VA-3DC-P100E 3D Camera, IP67, Ethernet, Intel RealSense D555 replacement, GenICam compliant
VA-3DC-P100E Polarization Industrial Structured Light 3D Camera The VA-3DC-P100E is an IP67 Ethernet based Structured Light 3D Camera from VA-3DC Series. It is built on Polarizatio n Structured Light technology which combines structured light projection with polarized imaging to achieve accurate 3D measurements in environments where conventional active depth sensors often struggle. The camera incorporates High-Contrast Grating (HCG) VCSEL illumination and metasurface based projection. This enables deterministic depth acquisition even in the presence of highly reflective or low-texture surfaces such as glass, polished metals, mirrors, and glossy floors. This optical architecture significantly reduces measurement noise, minimizes depth loss, and improves reconstruction quality in challenging industrial environments. The VA-3DC-P100E camera is intended for harsh environments housed in a larger, rugged enclosure rated IP67 and performs all depth reconstruction internally. By executing image processing and depth computation directly within the camera, it delivers high quality depth maps without requiring external GPU or host-side processing. VA-3DC-P100E Software, SDK and GenTL Integration For smooth integration and development, we provide a dedicated Berxel Software Development Kit (SDK) along with BerxelTools, an image acquisition and configuration utility. The SDK is available for both Windows and Linux platforms. In addition, an SDK package with the GenTL interface for VA-3DC cameras is also available for seamless integration with GenICam-compliant software platforms such as Halcon, Zebra Aurora Vision Studio (ZAVS), etc. Visit our Download Page to access the SDK. How Does a Structured Light 3D Camera Work? Structured Light (SL) is an active optical triangulation technique that reconstructs three-dimensional surface geometry by projecting a known light pattern onto a scene. As the projected pattern interacts with the object's surface, it becomes geometrically distorted according to the object's shape. These distortions are captured by one or more image sensors and analyzed using triangulation algorithms to compute a depth map or 3D point cloud. A structured light system typically consists of three primary components: Projector: Projects a predefined light pattern, such as a dot, stripe, or grid, onto the target scene. Camera Module: Captures the reflected structured light pattern from different viewpoints. Depth Reconstruction Software: Processes the captured images to generate accurate depth information and high-density point clouds. Structured light introduces its own optical texture into the scene, enabling reliable depth reconstruction even on low-texture or uniformly colored surfaces. Polarization Technology for Reflective Surface 3D Imaging The VA-3DC-P100E extends conventional structured light technology by incorporating Polarization Structured Light, an optical architecture specifically designed to improve depth sensing in environments containing reflective, transparent, or highly polished materials. - The camera's transmitting (Tx) module projects a structured infrared dot pattern at a wavelength of 940 nm using HCG-VCSEL (High-Contrast Grating Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) array. - The receiving module (Rx) also consists of polarization selective CMOS sensor enabling the camera to selectively receive reflected light based on its polarization state. VCSELs (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) are critical sources for dot projectors used in structured light cameras. Typical VCSEL uses Distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) as its top and bottom mirrors. The DBRs have dozens of planar hetero-epitaxial layers and do not provide or maintain a fixed polarization state. Hence, by introducing HCG (high contrast grating), which is a thin-film subwavelength meta-structure that is effective in providing high reflection with a fixed polarization, VA-3DC-P100E overcomes the limitation of not having a fixed polarization state which is generally observed in DBRs (VCSELs). This polarization sensitive camera can tell apart reflections from shiny surfaces and reflections from ordinary objects. By choosing the appropriate polarizer direction, the sensor can measure the depth of either the reflective surface itself or the objects located behind it. We have demonstrated this capability through our research involving three experiments, showing that the VA-3DC cameras can accurately detect reflective surfaces see through unwanted reflections to capture objects behind them see against reflective noise The use of polarization-based architecture on both transmitter and receiver substantially reduces measurement noise, minimizes depth loss, and improves point cloud in demanding industrial environments. Why choose VA-3DC Structured Light? The VA-3DC cameras deliver high precision measurement, achieving micrometer-level precision and sub-millimeter accuracy in 3D scanning. It can capture complex geometries and intricate surface details, making it suitable for demanding industrial inspection and measurement applications. In addition to its precision, the camera provides high-speed full field scanning. Unlike line-by-line scanning methods, it captures the entire surface area in a single scan, significantly reducing acquisition time. Typical structured light cameras often rely on software-based compensation techniques, including deep learning models trained to estimate missing or unstable depth measurements on reflective objects. While these approaches can improve reconstruction quality, their performance depends on the quality of the training data and may introduce uncertainty. The VA-3DC structured light cameras address these challenges at the hardware level. By integrating polarization control into both the transmitting and receiving optical paths, the camera captures higher-quality depth information directly during image acquisition. This reduces dependence on post-processing and AI based correction, delivering a compact, deterministic, and robust one-step 3D solution suitable in multiple applications. What is included in the package? VA-3DC-P100E 3D Camera M12 8-Pin Cable (1 meter) for Power and Synchronization M12 4-Pin