Product Overview

Introduction

The Image Acquisition Toolbox™ software is a collection of functions that extend the capability of the MATLAB® numeric computing environment. The toolbox supports a wide range of image acquisition operations, including:

  • Acquiring images through many types of image acquisition devices, from professional grade frame grabbers to USB-based webcams

  • Viewing a preview of the live video stream

  • Triggering acquisitions (includes external hardware triggers)

  • Configuring callback functions that execute when certain events occur

  • Bringing the image data into the MATLAB workspace

Many of the toolbox functions are MATLAB files. You can view the MATLAB code for these functions using this statement:

type function_name

You can extend Image Acquisition Toolbox capabilities by writing your own MATLAB files, or by using the toolbox in combination with other toolboxes, such as the Image Processing Toolbox™ software and the Data Acquisition Toolbox™ software.

The Image Acquisition Toolbox software also includes a Simulink® block, called From Video Device, that you can use to bring live video data into a model.

Installation and Configuration Notes

To determine if the Image Acquisition Toolbox software is installed on your system, type this command at the MATLAB prompt:

ver

When you enter this command, MATLAB displays information about the version of MATLAB you are running, including a list of all toolboxes installed on your system and their version numbers.

For information about installing the toolbox, see the MATLAB Installation Guide.

For the most up-to-date information about system requirements, see the system requirements page, available in the products area of the MathWorks website.

Note

With previous versions of the Image Acquisition Toolbox, the files for all of the adaptors were included in your installation. Starting with version R2014a, each adaptor is available separately through support packages. In order to use the Image Acquisition Toolbox, you must install the adaptor that your camera uses. See Image Acquisition Support Packages for Hardware Adaptors for information about installing the adaptors using MATLAB Add-Ons.

The Image Processing Toolbox Software Required to Use the Image Acquisition Toolbox Software

The Image Acquisition Toolbox now requires you to have a license for the Image Processing Toolbox product starting in R2008b.

If you already have the Image Processing Toolbox product, you do not need to do anything.

If you do not have the Image Processing Toolbox product, the Image Acquisition Toolbox software R2008a and earlier will continue to work. If you want to use R2008b or future releases, and you have a current active license for the Image Acquisition Toolbox software, you can download the Image Processing Toolbox product for free. New customers will need to purchase both products to use the Image Acquisition Toolbox product.

If you have any questions, please contact MathWorks® customer service.

Related Products

MathWorks provides several products that are relevant to the kinds of tasks you can perform with the Image Acquisition Toolbox software and that extend the capabilities of MATLAB. For information about these related products, see Image Acquisition Toolbox on the MathWorks website.

Supported Hardware

The list of hardware that the Image Acquisition Toolbox software supports can change in each release, since hardware support is frequently added. The MathWorks website is the best place to check for the most up to date listing. To see the full list of hardware that the toolbox supports, see Hardware Support from Image Acquisition Toolbox.