RadiumBoards announced a $50 “HD Camera Cape” for the BeagleBone Black with a 1.3-megapixel Aptina sensor that provides 720p, 30fps video and Linux and Android support.

There’s now a second commercially available camera cape (add-on board) for the BeagleBone Black single board computer, following up on CircuitCo’s 3.1-megapixel BeagleBone 3.1MP Camera Cape. The $50 HD Camera Cape comes from RadiumBoards, a Haryana, India based subsidiary of VVDN Technologies, and provides 720p, 30 frames per second video capture.

HD Camera Cape
(click image to enlarge)

RadiumBoards does not list the camera’s megapixels, but it’s based on a 1.3-megapixel, 1/6-inch Aptina MT9M114 HD sensor. Like the BeagleBone 3.1MP Camera Cape, it connects via the Aptina sensor’s CAM I/F interface and the GPMC interface of the 1GHz, Texas Instruments AM3359 system-on-chip rather than simply hooking up to the board via USB. This offers lower power consumption than a USB-based camera, and frees up your USB port.

HD Camera Cape sensor board alone (left) and fully installed on the BeagleBone Black
(click images to enlarge)

The HD Camera Cape is touted for its superior low-light performance, ultra-low-power consumption, and progressive scan with “Electronic Rolling Shutter” capability. The 3.17 x 2.65-inch cape runs on 3.3V or 5V power via expansion connectors, and offers two power LEDs.

HD Camera Cape components (left) and block diagram
(click images to enlarge)

The cape is equipped with two 46-pin BeagleBone Black cape connectors, along with an optional 6-pin connector. There are also two pairs of 30-position sensor board connectors and a 24-pin camera sensor socket.

The HD Camera Cape supports temperatures ranging from 0 to 85°C. The cape requires a BeagleBone Black with 512MB of RAM and 2GB of eMMC flash. The device ships with a CD-ROM that includes drivers for Linux and Android, and is said to be easily customizable.

 
Further information

The HD Camera Cape is available now from RadiumBoards for $50 at the HD Camera Cape product page, and can also be found at the BeagleBoard capes catalog page.