Berlin, October 16th, 2014
USB 3 or not to be
Real-Time Support for USB 3.0
Kithara Software, leading innovator for industrial software solutions under Windows, has successfully finished the development of real-time support for USB 3.0. In this way, all USB-based interfaces and devices, such as industrial cameras, can be utilized with guaranteed fast reaction times.
Contrary to before, it is now possible to achieve real-time communication with USB 3.0. For this purpose the »RealTime Suite« provides a specially programmed and easy-to-apply gateway to the Extensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI), which is capable of meeting the requirements for guaranteed jitter times.
“The support of USB 3.0 represents an evolutionary step for us. USB has replaced quite a number of interfaces and has enjoyed a continuous and significant rise in popularity in industrial fields. Real-Time capability for time-critical applications and increases in efficiency is the logical consequence.”, explained Uwe Jesgarz, managing director of Kithara Software GmbH.
The growing market share of the third generation of the Universal Serial Bus, also in the industrial sector, is based on its cost efficient implementation of standardized hardware as wells as high transfer rates. It was not until USB 3.0 introduced the SuperSpeed mode, that competitive data rates and full-duplex communication became available.
One of the main areas of application for USB 3.0 is machine vision, especially for the fields of robotics, quality assurance and medical engineering. USB3 Vision® cameras are among the most cost effective in these sectors, are able to transfer image data at high rates as well as low CPU-load and do not require a frame grabber or additional power supply. Combined with the Ktihara real-time environment, USB3 Vision® can be integrated efficiently in a variety of systems with different demands.
