Troubleshooting

Hardware issues

LED does not illuminate

The rc_viscore stereo camera does not start up.

  • Ensure that cables are connected and secured properly.
  • Ensure that adequate DC voltage (24 V) with correct polarity is applied to the power connector at the pins labeled as Power and Ground as described in the device’s pin assignment specification. Connecting the camera to voltage outside of the specified range, to alternating current, with reversed polarity, or to a supply with voltage spikes will lead to permanent hardware damage.

Reliability issues and/or mechanical damage

This may be an indication of ambient conditions (vibration, shock, resonance, and temperature) being outside of specified range. Please refer to the specification of environmental conditions.

  • Operating the rc_viscore stereo camera outside of specified ambient conditions might lead to damage and will void the warranty.

Electrical shock when touching the projector

This indicates an electrical fault in camera, cabling, or power supply or adjacent system.

  • Immediately turn off power to the system, disconnect cables, and have a qualified electrician check the setup.
  • Ensure that the projector housing is properly grounded; check for large ground loops.

Sparse depth images

The depth images of the rc_viscore stereo camera, which can be seen on the depth image page in the rc_cube’s Web GUI or by using the SGM®Producer, may have missing values, which are shown in black. Missing values near object borders are normal. If major parts of the depth image are invalid, then this may be due to the following reasons:

  • The scene may be out of the current working range of the rc_viscore stereo camera. Depending on the depth quality, reducing the parameter Maximum Distance also reduces the possible minimum distance. In the Web GUI of the rc_cube, the used depth range is given on the depth image page below the images. Sliders on the depth image page permit to change the depth range. See also Table 2 for examples of possible depth ranges.
  • Depth values may be missing on objects without texture. In this case, the internal projector should be used for projecting an artificial texture. For single shot depth images, the Single+Out1 mode should be selected on the depth image page of the rc_cube’s Web GUI . For continuously computing depth images, the projector should be turned on for every second image by setting Out1 / Projector to ExposureAlternateActive in Pipeline … ‣ Configuration ‣ IOControl .
  • The internal projector may be too dark to be visible in the scene. Adjust the external lighting or the aperture of the projector as described in Adjust projector aperture.
  • The pattern of the internal projector may be too blurred to support depth computation. Adjust the focus of the projector as described in Adjust projector focus.
  • The camera focus may be inadequate for the working range. Please check the camera focus using a calibration grid as described in Adjust camera focus.
  • The calibration of the rc_viscore stereo camera may be inaccurate. Please check the calibration as described in Calibration.

Dark camera images

The camera images of the rc_viscore stereo camera, which can be seen on the camera page in the rc_cube’s Web GUI under Pipeline … ‣ Camera or by using the SGM®Producer, may be too dark. This can have the following reasons:

  • The internal projector may be too bright. Increase the external lighting or reduce the projector brightness by adapting the aperture of the projector as described in Adjust projector aperture.