Solutions

Name: High Speed High Resolution Intelligent Camera
Mission:
Application: fast camera with a high resolution
Life:

Instrument Description

ICAM (Intelligent CAmera for Microgravity diagnostics) is a project funded by ESA, the goal of which is to manufacture a fast camera with a high resolution. It is initially intended for microgravity applications but can be used in other fields as well.

The project is executed in the frame of developing the next generation cameras for quantitative measurements in the frame of optical diagnostics tools used in microgravity research.

Demonstrator for fast high resolution flight worthy camera.

The project objectives were to build a first serial prototype based on

• CMOS sensors ; 2Kx2K ; up to 1000 fps
• different operational modes & ‘‘in camera’’ advanced features
• check camera performances on microgravity-like diagnostic tools

The ICAM setup is split in 3 parts.

• The camera head consists of the sensor, its electronic circuit and its power supply.
• The receiver carries all electronic components mandatory to let ICAM work, e.g. storage memory and PRNU/FPN correction.
• Finally, the monitoring station is the user interface.

The ICAM camera head housing has to accommodate the camera head electronics – most especially the detector – and an objective. The basic concept of the camera housing is a “box design” into which PCBs can be placed and onto which an objective can be mounted.

The ICAM camera head housing consists of:

1. Main housing sub-assembly
2. Front heatsink sub-assembly
3. Back heatsink sub-assembly
4. Objective adapter ring

The camera housing will interface with an objective (separate part) and will accommodate the camera head’s electronic PCBs as a stack. From a first power consumption assessment, it became clear that the camera head’s electronic PCBs would have large power dissipation. This heat needs to be transferred efficiently in order not to heat up the camera head itself.