Point Grey, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of innovative, high-performance digital cameras, announced the addition of a new 6-megapixel global shutter CCD model to its Grasshopper3 family of USB3 Vision™ cameras.

The new Grasshopper3 GS3-U3-60QS6 camera models are based on color and monochrome versions of the Sony ICX694, a 1" EXview HAD CCD II sensor capable of streaming 2736 x 2192 resolution images at 25 FPS.

This sensor uses Sony?s proprietary microlens design, which improves quantum efficiency and increases IR sensitivity.

The ICX694?s quad-tap architecture divides the sensor into four quadrants and enables each quadrant to be read out simultaneously, increasing the output frame rate.

The new quad-tap GS3-U3-60QS6 model offers nearly double the frame rate compared tothe existing GS3-U3-60S6 dual-tap model.

The increased frame rate opens up applications in biometrics, such as eye tracking and iris recognition; factory automation, such as flat panel display inspection; 2D and 3D metrology; and life sciences.

Like all Point Grey USB 3.0 cameras, the Grasshopper3 uses a proprietary USB 3.0 link layer and frame buffer-based architecture for optimal performance and reliability.