HawkEye-CL:

Camera Link Frame Grabber

Camera Link Frame Grabber — Features & Bandwidth

Supporting modes: Base, Medium, Full, 80-bit (Deca) | Dual-Base
Ideal for Recording & Streaming solutions
Inline Image Processing option including:
- On-FPGA real-time Compression (.JPEG, Lossless, Quality+)
- Real-Time High Dynamic Range (HDR) correction
Supports 100+ synchronized cameras using the InfiniVision
Memory: up to 17 GB
Form factor: full-height, single-slot, half-length PCI Express card
Optional: Low Profile

HawkEye-CL: Camera Link Frame Grabber

The HawkEye-CL is a high-performance Camera Link Frame Grabber designed for real-time acquisition and FPGA-based image processing in demanding vision systems. Powered by the Altera Arria 10 FPGA, it is fully compliant with Camera Link Rev. 2.0 and supports Camera Link 80-bit (DECA) acquisition with up to 17 GB of on-board memory and PCIe Gen3 x8 host connectivity. As a result, it delivers industry-leading bandwidth and reliability for applications where speed and precision are critical.

Performance and Real-Time Image Processing

The HawkEye-CL Camera Link Frame Grabber is available as a plug-and-play solution or as part of a complete system integrating image acquisition, modular FPGA-based preprocessing, and advanced real-time compression IPs (.JPEG, Lossless, Quality+).

Inline enhancement features include:

High Dynamic Range (HDR) – Captures superior details in high-contrast lighting conditions.
White Balance – Maintains color accuracy across variable lighting conditions.
Dynamic Luminance Balance – Preserves consistent brightness under changing illumination.
Gamma Correction – Optimizes brightness and contrast for improved clarity.

Real-time compression with Dynamic ROI delivers:

Extended recording times without compromising quality.
Lower transmission bandwidth for efficient data handling.
Accelerated offline compression, reducing storage needs and post-processing time.

InfiniVision Architecture – Multi-Camera solution for Camera Link Frame Grabber

Built on Gidel’s InfiniVision architecture, the HawkEye-CL addresses common multi-camera challenges such as synchronization, bandwidth, and scalability. Furthermore, its FPGA-based design ensures deterministic data handling while enabling real-time preprocessing.

A PCIe Gen3 x8 host interface provides CPU-free, ultra-fast transfer, while large on-board buffers (up to 17 GB) guarantee stable acquisition. As a result, the HawkEye-CL delivers reliable performance in high-speed, high-resolution vision environments.

Flexible Operating Modes

The HawkEye-CL supports two operating modes selectable via firmware:

InfiniVision: Ideal for synchronized multi-camera setups, combining all data—even across multiple cards—into a single buffer with dynamic resolutions and formats.
ProcFG: Tailored for precision applications, offering fixed frame sizes, pixel formats, and ROI grabbing (uncompressed).

As a result, the HawkEye-CL adapts seamlessly to a variety of workflows, from complex multi-camera systems to streamlined single-camera operations.

SDK and Development Tools

The HawkEye-CL is supported by Gidel’s SDK, featuring intuitive GUIs and APIs for streamlined integration. Additionally, the ProcVision Suite adds advanced FPGA programming, debugging, and validation tools, enabling developers to customize data flows, real-time processing, and compression pipelines with ease. Consequently, they can create optimized, application-specific solutions faster and with reduced risk.

Why Choose the Camera Link Frame Grabber HawkEye-CL?

Camera Link Rev. 2.0 compliant with 80-bit (DECA) acquisition.
Up to 17 GB on-board memory with PCIe Gen3 x8 interface.
FPGA-based processing with real-time compression and ROI offloading.
1+ GPixels/s encoding with Lossless, JPEG, and Quality+ options.
Supported by the ProcVision Suite for streamlined customization and integration.

Looking for CoaXPress or GigE Vision Frame Grabber cards? visit Gidel’s frame grabbers.

For a Jetson-based Camera Link solutions, see FantoVision20-CL and FantoVision20 Edge Computer Vision Systems.

General

Camera Input

1x 80-bit (Deca), Full, Medium or Base Camera Link
Dual Base
Optional: PoCL

Camera Link Compliant

Camera Link Rev. 2.0

Camera Input Connectors

2x SDR26
(mini Camera Link)

Additional Connectors

VGA15-pin for connecting GPIO's via cable to the bracket
16-pin board-to-board header
JTAG

Advanced ROI feature

On-the -fly selective ROI acquisition

Image Formats

Mono, Bayer, RGBA (8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 bits/color)
RGB (8, 10 and 12 bits/color)

Max. Resolution

Horizontal: 16 K pixels (64-bit)
Vertical: 65 K lines

Tap Configuration

All configurations as defined by the Camera Link standard, including 80-bit (Deca): 10 taps/8bits, 8bits/10taps.

