DataChannel Communications

The In-Sight DataChannel integrates alphanumeric data and images into a developer's customized Graphical User Interface (GUI) application. Using DataChannel, the In-Sight vision system acts as a TCP/IP Server, while the GUI application acts as a TCP/IP Client. This configuration provides a fast and efficient mechanism for transferring images and data from an In-Sight vision system to a PC.

Establish a Connection to the DataChannel

To use the DataChannel in a custom GUI application, follow the steps below.

1. Open a TCP connection to the In-Sight vision system.

   Note: 50000 is the default TCP/IP port number for the DataChannel. If you need to specify a different port number, use the Put Portnum Native Mode command.
2. Connect to the port from the Client.
3. After the connection is established, the Client must log in using a valid user name and password. The default login user name is "admin" with a null string password. The In-Sight vision system will not prompt for the login. A Carriage Return/Line Feed (CRLF) must be sent after both the user name and the password.

   • If either the user name or password is not sent to the In-Sight vision system within 5 seconds or if either is invalid, the following message is sent, and the connection is terminated:

     "<Prompt><Accept>Invalid Password</Accept></Prompt>" + CRLF

   • If the username and password are valid, the following greeting message is sent:

     "<Prompt><Accept>ok</Accept><DataSession>0</DataSession><OpcSession>0</OpcSession><ImageSession>0</ImageSession>
     <SystemType>22</SystemType><Screen><High>480</High><Wide>640</Wide><Color>0</Color></Screen>
     <ToolEnabledBits>FEF6FFFF300000000000000000000000</ToolEnabledBits></Prompt>" 
      + CRLF

     Note:

     • The OpcSession is for internal use only.
     • The SystemType indicates the In-Sight vision system's hardware type.
     • The ToolEnabledBits is for internal use only.

   • If the username and password are not valid, In-Sight will send the following message and close the connection:

     "<Prompt><Accept>Invalid 
      Password</Accept></Prompt>" + CRLF

   • If there are no other active network connections to the In-Sight vision system, up to six DataChannel connections can be established at a time. If there are six active network connections, the In-Sight vision system sends the following message:

     "<Prompt><Accept>Too many 
      connections</Accept></Prompt>" + CRLF

4. After a successful login, the Client needs to specify the type of information that is to be received over the DataChannel. The Client must send "IMG"+CRLF to receive image information or "DAT"+CRLF to receive data. Whenever the spreadsheet is updated, the image or data is sent through the DataChannel. Like the login, if either command is not sent to the In-Sight vision system within 5 seconds, the following message is displayed, and the connection is terminated:

   "<Prompt><Accept>Connection 
    Closed</Accept></Prompt>" + CRLF

5. If the connection is configured to send data, specify the output cells using the Put Watch Native Mode command.

   Note:

   • If any changes are made to the In-Sight spreadsheet, the Put Watch command must be sent again.
   • The DataChannel can monitor any cell containing numeric or string data. The Data Output is sent in XML format. Data is only sent from a monitored cell when that cell is evaluated, calculated or the value within the cell has changed. A constant value is evaluated only once after it is inserted into the spreadsheet because it does not depend on any other cells (changing the values of other cells will not change the value of a constant cell). For more information on cell evaluation and dependency, see Spreadsheet Cell Execution and Editing Reference.
   • Instead of sending the Put Watch command, the SetWatch function can be inserted in the In-Sight spreadsheet to automatically send information to the DataChannel.
   • The value for the AcqSeqNum can be used to match the data output with the corresponding image output. When the spreadsheet is updated by an Event or a Manual Trigger, two cycles occur. Any other acquisition trigger outputs only one cycle. When two cycles occur, the second cycle should be used to match the data output with the corresponding image output.

Test DataChannel Using a Telnet Client

1. Open a command prompt. From the command prompt, log on to the vision system using a telnet client. When logging on, specify the host name or IP address and port number 23, which is the reserved Native Mode command port. For example: telnet is8402_010203 23.

   

2. From the telnet client, type the following command: EV B0 1 Count($A$0,9999999,0,0). A Count function, using the default parameters, is inserted in cell B0.

   

3. From the telnet client, type the following command: Put Watch B000 1 .

   

4. From the command prompt, start a second telnet session and log on to the In-Sight vision system. When logging on, specify the host name or IP address and port number 50000, which is the default DataChannel port. For example: telnet telnet is8402_010203 50000.

   

5. From the second telnet session, type "admin" and press Enter. Press Enter again to accept the null password.

6. From the second telnet session, type "DAT" and press Enter.

   

7. Acquire once on your In-Sight vision system. You should see data streaming to the second telnet program.

   

Data Output Format

The data output is sent in XML format.  The following is example output from a telnet session using the example described above; the In-Sight vision system was manually triggered twice.

