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Time-of-Flight Camera Synchronization

Time-of-Flight Camera Synchronization

  • Time-of-Flight
  • FPGA Design
  • Time Synchronization
Tools: Altera FPGA, Xilinx Zynq
Year: 2013

Overview

Accurate depth reconstruction across multiple Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras requires deterministic triggering and exceptionally low timing skew between distributed imaging nodes. This project focused on the development of a high-precision synchronization architecture capable of coordinating large camera arrays while maintaining an extremely tight timing error budget.

The concept was initially validated on an Altera FPGA platform before being migrated to a Xilinx Zynq-based architecture for long-term system integration. The resulting solution provided a scalable foundation for synchronizing 16 or more ToF cameras, enabling highly consistent depth measurements and precise spatial reconstruction across the entire camera network.

Key Contributions:

  • Development of a high-precision synchronization architecture for distributed ToF camera systems
  • Prototype implementation on an Altera FPGA platform with subsequent migration to a Xilinx Zynq-based solution
  • Timing distribution and trigger generation designed for deterministic system-wide operation
  • Target synchronization precision in the low-picosecond range, limited primarily by hardware characteristics
  • Sub-nanosecond end-to-end timing error budget
  • Support for 16+ synchronized cameras with a scalable architecture for larger deployments