Stereolabs launches ZED

By The Robot Report Staff | December 7, 2022

Stereolabs today launched the ZED-X stereo camera line, which is designed for robots operating in indoor and outdoor environments. With navigation and obstacle detection capabilities, Stereolabs said the ZED-X is designed for robots in agriculture, construction, logistics and last-mile delivery.

Stereolabs said the ZED-X features an IP66-rated aluminum enclosure, GMSL2 connection and native multi-camera synchronization. Available in two form factors, the ZED-X and the ZED-X Mini, the stereo cameras provide 3D perception at a range of .2 to 20 meters for navigation and up-close at a range of .08 to 12.5 meters for object detection during core process automation.

It features a 1920×1200 global shutter RGB sensor, rendering capabilities up to 120 fps, and a 3.0 µm pixel size for both low-light and bright conditions. Stereolabs said the built-in IMU combines a 16-bit digital triaxial accelerometer and a 16-bit digital triaxial gyroscope for accurate detection of motion and measurement of orientation.

Stereolabs said the ZED-X cameras use a secure GMSL2 connection to support high-speed video data transfer. In a multigigabit point-to-point connection, GMSL2 transfers raw video data from the ZED-X to an AI gateway at a speed of up to 6 GB per second. For large robots, the company said additional cameras can be placed farther from the gateway, at 15 m distance, while still delivering lower latency with less power and a higher frame rate than USB 3.0, without EMI.

The ZED-X camera has been optimized for use with NVIDIA's Jetson AGX Orin supercomputer. Each Jetson module can control four ZED-X cameras, reducing cost, weight and onboard space requirements.

In conjunction with the release of the ZED-X, Stereolabs is also launching a multi-camera management platform, ZED Hub, and a new 4.0 version of the ZED SDK. This combined solution enables a 360-degree surround view around the robot, which is necessary for safe navigation. Users can now fuse data from multiple cameras automatically.

"Today's robots need to navigate in harsh environments and respond quickly as they operate. Building an affordable, industrial-grade surround 3D perception solution is critical to production-scale deployment of next-generation robotics and smart analytics," said Cecile Schmollgruber, CEO of Stereolabs. "Our camera-based solution dramatically simplifies 360-degree spatial perception, and is backed by an ecosystem of tools to integrate and control them at a price point that makes it easy to add 3D vision to any machine."

The ZED-X is available now for preorder at $599, and the ZED-X Mini at $549 per camera. The ZED SDK 4.0 and ZED Hub management software are available immediately and are compatible with the entire ZED range of cameras.