Maximum Acquisition Throughput

6.8 Gb/s

Compression & Image Enhancements

Compression Options:

Image Enhancements Options:

High Dynamic Range (HDR) correction

For more modular image-processing options - Contact Us

Pixel Clock

Up to 85 MHz

Host Bus

PCIe x 8 Gen. 3

On Board Memory

Up to 17 GB

Camera Types

Area
Line Scan

Form Factor

Full-height, single-slot, half-length PCIe card

GPIO

GPIO #1:

4 X RS422 INPUTS
Optional input clk
1x Optocoupler input

GPIO #2:

1 X RS422 INPUTS
2x Opto-coupler inputs
2X 3-30V @ 0.8A outputs
LVTTL IO
12V/1A power supply

GPIO #3 (for board-to-board connection):

12x LVTTL IO (5V TTL tolerant)

Power

5-32W: Depends on user application and FPGA Type

Cooling

Passive cooling | Active cooling (fan)

MTBF

Passive colling:

3.5M hours

Active colling:

HE CL-48 > 400K hours
HE CL-16 > 500K hours

Environmental conditions

Temperature

Operating ambient air temperature: 0 – 55° C

Humidity

Continuous Operation: 10 - 80% (non-condensing)
Peak Operation: 10 - 90% (non-condensing)

Environmental Compliance

Modular Real-Time
Image Processing

Gidel FPGA flow can integrate advanced image processing algorithms, including:

Compression encoders: JPEG | Lossless | Quality+
High Dynamic Range (HDR) correction from a single exposure
White Balance – Maintains color accuracy across variable lighting conditions
Dynamic Luminance Balance – Preserves consistent brightness under changing illumination
Morphological operations such as Open/Close using a round structuring element

User FPGA code

Users can integrate their own FPGA code with Gidel’s IPs

For more information, refer to the FPGA Processing tab

Form Factor

Low profile (Comes without the IO connector)

The HawkEye-CL Frame Grabber is a highly modular solution, designed to be tailored to meet unique application requirements.

Looking to adapt the HawkEye-CL to match your vision?

Gidel FPGA flow can integrate advanced image processing algorithms, including:

Contact Our Experts

The HawkEye-CL frame grabber offers two powerful customization paths to meet specific application requirements:

Modular Pre-Configured Features
Gidel provides a range of pre-embedded modules tailored to your specifications—such as real-time compression, HDR, and other advanced features. (See the Options tab for available configurations.)
User-Level FPGA Customization
Leverage Gidel’s development tools and IP libraries to integrate your proprietary FPGA logic and extend the system’s capabilities for acquisition, image processing, and control.

The Gidel ProcVision Suite delivers a complete toolchain for advanced user-level FPGA customization of the data flow, image pipeline, image processing, and more—ensuring optimal performance for your vision or imaging application.

HawkEye-CL: FPGA resources comparison

Model	HawkEye-CL-48	HawkEye-CL-16
FPGA	Arria 10-480-3	Arria 10-160-2
FPGA-ALM	182K	61K
FPGA-M20K	1,438	440
FPGA 18x19	2,736	312
Peripheral Memory:
On Board DRAM capacity	1 GB	1 GB
On Board DRAM sustain bandwidth	5.6 GB/s	6.4 GB/s
SoDIMM capacity	0, 4, 8, 16 GB	-
SoDIMM sustain bandwidth	9.6 GB/s	-

Grabbers SDK

InfiniVision

Designed for acquisition from a large number of cameras (100+), with an option for embedded real-time compression.

ProcFG

Optimized for line-scan camera acquisition, combining ROI-based grabbing with integrated debugging and analysis tools.

Application Interfaces

GUI Applications

InfiniVision
ProcFG
CameraConfig – Camera discovery and configuration
ggvcon – GigE Vision network configuration

APIs

InfiniVision with supporting examples
ProcFG with supporting examples
Gen<i>Cam GenTL producer libraries compatible with C/C++ compilers
InitCam for developing user Gen<i>Cam camera configuration application
GigE for developing camera network communication applications

Software Compatibility

Third-party software

MVTec Halcon machine vision software
Camera control Gen<i>Cam based application

Operation Systems supported

Windows 11
Windows 10
Windows Server 2022
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2016
Linux (kernel 2.6.x- 6.12)

Please note: Linux version doesn’t include the ProcFG/InfiniVision GUI, just the API.

Name	Description	Type	Size
HawkEye-CL	Datasheet	PDF	377.1 KB
HawkEye-CL	Block diagram	PNG	34.2 KB

Reuven Weintraub, founder and CTO of Gidel, reveals how to unlock exceptional image processing performance by adding FPGA’s processing at Vision Show, Stuttgart 2024.

Gidel frame grabbers and edge computers at the Embedded World show 2024.

Boost your vision! Gidel's high-performance GigE Vision, Camera Link and CoaXPress frame grabbers help overcome bandwidth bottlenecks in high-resolution and/or high-speed computer vision applications.

Gidel presented its FPGA-based architecture capable of processing Giga+ Pixels per second while maintaining exceptionally low power consumption. The session demonstrated how Gidel’s scalable FPGA solutions deliver real-time imaging performance, energy efficiency, and deterministic throughput for advanced vision and imaging systems.

Presented by Reuven Weintraub, this talk highlighted Gidel’s expertise in real-time processing over Gigapixel/s image streams, demonstrating how FPGA-based architectures enable deterministic latency, scalable throughput, and efficient handling of ultra–high-resolution vision data.

Gidel founder and CTO Reuven Weintraub present the performance and versatility of Gidel's GigE Vision, Camera Link and CoaXPress frame grabbers for high-speed image acquisition and pre-processing at the Embedded World 2022 in Nuremberg, Germany.

Gidel demonstrated a complete real-time object tracking pipeline implemented directly on the FPGA-based frame grabber, eliminating host dependency and overcoming PCIe bandwidth limitations. The demo showcased deterministic low-latency processing, highlighting Gidel’s ability to execute full vision workflows on FPGA hardware.

Gidel presented a step-by-step demonstration of its FPGA-based object tracking algorithm, highlighting the internal processing stages and real-time debugging capabilities. The demo illustrated how developers can visualize, analyze, and optimize the complete tracking flow directly on FPGA hardware, enabling faster development and deterministic performance.