Launched in 2000 by the Automated Imaging Association, the Camera Link™ digital interface standard has stood the test of time, evolving with a changing machine vision marketplace and becoming a universal means of creating applications by seamlessly connecting PC-based vision acquisition software, cameras, cables and frame grabbers. Despite the introduction of newer protocols, such as CoaXPress, USB3 Vision and GigE Vision, Camera Link remains popular today due to its simplicity and high data throughput rate. It continues to provide a solid solution with many camera and frame grabber options on the market.
Camera Link (CL) was originally designed by National Semiconductor as a basic, inexpensive means to satisfy the needs of the PC mass market, but it was quickly adopted as a workhorse in real-time industrial vision and imaging applications. The AIA has released several upgrades over the past two decades, including Camera Link 1.1 in 2004, Camera Link 1.2 in 2007 with Power over Camera Link (PoCL), Camera Link 2.0 in 2011.