Admin
******
<Prompt><Accept>ok</Accept><DataSession>0</DataSession><OpcSession>0</OpcSession><ImageSession>0</ImageSession>
<SystemType>22</SystemType><Screen><High>480</High><Wide>640</Wide><Color>0</Color></Screen>
<ToolEnabledBits>FEF6FFFF300000000000000000000000</ToolEnabledBits></Prompt>
dat
<Cycle AcqSeqNum="1">
</Cycle>
<Cycle AcqSeqNum="2">
<Cell Id="B0">
  <Float>1</Float>
</Cell>
</Cycle>
<Cycle AcqSeqNum="2">
</Cycle>
<Cycle AcqSeqNum="3">
<Cell Id="B0">
  <Float>2</Float>
</Cell>
</Cycle>

DataChannel SystemType

In-Sight Model	SystemType Output
In-Sight 5100	16, 17, 19, 22, 36, 44, 48, 52, 102
In-Sight 5100C	24, 61, 109, 111
In-Sight 5110	20, 26, 42, 49
In-Sight 5400	14, 40, 41,
In-Sight 5400C	33, 109, 111
In-Sight 5403	38
In-Sight 5410	21, 37, 47
In-Sight 5413	43
In-Sight 5600	53, 118
In-Sight 5603	60, 120
In-Sight 5604	88, 114
In-Sight 5605	100
In-Sight 5610	67
In-Sight 5613	66
In-Sight 5614	98
In-Sight 5615	101
In-Sight 5705	139
In-Sight 5715	139
In-Sight 5705C	137
In-Sight Micro 1020	79
In-Sight Micro 1050	80
In-Sight Micro 1100	76
In-Sight Micro 1100C	87
In-Sight Micro 1110	81
In-Sight Micro 1400	77
In-Sight Micro 1400C	86, 125
In-Sight Micro 1402	127
In-Sight Micro 1403	78, 124
In-Sight Micro 1403C	89, 126
In-Sight Micro 1410	82
In-Sight Micro 1412	127
In-Sight Micro 1413	83
In-Sight Micro 1500	135
In-Sight 7010	129
In-Sight 7010C	133
In-Sight 7020	129
In-Sight 7050	129
In-Sight 7200	129
In-Sight 7200C	133
In-Sight 7210	129
In-Sight 7230	129
In-Sight 7400	129
In-Sight 7400C	133
In-Sight 7410	129
In-Sight 7430	129
In-Sight 7402	129
In-Sight 7402C	133
In-Sight 7412	129
In-Sight 7432	129
In-Sight 7500	144
In-Sight 7500C	144
In-Sight 7501	144
In-Sight 7501C	144
In-Sight 7600	144
In-Sight 7600C	144
In-Sight 7800	144
In-Sight 7800C	144
In-Sight 7801	144
In-Sight 7801C	144
In-Sight 7802	144
In-Sight 7802C	144
In-Sight 7802P	144
In-Sight 7900	144
In-Sight 7900C	144
In-Sight 7901	144
In-Sight 7901C	144
In-Sight 7902	144
In-Sight 7902C	144
In-Sight 7902P	144
In-Sight 7905	144
In-Sight 7905C	144
In-Sight 8100	141
In-Sight 8100C	141
In-Sight 8101	141
In-Sight 8101C	141
In-Sight 8200	141
In-Sight 8200C	141
In-Sight 8400	141
In-Sight 8400C	141
In-Sight 8401	141
In-Sight 8401C	141
In-Sight 8402	141
In-Sight 8402C	141
In-Sight 8405	138
In-Sight 8502P	150
In-Sight 8502CP	150
In-Sight 8505P	150
In-Sight 8505CP	150
In-Sight 9902L	149
In-Sight 9912	144
In-Sight 9912C	144

Image Output Format

The image output consists of 2 parts: Header and Body. The image output is always binary in Big Endian format (PCs are little endian; applications need to convert endianness). In-Sight sends the default image from cell A0, and always send a full image. After the Header, the Body follows, which is raw pixel data starting from row0. To access the pixel data, the application should use the 'Offset' value in the Header. Image data consists of column-row ordered pixels starting from pixel 0,0.  For greyscale vision systems, pixels are 8-bit greyscale value. Color vision systems may be programmed to output one of three types of images: 0 = greyscale image; 1 = Bayer image and 4 = 24-bit color image.

Header Format

Data Type	Property Name	Description
unsigned integer 32 bits	Length;	// length of packet including raw img // data, excluding 'Length' itself.
unsigned integer 16 bits	Offset;	// offset from 'Ver' field to the raw image pixel data.
unsigned integer 16 bits	Ver;	// version = 0.
unsigned integer 16 bits	ImgHigh,ImgWide;	// original high x wide in pixels.
unsigned integer 16 bits	Row,Col;	// row & col of upper-left corner for // this page, in original image scale.
unsigned integer 16 bits	High,Wide;	// high & wide of this page in pixel.
unsigned integer 16 bits	Rsub, Csub;	// image sub-sampling rate.
unsigned integer 16 bits	CellRow,CellCol;	// cell-coordinates for the image. 0.0 for cell A0.
unsigned integer 16 bits	RowIdx,ColIdx;	// interleaved index = 0.0 (for future use).
unsigned integer 32 bits	Color;	// RGB bits - should be 0 for greyscale, 1 for Bayer or 4 for 24-bit color.
unsigned integer 32 bits	AcqSeqNum;	// Acquisition Sequence Number
unsigned integer 32 bits	Rsrvd[1];	// reserved.
signed character 8 bits	Tag[16];	// optional tag string - null // terminated (for future use).