June 22, 2016 at 16:23Comparison of Intel RealSense SR300 and F200 Front View Cameras
- Transfer
The SR300 is a second-generation Intel RealSense front-facing camera that supports the Microsoft Windows * 10 operating system. Like the F200, the SR300 uses color depth coding technology to create a high-quality three-dimensional depth video stream over a short distance. The SR300 includes an infrared (IR) light source, a high-speed VGA-resolution IR camera, and a regular two-megapixel color camera with an integrated digital image processor.
The SR300 uses a high-speed VGA mode to capture depth instead of the usual VGA mode used in the F200. In the new depth shooting mode, the exposure time is reduced, dynamic movement is supported at a speed of up to 2 m / s. Such a camera opens up new ways to use the platform by providing synchronized color image data, depth and IR video to the client system. The effective range of depth recognition is from 0.2 to 1.2 m, these are optimal values for indoor use.
SR300 camera can use Intel RealSense SDK for Windows. Support for the SR300 camera is implemented in the SDK version 2015 R5 or later. The SR300 camera will be delivered in 2016 both as a standalone device and built into various devices, including PCs, all-in-ones, laptops and transformers. The SR300 has new and improved features compared to the F200.
* As of February 19, 2016
A distinctive feature of the SR300 camera is Cursor mode. This tracking mode returns a single point for the hand, which allows you to very accurately track the three-dimensional position of the pointer and perform basic gestures. In Cursor mode, performance is increased by more than 50% compared to the whole brush tracking mode, but there are no delays and no calibration is required. Range increased to 85 cm, and permissible speed - up to 2 m / s. In Cursor mode, a click gesture is supported, simulating a mouse click with the index finger.
Click gesture
Another new feature of the SR300 is human tracking. This mode is also supported by the R200 rear view camera, but is not available for the F200 camera. In this mode, tracking of the three-dimensional movement of the body in real time. Three main tracking modes are supported: body movement, skeleton joints, face recognition.
The SR300 cameras have a new depth shooting mode - accelerated VGA. In this mode, shooting takes place at half the VGA resolution, and the captured frames are interpolated to full VGA resolution before being transmitted to the client. In this new depth mode, the exposure time is reduced and the speed of the hand is maintained up to 2 m / s, while in F200 cameras with the usual VGA mode, the permissible speed should not exceed 0.75 m / s. The SR300 also has a longer range compared to the F200. In hand tracking mode, the range of the SR300 has been increased to 85 cm (compared to 60 cm for the F200). Arm segmentation range increased to 110 cm with the SR300 compared to 100 cm with the F200.
Face recognition range increased from 80 cm for the F200 to 150 cm for the SR300.
The SR300 has enhanced color texture mapping and more accurate 3D scanning. The range of three-dimensional scanning is increased to 70 cm, while the detail is also increased. In Blob tracking mode, tracking speed has been increased to 2 m / s and range to 150 cm.
Depth shooting range increased with the SR300 camera by 50-60%. At a distance of 80 cm, both cameras (both the SR300 and F200) clearly detect their hands. As the distance increases beyond 120 cm, the SR300 still detects hands, and the F200 can no longer recognize them.
Range of sensors of depth of cameras SR300 and F200
The new auto exposure feature is only available on the SR300. The exposure compensation function allows you to take an image at low brightness or with increased contrast to obtain higher quality color reproduction. The frame rate of a color image in low light conditions may be lower if auto exposure is enabled.
The F200 cameras support the operation of several applications that use color images and depth images with the same frame rate. The SR300 supports the operation of several applications with different frame rates within integer intervals while maintaining time synchronization. This allows the software to switch frame rates without stopping the video stream.
SR300 cameras support additional low power modes when the camera is operating at a reduced frame rate. At the same time, the image processing system reduces power consumption, but still monitors the observed object. In this mode, the SR300 can process the scene autonomously while the system is in standby mode.
Intel RealSense Depth Camera Manager (DCM) 3.x enables the SR300 to act as an F200, providing backward compatibility for applications designed for the F200. DCM mimics the resources of the F200, so all existing SDK applications will work with the SR300. The SR300 camera features are supported in the SDK R5 2015 or later.
When a streaming request comes from an SDK application compiled in an SDK version prior to R5 2015, DCM will automatically enable compatibility mode and will send calls through the F200 pipeline instead of the SR300. Most applications will work with the new SR300 without any configuration changes.
The SR300 camera supports a 10-bit infrared image data format, while the F200 supports an 8-bit format for such data. The DCM driver provides compatibility by adding or removing 2 bits to the data to obtain the desired format.
The device of the motherboard and cables are identical for the cameras F200 and SR300. The F200 camera cable can be connected to the SR300 camera connector. Therefore, for the SR300 cameras, you can use the cable from the F200 cameras. Both models require a USB 3.0 interface.