Cable (1 meter) for Ethernet VA-3DC Structured Light vs Intel Real-Sense The selection of a 3D sensing platform is often a trade-off between deployment ease and environmental robustness. While Intel RealSense has established a significant footprint in the consumer and prosumer markets, the VA-3DC series is developed to specifically address the fundamental physical limitations of conventional depth sensing, i.e multipath interference, specular reflections, and precision in industrial environments. The primary technical difference lies in the underlying sensing physics. - Most Intel RealSense modules (such as the D400 series) utilize active infrared stereo vision. Some stereo vision cameras, including the Intel RealSense D435 and D455, may experience degraded depth quality when imaging reflective, glossy, or partially transparent materials. These surfaces introduce multipath reflections and stereo matching ambiguities, resulting in missing depth data and increased noise. - In contrast, the VA-3DC series utilizes Polarization Structured Light (PSL). The hardware level integration of HCG-VCSEL results in 1000× polarization extinction ratio, which is critical for the physical filtering of noise before the signal ever reaches the CMOS sensor. The VA-3DC-P100E is housed in a compact 90 × 60 × 37 mm industrial enclosure with an IP67 protection rating, providing enhanced resistance to dust and water ingress for deployment in harsh industrial environments. In comparison, the Intel® RealSense™ D555 features a larger 167 × 42 × 48 mm enclosure with an IP65 protection rating. Both cameras utilize Ethernet connectivity for integration. In addition to its compact and rugged design, the VA-3DC-P100E incorporates Polarization Structured Light (PSL) technology, enabling superior performance on reflective and low-texture surfaces, reduced depth noise, improved depth accuracy, and deterministic hardware-based depth reconstruction. These capabilities make the VA-3DC-P100E a compelling industrial alternative for applications requiring high-precision 3D imaging Why a polarized IP67 3D camera and not an Intel RealSense? For non polarized IP67 3D cameras, depth sensing accuracy often suffers when shiny or glossy surfaces cause multipath interference, where light bounces multiple times before reaching the sensor. This typically occurs with an Intel RealSense 3D camera. The VA-3DC-P100E solves this with single-polarization VCSEL technology: Emitted light is strictly polarized in one orientation. Direct reflections from matte surfaces maintain this orientation and are detected as valid signals. Secondary reflections from glass, metal, or glossy plastic typically change polarization. The sensor rejects this misaligned light, filtering out false depth data. Multipath reflection example Wall corners are a challenging case for traditional 3D cameras because multi-path reflections can distort depth readings. In this indoor corner test, with the camera mounted at a 45° downward angle, 0.24 m high and 0.7 m from the target, the stereo vision camera incorrectly perceives the wall as extending below the floor, while the iToF camera distorts the floor into a curved surface. VA-3DC-P100E 3D camera, by contrast, captures the corner with a complete and accurate shape, demonstrating cleaner depth maps and more reliable performance in reflective industrial environments. This means that our VA-3DC-P100E 3D camera creates cleaner depth maps, sharper object edges, and reliable detection in industrial environments compared to an Intel RealSense 3D camera. Why Choose VA-3DC-P100E Over Intel RealSense D555 3D camera? IP67: Ideal for outdoor situations Ethernet: Longer cable lengths up to 100meters, making it ideal for robotic applications Superior Reflection Handling: RealSense models like the D555 often struggle with shiny or transparent materials. The VA-3DC-P100E’s polarization filtering minimizes multipath noise, delivering consistent and reliable depth maps. Greater Depth Accuracy: ±1 mm at 60 cm — significantly tighter than the typical depth noise of RealSense 3D cameras in the same range. Optimized for Indoor & Outdoor: VA-3DC-P100E maintains stable performance even in bright sunlight or reflective indoor spaces, where RealSense 3D cameras often degrade. In both scenes, the VA-3DC-P100E 3D polarized structured light camera delivers a cleaner, more complete depth map than a conventional stereo vision 3D camera. While strong floor and wall reflections create missing data and multipath artifacts in the stereo depth maps, the VA-3DC-P100E 3D maintains stable, reliable depth performance with far fewer black spots and significantly reduced reflection-induced errors. Note: In the lower scene, the AGV is absent from the VA-3DC-P100R depth map because it moved during capture at the customer site. Applications for 3D Structured Light Cameras: The VA-3DC-P100E is specifically designed for applications involving harsh industrial and outdoor environments. Its IP67-rated enclosure makes it well suited for deployment in demanding conditions, including: Automotive manufacturing and robotic welding cells Food and beverage production lines with washdown requirements Port, marine, and outdoor logistics operations In addition to these rugged industrial applications, the VA-3DC-P100E is suitable for a wide range of high-precision 3D vision applications, including Robotics: Robot guidance and surface tracking in Service, Logistics and Industrial automation sectors Humanoid robotics: Human-centric navigation and interaction, Object recognition, Scene understanding and spatial awareness Bin Picking and Automation: Bin-picking for part placement, Package handling and Automated assembly 3D Measurement and Metrology: Object scanning and digitization, Thickness, height, and volume measurement, Dimensioning and space management, Measurement of shapes, holes, angles, and curved surfaces Inspection and Quality Control: Surface defect detection, Assembly inspection and verification, Quality control against 3D CAD models Autonomous Navigation: Drones for navigation and mapping, AGVs (autonomous guided vehicles) for navigation, localization, and mapping Augmented and Virtual Reality: Spatial mapping and scene reconstruction Human - Machine Interaction: Gesture recognition and gesture control, Touchless human- machine interfaces
