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.
4x CoaXPress-12 Frame Grabber & Image Processing System
- Up to 50 Gb/s bandwidth via 4x CoaXPress-12 links
- 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-CXP12: Quad CoaXPress 12 Frame Grabber
The HawkEye-CXP12 is a high-performance Quad CoaXPress 12 Frame Grabber designed for real-time image acquisition, preprocessing, and compression in demanding multi-camera vision systems. Powered by Altera Arria 10 FPGA technology, it delivers up to 50 Gb/s bandwidth via 4 × CXP-12 links. As a result, it ensures zero frame loss, ultra-low latency, and negligible CPU load, making it ideal for mission-critical applications.
Performance and Real-Time Image Processing
The HawkEye-CXP12 is available as a plug-and-play CoaXPress grabber or as part of a complete system. This full system integrates image acquisition, modular real-time preprocessing, enhancement, and advanced compression IPs (.JPEG, Lossless, Quality+).
Inline enhancement features include:
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High Dynamic Range (HDR) – Captures superior details in high-contrast lighting conditions.
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White Balance – Maintains color accuracy across variable lighting conditions.
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Dynamic Luminance Balance – Preserves consistent brightness under changing illumination.
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Gamma Correction – Optimizes brightness and contrast for improved clarity.
Real-time compression with Dynamic ROI delivers:
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Extended recording times without compromising quality.
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Lower transmission bandwidth for efficient data handling.
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Accelerated offline compression, reducing storage needs and post-processing time.
InfiniVision Architecture – Multi-Camera CoaXPress 12 Frame Grabber
Gidel’s InfiniVision architecture addresses key multi-camera challenges, including bandwidth, synchronization, connectivity, and scalability. As a result, the HawkEye-CXP12, Quad CoaXPress 12 Frame Grabber supports up to four CXP-12 links, enabling 1–4 cameras to operate simultaneously with precision.
In addition, a PCIe Gen.3 x8 interface delivers CPU-free, ultra-fast data transfer, while on-board buffers of up to 16 GB boost acquisition stability and real-time image processing. Consequently, users achieve smooth, reliable performance in high-speed, high-resolution systems.
Flexible Operating Modes
The HawkEye-CXP12 can switch between InfiniVision Mode and ProcFG Mode via firmware update:
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InfiniVision: Ideal for synchronized multi-camera setups, combining all camera data—even across multiple cards—into a single buffer with support for dynamic resolutions and formats.
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ProcFG: Optimized for line-scan cameras, offering fixed frame sizes, pixel formats, and ROI grabbing (uncompressed).
As a result, the HawkEye-CXP12 adapts seamlessly to various workflows, supporting everything from dynamic multi-camera systems that require precise synchronization to streamlined single-camera operations demanding consistent performance.
SDK and Development Tools
The HawkEye-CXP12 is supported by Gidel’s SDK, which includes intuitive GUIs and APIs for streamlined integration. In addition, the ProcVision Suite provides FPGA programming, debugging, and validation tools, enabling rapid customization of data flows, image processing, and compression pipelines. Consequently, developers can create optimized, application-specific solutions faster and with reduced risk.
Why Choose the HawkEye-CXP12 Quad CoaXPress 12 Frame Grabber?
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Up to 4 × CXP-12 links for 50 Gb/s bandwidth.
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Real-time preprocessing, HDR, white balance, and gamma correction.
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Dynamic ROI compression for bandwidth and storage efficiency.
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Flexible operating modes to support diverse camera setups.
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Advanced SDK and ProcVision Suite for rapid development.
Looking for an Octo CoaXPress-12 Frame Grabber solution? see Proc1C10N-CXP12.
Need an Octo CoaXPress-6 Frame Grabber, refer to Proc10A-CXP6.
For a Jetson-based Quad CoaXPress-12 solution, visit FantoVision40-CXP12 Edge Computer Vision System.
For a Jetson with Quad CXP12 & 10GigE Vision Interfaces, see FantoVision40 Edge Computer Vision System.
