OAK FFC camera modules¶
Overview¶
OAK FFC baseboards and camera modules are great for prototyping flexibility. Since cameras are modular, you can place them at various stereo baselines and select the camera module based on your project requirements (resolution, shutter type, FPS, optics).
OAK FFC baseboards¶
OAK FFC baseboards are OAK devices that have onboard VPU and FFC connectors, to which you can connect OAK FFC camera modules. Here’s the list of our current OAK FFC baseboards:
USB: OAK-FFC-3P, OAK-FFC-4P, OAK-FFC-6P
PoE: OAK-FFC 1P PoE, OAK-FFC 4P PoE
FFC Camera modules¶
Here’s the list of already built OAK FFC camera modules, which you can easily connect to any OAK FFC baseboard with a flat flexible cable. We are working towards offering OAK FFC camera module for all supported CCMs.
OAK FFC camera module |
Shutter |
Resolution |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
OAK-FFC-IMX378 (AF) |
Rolling |
12MP |
Color, Auto-Focus. |
Rolling |
12MP |
Color, Fixed-Focus. |
|
Rolling |
12MP |
Color, Fixed-Focus, Wide FOV. |
|
Global |
1MP |
Mono, Fixed-Focus |
|
Global |
1MP |
Mono, M12 mount |
|
Global |
1MP |
Mono, Fixed-Focus, Wide FOV |
|
Global |
1MP |
Color, M12 mount |
|
Global |
1MP |
Color, Fixed-Focus, Wide FOV |
|
Rolling |
32MP |
Color, AF |
|
Rolling |
12MP |
Color, M12 mount |
|
Rolling |
13MP |
Color, Fixed-Focus, Wide FOV |
|
Global |
2.3MP |
Color, M12 mount |
|
Rolling |
12.3MP |
Color, CS mount lens |
FFC camera mounting¶
OAK-FFC Kit is a great way to mount your OAK FFC camera modules. It allows you to easily customize both horizontal and vertical stereo baseline. You can buy it from our shop. For usage, see instruction here.
Mounting adapters can also be found on Github.
Raspberry Pi cameras modules¶
Raspberry Pi sells a number of camera modules that are compatible with the OAK FFC baseboards. RPi cameras can be connected to the FFC baseboard via the UC-244 Adapter.
RPi camera module |
Sensor |
Shutter |
Pixels |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
IMX708 |
Rolling |
12 MP |
Color, Auto-Focus. Initial (WIP) integration |
|
IMX219 |
Rolling |
8 MP |
Color, Fixed-Focus. Requires |
|
IMX477 |
Rolling |
12 MP |
Color, C/CS mount |
|
IMX296 |
Global |
1.6 MP |
Color, C/CS mount |
Note
The UC-244 Adapter doesn’t work out-of-the-box with the RPi HQ and Global Shutter cameras, additional steps are required and described here.
If you just want to use IMX477, we suggest using Arducam HQ Cam for RPi, IMX477 that works directly with OAK FFC baseboards (without the UC-244 adapter).
M12 mount lenses¶
Some of the FFC camera modules above have M12 mount, so you can use a variety of different lenses (for custom FoV), for example:
Kit of 10 different M12 lenses (for testing purposes),
and others
M12 selectable FOV¶
Tests were done using 2x OAK-FFC-IMX477-M12 and two different M12 lenses: 20° FOV and 190° FOV one.
Side-by-side comparison of narrow and wide FOV M12 lenses on OAK-FFC-IMX477-M12¶
Test setup from birds view¶
Replacing CCMs¶
For majority of our cameras (see Already built CCMs), we use Compact Camera Modules (CCM) that have Arducam’s short FPC connector. This means that you can replace the camera module with any other CCM that we support.
Example: On your OAK-D Pro one could replace the central color camera (IMX378 by default) to a higher-resolution color camera (IMX582, 32MP sensor).
Few things to note:
M12 mount: Camera modules that support M12 mount lenses are too large to fit into our standard OAK cameras (except OAK-D LR, which has 3x M12 mount AR0234)
FOV: OAK cameras have a front glass for a specific FOV. If you’d want to replace a normal FOV camera (eg. 80HFOV) with a wide FOV camera (eg. 120HFOV), from glass would likely need to be replaced as well
Procurement: We don’t sell CCMs separately, so you’d need to get them from Arducam or other suppliers (see Procurement of CCMs)
Procedure¶
Removing an old CCM
Note
We do not recommend removing the CCMs from the PCB, as they can easily break (either CCM, or PCB). If you do so, you do it at your own risk. We are not responsible for any damage to the PCB or CCM.
Removing CCM is a bit tricky. The best option is to put some acetone or IPA (isopropyl alcohol) around the CCM to soften the glue. After that, a scalpel or any other similar sharp/thin tool should be used slicing the camera off of the PCB, by cutting the glue in between the CCM and PCB. Be careful to not use too much force, as CCM can easily brake.
Attaching a new CCM
This step is much easier. First connect the FPC cable to the FPC connector, and press the connector down. Then apply some super glue (cyanoacrylate glue) to the back of the CCM, and press it down to the PCB. Be careful to not use too much glue, as it can leak between the contacts of the FPC connector and prevent the connection/contact.
Procurement of CCMs¶
A few CCMs that Arducam offers on their shop, that are compatible with the (2020 version of) OAK-D:
Compact Camera Module (CCM) Fish-Eye OV9282 (for better SLAM) here
Mechanical, Optical, and Electrical equivalent OV9282 module with visible and IR capability here
Global-Shutter Color Camera (OV9782) with same intrinsics as OV9282 grayscale here