i-CS lens

Concept

A new lens technology to be introduced today-i-CS lens, is a technical concept proposed by Axis and jointly launched with Japanese lens manufacturer Computar. The so-called i-CS lens, i is intelligent, intelligent CS lens.

P-iris lens, the core is to influence the depth of field by controlling the size and position of the lens aperture, and then optimize the video image to achieve the best effect. The i-CS lens lens is completely reversed, and the lens information, such as lens interface type (CS), lens distortion, zoom, focus, and aperture information is provided to the camera. Based on this information, the camera can continuously adjust and optimize the image effect.

Working principle of i-CS lens

Provide lens information to the camera through the I2C interface. The lens information includes:

• Lens model, interface type, manufacturer, etc.;
• Geometric distortion
• Zoom, focus information
• aperture
• temperature
• Lens MTF information, Vignetting (vignetting)
• Lens zoom, focus track

According to the acquired lens information, the camera adjusts and optimizes the image. The core is mainly:

• Electronic image stabilization (EIS). In order to stabilize the image, the camera needs to read certain information from the lens. Cameras with i-CS lenses can read focal length and other information directly from the lens, so manual settings are not required. In this case, fewer settings are required.
• Distortion correction. No lens is perfect, every lens will show some form of aberration or defect. These aberrations include cylindrical distortion, where the image of a square object has outwardly curved sides. The i-CS lens contains information about its own geometric distortion, so the camera can use this information to correct the distortion.

Automatically control the lens as needed.

The i-CS lens is generally equipped with three motors, which can remotely and automatically control the camera’s zoom, focus, and iris. The adjusted lens information will be updated to the camera simultaneously.

Advantage

• Electronic image stabilization (EIS, Electronic image stabilization). About EIS electronic image stabilization technology, please refer to the reference materials for extended reading.
• Distortion correction (BDC, barrel distortion correction).
• Open interface. The communication protocol between the i-CS lens and camera is free and open source, allowing other manufacturers to develop other compatible lenses and cameras.
• Easy to install remote control. Cameras with i-CS lenses can be installed and used quickly and easily. The focus can be adjusted remotely from a computer connected to the network. After setting the zoom, the camera will automatically focus clearly without manual focusing.

Interface definition

The picture below shows the definition of DC drive auto iris lens, video drive auto iris lens, P-iris iris lens, and i-CS iris lens connector.