General
Camera Input
- 4x CoaXPress-12 links
- 2x CoaXPress-12 links
- 1x CoaXPress-12 link
- PoCXP
CoaXPress Version
CoaXPress 2.1
Camera Input Connectors
4x Micro-BNC
Additional Connectors
- VGA15-pin for connecting GPIO's to the bracket
- 16-pin board-to-board header
- JTAG
Supported down-connection speeds
- 1.25 Gb/s | CXP-1
- 2.5 Gb/s | CXP-2
- 3.125 Gb/s | CXP-3
- 5 Gb/s | CXP-5
- 6.25 Gb/s | CXP-6
- 10 Gb/s | CXP-10
- 12.5 Gb/s | CXP-12
Supported up-connection speeds
- 20.83 Mbps (CXP-1 to CXP-6)
- 41.66 Mbps (CXP-10, CXP-12)
Maximum Stream Packet Size
8,192 bytes
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
Maximum Acquisition Throughput
40 Gb/s
Compression & Image Enhancements
Host Bus
PCIe x8 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
- 1 X RS422 INPUTS
- 2x Opto-coupler inputs
- 2X 3-30V @ 0.8A outputs
- LVTTL IO
- 12V/1A power supply
- 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:
- 1.8M hours
- HE CXP-48 > 300K hours
- HE CXP-16 > 450K 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
The HawkEye-CXP12 Frame Grabber is a highly modular solution, designed to be tailored to meet unique application requirements.
Looking to adapt the HawkEye-CXP12 to match your vision?
The HawkEye-CXP12 frame grabber offers two powerful customization paths to meet specific application requirements:
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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-CXP12: FPGA resource comparison
| Model | HawkEye-CXP-48 | HawkEye-CXP-16 |
|---|---|---|
| FPGA | Arria 10 480 GX | Arria 10 160 GX |
| FPGA-ALM | 182K | 61K |
| FPGA-M20K | 1,431 | 440 |
| FPGA - 18x19 Multipliers | 2,736 | 312 |
|
|
1 GB | 1 GB |
|
|
5.6 GB/s | 6.4 GB/s |
|
|
0,4,8,16 GB | - |
|
|
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)
| Name | Description | Type | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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HawkEye-CXP12
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Datasheet | 278.6 KB | ||
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HawkEye-CXP12
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Block Diagram | PNG | 63.8 KB |
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.
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FAQ
The HawkEye-CXP12 is a high-performance Quad CXP card that supports:
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Up to 4 × CXP-12 links, allowing for simultaneous acquisition from 1 to 4 cameras depending on the camera’s link requirements.
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Full support for PoCXP (Power over CoaXPress) to streamline your hardware and cabling setup.
The HawkEye-CXP12 is powered by an Altera FPGA, which handles the heavy lifting of data acquisition and synchronization. By offloading these tasks to the hardware, the system ensures low latency and fast data transfer with virtually zero CPU utilization, leaving your system resources free for high-level application logic.
Yes. One of the core strengths of the HawkEye-CXP12 is the option for modular inline FPGA pre-processing using Gidel’s off-the-shelf IPs. You can immediately implement real-time enhancements—such as High Dynamic Range (HDR), Real-Time Compression (Lossless, JPEG, or Quality+), Dynamic Luminance Balance, and beyond. By performing these tasks on the FPGA, you process the data before it even reaches the host memory.
Virtually zero. Because the acquisition path, synchronization, and modular ISP/compression tasks are performed entirely on the FPGA, the host CPU is freed from the heavy lifting of raw data handling. This enables you to run high-level AI inference and complex application logic on the host without any performance bottlenecks or dropped frames.
The HawkEye-CXP12 is supported by the ProcVision™ Suite, a modular Vision SDK for FPGA development. It provides a complete ecosystem for building custom imaging systems, allowing you to insert proprietary algorithms directly into the FPGA pipeline. This environment includes dedicated tools for real-time validation and debugging, significantly reducing development risk and accelerating your time-to-market.
By utilizing Gidel’s InfiniVision™ architecture, the HawkEye-CXP12 provides a flexible infrastructure for synchronized multi-camera grabbing. Combined with on-board buffers of up to 16 GB, it guarantees deterministic, zero-frame-loss performance even in high-speed, high-resolution multi-camera environments.
Yes. The HawkEye-CXP12 is ideal for raw data and lossless recording as well as full image processing and encoding. It can capture wide dynamic range 12-bit data and perform all necessary on-the-fly preprocessing—including high-quality deBayer, HDR, and JPEG compression. To further reduce host load and support real-time control, the board can simultaneously provide thumbnails and ROI streams in parallel.
All Gidel products come with a 12-month warranty, dedicated technical support, and regular firmware and driver updates to ensure high-performance reliability in demanding, long-term deployments.
Need more? Check out our other products!
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