Most SDK APIs are common to SR300, F200, and even R200 cameras (in some cases). SDK modules provide an appropriate interface, depending on which camera model was detected at runtime. Similarly, simply transferring color image streams and depths where a specific image or a specific pixel format is not required will work without any changes.
Since SenseManager is used to read raw streams, there is no need to change the code to select stream resolution, frame rate and pixel format without hard coding.
Since all the described parameters automatically change depending on the camera, it is important that each application checks the camera model and its configuration at runtime. See the “Installer Settings” section of the SDK documentation.
At the time of this writing, the "golden" version of DCM 3.0.24.59748 is available for the SR300, and updates will be distributed through Windows Update. Visit the site for the latest version of DCM. For more information about DCM, see Intel RealSense and DCM Camera Overview .
To support the bandwidth required by the Intel RealSense camera, the client system must have a USB port 3. For detailed system requirements and supported operating systems for the SR300 and F200 cameras, see here .
This document describes the new and improved features of the Intel RealSense 3D SR300 front-facing camera compared to the capabilities of the F200. These new features are supported in the SDK 2015 R5 and DCM 3.0.24.51819 or later. A new camera can be ordered at .
Here are some useful links to the Intel RealSense DCM and SDK, including release notes and instructions for installing and updating software.
The SR300 uses a high-speed VGA mode to capture depth instead of the usual VGA mode used in the F200. In the new depth shooting mode, the exposure time is reduced, dynamic movement is supported at a speed of up to 2 m / s. Such a camera opens up new ways to use the platform by providing synchronized color image data, depth and IR video to the client system. The effective range of depth recognition is from 0.2 to 1.2 m, these are optimal values for indoor use.
SR300 camera can use Intel RealSense SDK for Windows. Support for the SR300 camera is implemented in the SDK version 2015 R5 or later. The SR300 camera will be delivered in 2016 both as a standalone device and built into various devices, including PCs, all-in-ones, laptops and transformers. The SR300 has new and improved features compared to the F200.
- Support for the new pointer tracking mode.
- Support for a new mode of tracking people.
- Increased range and lateral speed.
- Improved color rendering when shooting in low light, improved three-dimensional textures for three-dimensional scanning.
- Improved synchronization of color image streams and depth.
- Reduced power consumption.
| Product Features | SR300 | F200 |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Front view | Front view |
| Technology | Color coding, high-speed VGA, 60 frames per second | Color coding, built-in VGA mode, 60 frames per second |
| Color camera | Resolution up to 1080p at 30 fps, 720p at 60 fps | Resolution up to 1080p at 30 fps |
| SDK | SDK 2015 R5 or later | SDK R2 or later |
| DCM Version | DCM 3.0.24.51819 * | DCM 1.4.27.41994 * |
| operating system | Windows 10 RTM 64-bit | Windows 10 RTM 64-bit, Windows 8 64-bit |
| Range | Indoors: 20–120 cm | Indoors: 20–120 cm |
New features supported only by the SR300
▍ Cursor mode
A distinctive feature of the SR300 camera is Cursor mode. This tracking mode returns a single point for the hand, which allows you to very accurately track the three-dimensional position of the pointer and perform basic gestures. In Cursor mode, performance is increased by more than 50% compared to the whole brush tracking mode, but there are no delays and no calibration is required. Range increased to 85 cm, and permissible speed - up to 2 m / s. In Cursor mode, a click gesture is supported, simulating a mouse click with the index finger.
Click gesture
▍ Human Tracking
Another new feature of the SR300 is human tracking. This mode is also supported by the R200 rear view camera, but is not available for the F200 camera. In this mode, tracking of the three-dimensional movement of the body in real time. Three main tracking modes are supported: body movement, skeleton joints, face recognition.
- Body Movement: Detection of the body, contour of the head and torso.
- Skeleton joints: returns the location of the joints of the human body in two-dimensional and three-dimensional data.
- Face Recognition: compares the current face with a database of registered users to identify the user.
| Human tracking | SR300 | F200 |
|---|---|---|
| Detection | 50–250 cm | Not |
| Tracking | 50-550 cm | Not |
| Skeleton | 50-200 cm | Not |
Increased range and lateral speed
The SR300 cameras have a new depth shooting mode - accelerated VGA. In this mode, shooting takes place at half the VGA resolution, and the captured frames are interpolated to full VGA resolution before being transmitted to the client. In this new depth mode, the exposure time is reduced and the speed of the hand is maintained up to 2 m / s, while in F200 cameras with the usual VGA mode, the permissible speed should not exceed 0.75 m / s. The SR300 also has a longer range compared to the F200. In hand tracking mode, the range of the SR300 has been increased to 85 cm (compared to 60 cm for the F200). Arm segmentation range increased to 110 cm with the SR300 compared to 100 cm with the F200.
