Cable for GigE Vision™ - Can Traditional Category Cable Do It All?

The GigE Vision standard released in June 2006 by the Automated Imaging Association (AIA) provides a unique vision system that optimizes networking performance while providing a more cost-effective solution than USB 2.0, 1394b and Camera Link. With full-resolution camera frame rates up to 200 frames per second (fps), GigE Vision not only breaks the bandwidth barrier of FireWire and approaches the performance of Camera Link, it does so at a lower cost than either low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) or Camera Link. The standard achieves this by calling for field-installable cable and connectors that are available virtually everywhere. Depending on the application and installation length, GigE Vision will work with Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat6a cable. That's the positive side of the GigE Vision standard. However, these cables, which were primarily produced with solid copper wire using plenum or riser-type construction, were not designed to be used in a factory or other environments with an in-motion apparatus. For that reason, the intrinsically stiff, designed-for-static applications category cables will not meet the requirements when GigE Vision is applied in food processing, medical vision and control industry installations.