System for generating camera triggers

1. A system for generating a camera trigger that causes a camera to capture image data, comprising:

a memory for storing a plurality of trigger values at a time, each trigger value corresponding to a position of a moving stage at which an image is to be captured, the plurality of trigger values thereby identifying a plurality of different positions at which a plurality of images are to be captured;

a controller for receiving position information indicative of a current position of the moving stage, generating a current position value based on the position information, comparing the current position value to at least one of the trigger values, and generating a camera trigger if the current position value matches one of the trigger values, wherein the generated camera trigger is configured to cause the camera to capture image data; and

wherein the memory and the controller are separate and distinct from a motion controller that controls motion of the moving stage, and from a computer system that processes images captured by the camera, and wherein the stored plurality of trigger values is updated by adding multiple trigger values to the stored plurality of trigger values during automated inspection of a moving object positioned on the moving stage.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes an encoder counter for receiving encoder signals indicative of the current position of the moving stage, and wherein the encoder counter is configured to generate the current position value based on the received encoder signals.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes a comparator for comparing the current position value to at least one of the trigger values.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the camera trigger is a frame trigger for causing the camera to capture a two-dimensional frame of image data.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes a modulo-N counter, and wherein the controller is configured to generate line triggers for causing the camera to capture lines of image data based on an output of the modulo-N counter, where N is an integer greater than zero.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes a command register for receiving commands from a host device, and a status register for providing status information to the host device.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory is a static random access memory (SRAM).

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the SRAM is at least about 32-bits wide and at least about one megabyte deep.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory and the controller are implemented on a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) card that is configured to be inserted into a host device.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory and the controller are implemented as a standalone device that is separate from a host device, and wherein the standalone device is configured to communicate with the host device via a network communication protocol.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of trigger values include at least 100,000 different trigger values.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of trigger values include at least one million different trigger values.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of trigger values are continuously updated.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of trigger values are continuously updated by adding new trigger values in a first-in first-out (FIFO) manner.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of trigger values are updated in groups of multiple trigger values at a time.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is operating system independent.

18. A method of generating a camera trigger that causes a camera to capture image data, comprising:

storing a plurality of trigger values at a time in a memory, each trigger value corresponding to a position of a moving stage at which an image is to be captured, the plurality of trigger values thereby identifying a plurality of different positions at which a plurality of images are to be captured;

receiving position information indicative of a current position of the moving stage;

generating a current position value based on the position information;

comparing the current position value to at least one of the trigger values;

generating a camera trigger if the current position value matches one of the trigger values, wherein the generated camera trigger is configured to cause the camera to capture image data; and

updating the plurality of stored trigger values by adding multiple trigger values at a time to the memory during automated inspection of a moving object positioned on the moving stage.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the steps of receiving position information, generating a current position value, comparing the current position value, and generating a camera trigger, are performed by a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the generated camera trigger is a frame trigger for causing the camera to capture a two-dimensional frame of image data.

21. The method of claim 18 , and further comprising:

generating line triggers for causing the camera to capture lines of image data based on an output of a modulo-N counter, where N is an integer greater than zero.