| Hand tracking mode | SR300 | F200 |
|---|---|---|
| Pointer Mode - General | 20–120 cm (2 m / s) | Not |
| Pointer Mode - Children | 20–80 cm (1-2 m / s) | Not |
| Tracking | 20–85 cm (1.5 m / s) | 20-60 cm (0.75 m / s) |
| Gesture | 20–85 cm (1.5 m / s) | 20-60 cm (0.75 m / s) |
| Segmentation | 20–120 cm (1 m / s) | 20–100 cm (1 m / s) |
| Face tracking mode | SR300 | F200 |
|---|---|---|
| Detection | 30-100 cm | 25-100 cm |
| Benchmark | 30-100 cm | 30-100 cm |
| Recognition | 30-150 cm | 30–80 cm |
| Facial expression | 30-100 cm | 30-100 cm |
| Pulse | 30-60 cm | 30-60 cm |
| Location | 30-100 cm | 30-100 cm |
| Other tracking modes | SR300 | F200 |
|---|---|---|
| 3D scan | 25–70 cm | 25–54 cm |
| Blob Tracking | 20–150 cm (2 m / s) | 30–85 cm (1.5 m / s) |
Range of sensors of depth of cameras SR300 and F200
Improved color quality when shooting in low light, improved three-dimensional textures for three-dimensional scanning
The new auto exposure feature is only available on the SR300. The exposure compensation function allows you to take an image at low brightness or with increased contrast to obtain higher quality color reproduction. The frame rate of a color image in low light conditions may be lower if auto exposure is enabled.
| Function | SR300 | F200 |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure Compensation Management | Yes | Not |
Improved synchronization of color image streams and depth
The F200 cameras support the operation of several applications that use color images and depth images with the same frame rate. The SR300 supports the operation of several applications with different frame rates within integer intervals while maintaining time synchronization. This allows the software to switch frame rates without stopping the video stream.
| Camera Timing | SR300 | F200 |
|---|---|---|
| Synchronization of different types of streams with the same frame rate | Yes | Yes |
| Synchronization of different types of streams with different frame rates | Yes | Not |
Reduced power consumption
SR300 cameras support additional low power modes when the camera is operating at a reduced frame rate. At the same time, the image processing system reduces power consumption, but still monitors the observed object. In this mode, the SR300 can process the scene autonomously while the system is in standby mode.
Backward compatible with F200 camera apps
Intel RealSense Depth Camera Manager (DCM) 3.x enables the SR300 to act as an F200, providing backward compatibility for applications designed for the F200. DCM mimics the resources of the F200, so all existing SDK applications will work with the SR300. The SR300 camera features are supported in the SDK R5 2015 or later.
When a streaming request comes from an SDK application compiled in an SDK version prior to R5 2015, DCM will automatically enable compatibility mode and will send calls through the F200 pipeline instead of the SR300. Most applications will work with the new SR300 without any configuration changes.
▍ Infrared data compatibility
The SR300 camera supports a 10-bit infrared image data format, while the F200 supports an 8-bit format for such data. The DCM driver provides compatibility by adding or removing 2 bits to the data to obtain the desired format.
▍ Physical connector
The device of the motherboard and cables are identical for the cameras F200 and SR300. The F200 camera cable can be connected to the SR300 camera connector. Therefore, for the SR300 cameras, you can use the cable from the F200 cameras. Both models require a USB 3.0 interface.
▍API SDK
Most SDK APIs are common to SR300, F200, and even R200 cameras (in some cases). SDK modules provide an appropriate interface, depending on which camera model was detected at runtime. Similarly, simply transferring color image streams and depths where a specific image or a specific pixel format is not required will work without any changes.
Since SenseManager is used to read raw streams, there is no need to change the code to select stream resolution, frame rate and pixel format without hard coding.
Since all the described parameters automatically change depending on the camera, it is important that each application checks the camera model and its configuration at runtime. See the “Installer Settings” section of the SDK documentation.
DCM
At the time of this writing, the "golden" version of DCM 3.0.24.59748 is available for the SR300, and updates will be distributed through Windows Update. Visit the site for the latest version of DCM. For more information about DCM, see Intel RealSense and DCM Camera Overview .
| Camera type | SR300 | F200 | R200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCM Installer Version | 3.x | 1.x | 2.x |
equipment requirements
To support the bandwidth required by the Intel RealSense camera, the client system must have a USB port 3. For detailed system requirements and supported operating systems for the SR300 and F200 cameras, see here .
Conclusion
This document describes the new and improved features of the Intel RealSense 3D SR300 front-facing camera compared to the capabilities of the F200. These new features are supported in the SDK 2015 R5 and DCM 3.0.24.51819 or later. A new camera can be ordered at .
Reference materials
Here are some useful links to the Intel RealSense DCM and SDK, including release notes and instructions for installing and updating software.