What is PTP protocol and which of our cameras support this?
Gaspar van Elmbt
Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is a high-precision time synchronization technology designed to coordinate clocks across a computer network. It is especially valuable in systems where coordinated timing between devices is critical, such as in high-speed imaging, industrial automation, and scientific measurements.
In a local area network (LAN), PTP achieves sub-microsecond time synchronization among connected devices. This level of precision is crucial in environments that rely on low-latency data acquisition, such as automated inspection systems, robotic control, synchronous image capture, and other industrial automation applications.
With the PTP feature, you can synchronize multiple GigE cameras within the same network, allowing them to capture data at precisely the same moment. The precision of this synchronization depends on your network hardware for the best results, use PTP-enabled network switches, high-quality cables.
By enabling PTP on a machine vision camera, you can take advantage of key features such as:
- Periodic Signal for consistent timing
- Scheduled Action Commands to trigger events at precise moments
- Synchronous Free Run for seamless multi-camera operation
Whether you're working on industrial automation or other high-precision applications, PTP ensures that all networked cameras operate in perfect sync, improving the accuracy and reliability of your system.
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How Precision Time Protocol (PTP) Works?
With Precision Time Protocol (PTP), defined under the IEEE 1588 standard, multiple devices such as industrial cameras automatically synchronize with the most accurate and stable clock in the network, known as the master clock or best master clock. This master can be either a dedicated timing device or a selected camera or server that meets the protocol’s criteria for clock quality.
PTP allows devices within a network to:
- Continuously exchange time-stamped messages, measuring the delay in packet transmission and calculating the offset from the master clock.
- Synchronize with the master clock, meaning they set their internal clocks as precisely as possible to match the master clock’s time.
- Syntonize with the master clock, ensuring their clock frequency aligns with the master clock’s frequency. This keeps the length of a second consistent across all synchronized devices.
By using PTP, networked devices can maintain highly accurate timing, which is crucial for applications requiring precise time synchronization and low-latency data acquisition.
Benefits of Enabling PTP on Your Industrial Cameras
Precision Time Protocol (PTP) delivers a wide range of advantages for industries where exact timing is essential. By enabling highly accurate synchronization across networked devices, PTP improves overall system performance and operational reliability.
Achieves extremely fine-grained synchronization, often down to the nanosecond level, making it ideal for time-critical applications such as high-speedm imaging and industrial automation.
Which of VA Imaging Cameras have this capability?
The VA Imaging cameras below support IEEE 1588-2008, the second version of the Precision Time Protocol standard. This version includes improved clock selection, better fault tolerance, and enhanced synchronization methods compared to earlier implementations. These cameras are specifically engineered for environments where accurate timing and deterministic behavior are required. Therefore, we highly advise our customers to take those cameras for projects with high priority on time synchronization.
Selected VA Imaging Cameras
Conclusion
In conclusion, adopting Precision Time Protocol (PTP) in your imaging systems offers a range of technical and operational benefits. PTP is a high precision time synchronization technology, designed to coordinate clocks across a computer network, ensuring all connected devices operate with nanosecond level accuracy. It enhances data quality, reduces latency, and provides the synchronization needed for high-performance vision applications. With PTP-enabled cameras from VA Imaging, users gain the ability to integrate precise timing into their workflows without the need for external hardware triggers or complex wiring. Whether you are building a distributed vision system for inspection, measurement, or analytics, these cameras offer the flexibility and precision to meet demanding requirements both today and in the future.
