PrepareSynchronizedTrigger

Prepare a set of cameras for synchronized triggering.

Prepare the given set of (Cameras) for synchronized triggering using PTP.

Note

This feature is only available when all involved devices are B- or C-series cameras. Other types of cameras can only be synchronized using a hardware trigger, which is not set up by this command.

Note

Internally triggered cameras (like a C-series color sensor) are ignored by this command and will still be triggered normally.

Requirements for PTP Synchronized Triggers

The Trigger command will automatically trigger all cameras at the same time when the following conditions are met:

• All cameras use software trigger and are triggered by a single execution of the Trigger command.

• Texture mode is disabled.

• PTP is enabled and synchronized with an offset to the master clock of less than 1ms (in case the camera is a PTP slave).

• All cameras are synchronized to the same grandmaster clock.

Synchronized Triggering

This command enables PTP if necessary and waits for a successful PTP synchronization.

After the command was executed successfully, subsequent invocations of the Trigger command for the same set of cameras will automatically trigger them at the same time.

Note that this introduces a small delay compared to a normal trigger, since the command has to choose a point in time in the future at which all cameras will trigger and communicate this time to the cameras. The necessary delay is chosen automatically based on the measured round-trip time of the cameras.

In case of a problem with the synchronization, Trigger will automatically fall back to a normal software trigger. You can check whether a trigger was synchronized using the command’s result node.

Staggered Triggering

By default, synchronized cameras will expose their images at the same time. It is also possible to trigger them with an offset, e.g. to avoid the projector light from other devices.

When the (Mode) parameter is set to Staggered, the command will automatically chose a suitable TriggerDelay and FlexViewInterval to make sure that the exposure of different devices does not overlap.

Note that offsets are selected based on the current exposure time (or the maximum automatic exposure time when automatic exposure is enabled). When these values change after preparation the chosen offsets might not fit anymore and synchronization might not be correct. Execute the command again to update the offsets.

When a camera is triggered internally (like a C-series color sensor) it will still be triggered on device, based on the trigger of the rest of the sensors in the same device. This might not consider staggered trigger mode and could overlap with the exposure of other devices. Set the camera to software triggered to include it in the normal delay computation.

Error Symbols

• "FunctionNotSupported": The specified cameras do not support synchronized triggering over PTP.

• "ParametersInvalid": The specified cameras have set up parameters that are incompatible with PTP synchronized trigger.

• "NotSynchronized": PTP is not synchronized. This could be because the cameras cannot reach a common PTP master clock or because the given (Timeout) was not sufficient for synchronization.