When it comes to choosing an industrial vision application for your organization, it is important to know about the revolutionary connectivity options available in the market. Using the right product, you can use the vision devices along with the available bandwidth to achieve maximum benefits. Gigabit Ethernet shortly called, as Gige and Firewire IEEE 1394 are the two rivalry technologies that are widely used. Gige is the latest one compared to Firewire IEEE 1394. Both of these technologies are widely used in several vision specific applications in the industries like traffic management, surveillance, machine vision, food processing, and automotives. It is important to know the benefits of these two technologies so that you can choose the right one suitable for your enterprise.

Gigabit Ethernet communication protocol is the basis for the Gige camera interface. This is widely used in industries that require high-speed data transfer. The data transfer rate of applications using Gige is as high as 1000Mbps. The cables used to facilitate such high speeds extend for up to 100 meters. Further, these cables are inexpensive as well. This interface can be used in critical applications that require higher amount of data to be transferred quickly. Machine vision applications that require greater cable lengths and fast data transfer rate find Gige interface to be useful.

Firewire IEEE 1394 has two versions namely 1394.a and 1394.b. These versions differ in the bandwidth specifications. The earlier 1394.a version provides a small bandwidth of 480 Mbps while the newer 1394.b offers 800 Mbps bandwidth, which is closer to Gige. Firewire IEEE 1394 is an old technology that was formulated in the 80’s to meet the increasing bandwidth demand for transfer of videos in vision applications. The technology is based on bus architecture interconnectivity. The Firewire IEEE 1394 technology reduces the size of total setup with the use of small cable wires that are about 5 meters in length. The software interface that comes with the camera can be used with any type of driver. Most of the computers have a built in Firewire port to connect the interface, but you can also buy a separate PCE interface to connect the camera interface to the computer. The technology is mature by two decades and hence, it provides reliable service. In addition to that, the cost for frame grabbers for Firewire IEEE 1394 is less.

If you are looking for a reliable service with reasonable bandwidth, you can choose to use Firewire IEEE 1394 in your industrial vision application. On the other hand, if you want higher bandwidth and greater cable lengths, you have to go for Gige technology. Though Gige technology is new, it provides an overall package that is needed for modern day camera applications. As this technology is new, more and more advancements are expected in this field. When you choose Gige, you can take steps to stay ahead in the road of future developments. In the future vision applications, Gige is expected to lead the race with 1000 Mbps transfer rate which is crucial for video applications.