E-con’s IP66-protected “SmarteCAM” edge AI camera series runs Linux and Nvidia Jetpack on the Jetson TX2 and offers GbE with PoE. The first model features a 2MP, HD Starvis IMX290 sensor with ultra-low light support and an ISP with HDR.

E-con Systems has announced a line of ready-to-deploy SmarteCAM cameras based on Nvidia’s hexa-core Jetson TX2 module that offers IP66-protection against water and dust. The 323 x 120 x 100mm SmarteCAM connects to a host computer or the Internet via a GbE port along with 802.3at compliant PoE at up to 25W. Applications include crowd monitoring and analysis, smart farming, sports broadcasting, smart traffic, smart cities, and Intelligent Video Analytics (IVA).

The initial SmarteCAM20_CUTX2 model is equipped with an HD-ready Starvis IMX290 sensor with ultra-low light sensitivity. The IMX290 is featured on E-con’s e-CAM220_CUMI327_MOD camera, which is part of an e-CAM22_CUXVR kit designed to work with Nvidia‘s Jetson AGX Xavier Development Kit.

SmarteCAM and spec list
(click images to enlarge)

Coming soon are the SmarteCAM80_CUTX2 with a Starvis IMX415 sensor with 4K support, as well as the SmarteCAM21_CUTX2 with an ON Semi AR0234 with HD. There is also a SmarteCAM81_CUTX2 with an On Semi AR0821 for 4K support.

All the SmarteCAMs are fixed-focus, S-Mount cameras, and all but the global shutter equipped SmarteCAM21_CUTX2 offer electronic rolling shutters. They all provide unnamed ISPs except for the SmarteCAM80_CUTX2, which depends solely on the Jetson TX2’s ISP. They all output UYVY, and the initial SmarteCAM20_CUTX2 also outputs in H.264 and MJPEG formats.

The currently sampling SmarteCAM20_CUTX2 offers 1080p60 resolution, a 1/2.8″ optical format, and 2.9 µm x 2.9 µm pixel size. In addition to offering the IMX290’s ultra-low light support, the camera can improve image quality in outdoor lighting conditions with both dark and bright regions with the help of an ISP with HDR support. There is an M12 lens holder and 4x lens options with diagonal FOVs of 112°, 59.38° (default), 45.98°, and 22.30°.

In addition to the GbE port with PoE, the SmarteCAMs provide a microSD slot, an HDMI port, a USB 2.0 host port, and a USB 3.0 port, which is used to connect the camera to a carrier board equipped with the Jetson TX2. A custom header enables software updates, and there is said to be an option for a 4G modem.

Nvidia’s Jetson TX2 falls in between the lower-powered Jetson Nano and the newer, more powerful Jetson Xavier NX. The module is equipped with an Arm-based Tegra-family SoC with dual Cortex-A72-like “Denver” cores and 4x -A57 cores and incorporates 256-core Pascal graphics. The TX2 supplies 8GB LPDDR4 and 32GB eMMC 5.1.

The Linux-driven SmarteCAMs come preloaded with “BSP Version L4T 32.2.1” with Nvidia’s JetPack 4.2 and an e-CAM22_USB firmware version 1.1.3.11 for the default 3.6mm lens. There is no need for an additional driver installation, says E-con.

The Jetpack stack ships with a sample application. Other software components include CUDA 10.0, OpenCV 3.3.1, Python 3.6 and 2.7, Tensorflow 1.14.0, Tensorrt 5.1.6, libcudnn 7.5.0.56, and libnvinfer 5.1.6. Customization services are available.

SmarteCAM YouTube video

 
Further information

The SmarteCAM20_CUTX2 is available at the E-con Systems store, apparently in single eval units. No price is listed, but you can ask for a quote. No availability information was provided for the other SmarteCAM models. More information may be found on E-con’s SmarteCAM product page.