinthe/driver/udev
directory.MakesuretoreadtheREADMEleformoredetails.
5. API Documentation (Royale Documentation)
TheRoyalesoftwarepackageprovidesalight-weightcameraframeworkfor
time-of-ight(ToF)cameras.Whilebeingtailoredtopmdcameras,theframework
enablespartnersandcustomerstoevaluateand/orintegrate3DTOFtechnologyon/in
theirtargetplatform.Thisreducestimetorstdemoandtimetomarket.
Thefullhtmldocumentationcanbefoundwithinthedocsubfolderintheinstallation
path(Windows)orintheunpackedfolder(Linux,Android,andMacOSX).
• C:\ProgramFiles\libroyale\4.X.\doc\html\index.html
• libroyale-4.X.-[platform]/doc/html/index.html
98
4.1. Windows 10
• ThereareinstallersforinstallingsoftwareanddriversfortheFlexx2(libroyale-4.X.-
WINDOWS-x86-64Bit.exeandlibroyale-4.X.-WINDOWS-x86-32Bit.exe).
• Pleasefollowtheinstructionsoftheinstallationassistant.Choose“Weiter”/
”Continue”ontherstscreen,thenacceptthelicenseagreementonthesecond
screen(“Annehmen”/”Accept”).
• MakesurethatthecheckboxesforDesktopiconandinstallofthedriversonthe
thirdscreenarechecked.
• Onthefourthscreenyoumaychangetheinstallationpath.
• Aftersuccessfulinstallationyoumay
ConnecttheFlexx2toyourPCviaUSB
Openthedevicemanager(onaconsoleorintheWindowssearchtype
„mmcdevmgmt.msc“andhitRETURN)
TheFlexx2shouldshowupinthe„PMDDevices“section.Foreachconnected
Flexx2anentryshouldexist.
1110
7. Use Cases - Modes That Change the Range
and Framerate
TheexibilityofTime-of-Flightisthatitisnotlockedintoonedistance.Throughthe
useofUseCases,ausercanchangethedistanceandframeratetodialinamodethat
isbestfortheirapplication.Onaworkingsystemittakesoneframeratetochange
betweenmodes,allowingasingleToFcameradevicetochangefromnearrange,far
range,orinbetweenwithinasingleframerate.
• The“5”modes(5sub-frames)arebetterforshortdistances,orinthecasewhere
processorloadingisaconcern.TheMode5casesuseabout30%lessprocessing
overheadthantheMode9Cases
• The“9”modes(9sub-frameshavelongerrangeanddepthqualityastheyusetwo
modulationfrequencies
6. Royale Viewer
OncetheFlexx2isattachedtoafreeUSBport,andthedriversareinplace,you
maystarttheRoyaleviewerapplicationwhichgivesyouarstindication,iftheFlexx2
isworkingonyourtargetsystem.TheRoyaleviewerdisplaysa2Danda3D
representationofthecaptureddepthdata.
Inanapplication,theuserwouldusetheC/C++compatibleRoyaleAPI.
PleaserefertotheseparateRoyaleViewer.pdfforanexplanationofthefunctionality.
8. Support
Anyissuesorproblempleasesendanemailtoinfo@pmdtec.com.
Wetrytoanswerallemailswithinonebusinessday.
TochangethecamerarangeintheRoyaleViewer,gotoTools->UseCase(FPS),
andselectoneofthemodesonthefollowingpage.
*Indoorestimate.Rangedependsonobjectreectivity,sunlightandacceptablenoiseoorofalgo-
rithm.Eachuserwillneedtoexperimentfortheirapplicationanduse-case.Outdooruseinfullsunlight
willlowermaxdistancebyabout10%.
Frequency
Pairs Mode Name Exposure Time
(uS)
Number of Phases
(including dark phase) FPS Approximate
Max Range*
Use the „5“ modes for faster processing, lower distance
20Mhz MODE_5_15FPS
Videohalf 1040 5 15 3Meters
20Mhz MODE_5_30FPS
Video 500 5 30 2
20Mhz MODE_5_45FPS 310 5 45 2.5Meters
20Mhz MODE_5_60FPS
VeryFastAcquisition 220 5 60 1Meter
Frequency
Pairs Mode Name Exposure Time
(uS)
Number of Phases
(including dark phase) FPS Approximate
Max Range*
Use the „9“ modes for longer distance, better depthmap
20Mhz-60Mhz MODE_9_10FPS 760 9 10 3.5Meters
20Mhz-60Mhz MODE_9_15FPS 500 9 15 3Meters
20Mhz-60Mhz MODE_9_20FPS 390 9 20 2.5Meters
20Mhz-60Mhz MODE_9_30FPS 220 9 30 2Meters
20Mhz-60Mhz MODE_9_5FPS
LowNoiseExtended 1500 9 5 4Meters
1312
Technical information subject to change without notice.
This document may also be changed without notice.
February 2022
©pmdtechnologiesag
Alltexts,picturesandothercontentspublishedinthisinstructionmanualaresubjecttothecopyright
ofpmd,Siegenunlessotherwisenoticed.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortrans-
mittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,orany
informationstorageandretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisherpmd.
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