Prophesee Devices

• Fixed EVK3 GenX320 plugin code that was not setting ROI properly
• Reviewed EVK3 GenX320 MP plugin initialization sequence and adjusted biases default values

SDK Modules

• Enabled OpenEB (or the full SDK for SDK Pro customers) to be used as a submodule making it easier to integrate from source as a dependency in CMake and hence link with it statically
• Added new command line option --input-camera-config to multiple C++ samples (e.g. Generic Tracking, Sparse Optical Flow etc.) allowing to restore settings to be used with a live camera from a JSON file
• Harmonize command line options in samples for specifying input event file from --input-raw-file and --input-file into --input-event-file
• Updated Standalone encoders & decoder samples to latest RAW file standards
• Fixed metavision_viewer ROI command line option that was failing for EVK3 GenX320
• Fixed metavision_file_to_hdf5 that was raising an error on Ubuntu when the output path contained only a file name without a folder name
• Fixed metavision_file_to_hdf5 that contained an assert that would fail when the sample was compiled in debug mode on Windows
• Fixed metavision_psm that was not working when using a live camera

Integration with third-party tools

• New release of the Prophesee MVTec HALCON Acquisition Interface that fixes some issues on Windows and provides a Metavision HALCON Extension Package.

Installation

• Added a Dockerfile to ease the installation of OpenEB on Linux

Documentation

• Added Programming guide about camera settings tuning including a section on how to save/load camera settings to/from files
• Removed the Jupyter Notebook version of our Python Tutorials to ease future enhancements and maintenance of those guides

• Prophesee Devices

  • Fixed start sequence of EVK3 GenX320 MP adding missing frame blanking configuration that could lead to loss of data during transmission.
  • Fixed metavision_riscv_logger sample that was not working properly with EVK3 GenX320 MP

• Documentation

  • Added “Train and Test Event-based Yolo Detection Model” tutorial that shows how to leverage the popular frame-based neural networks for event-based vision with minimum modifications
  • Added default biases values for GenX320 MP sensor in the Biases page
  • Added link to KC article about boosting Sync Out signal in the Synchronization page

• Prophesee Devices

  • Added support of EVK3 GenX320 MP based on the Mass Production (MP) model of the new GenX320 sensor

  • Added sample metavision_riscv_logger that shows how to receive log messages from an application embedded in the GenX320 sensor

• Open SDK Modules (OpenEB)

  • In I_ROI class:

    • Added get_lines() that returns active ROI/RONI lines
    • Reviewed implementation of set_windows() to leverage native “window mode” of IMX636 and Genx320 sensors

  • Added RollingEventBuffer utility class that can manage overlapping events time slices.

  • In I_EventsStream class, the function RawData *get_latest_raw_data(long &n_rawbytes) is deprecated in favor of DataTransfer::BufferPtr get_latest_raw_data() that uses smart pointers to improve and simplify memory management

  • Enhanced File to HDF5 Converter to enable batch conversion of datasets

  • Added a resize() method in the event buffer structure exposed to python

• Installation

  • Upgraded VCPKG from version 2022.03.10 to 2023.11.20. for Windows installation

• Documentation

  • Added Architecture section describing the design and workflows of HAL, Driver module and the Camera Plugins.

  • Added section listing support of Operating Systems and EVKs in previous versions of the SDK

  • Added Camera Plugin Upgrade Guide page listing all the API changes to take into account for the maintenance of the camera plugins.

  • In Biases page, added API usage examples showing how to disable biases ranges check

  • Clarified difference between HDF5 event files and HDF5 files generated by pre-processing in ML module

  • In Active Pixel Detection sample page, added that this tool can also be used to detect active pixels for other sensors than GenX320 (Gen3.1, Gen4.1 and IMX636)

  • Added new entry in the FAQ about error raised when trying to read files with non-ANSI characters in the path

• Prophesee Devices

  • Added support of EVK3 GenX320 based on the new GenX320 sensor
  • Added support of EVK3D Demo Kit with a dedicated EVK3D viewer sample
  • Fixed plugin implementation of the functions setting ROI in I_ROI that were automatically calling Metavision::I_ROI::enable() with True value whereas the API requires to call it manually.

• Open SDK Modules (OpenEB)

  • Added I_RoiPixelMask class to handle ROI (Region Of Interest) pixel mask on GenX320

  • Added new functions in I_ROI:

    • Metavision::I_ROI::is_enabled()
    • Metavision::I_ROI::get_mode()
    • Metavision::I_ROI::get_windows()

  • Renamed I_EventRateNoiseFilterModule class into I_EventRateActivityFilterModule for clarity (with deprecated alias for former name) and added new functions to handle new features of this module on GenX320

  • Fixed bug in C++ File Cutter tool that caused output RAW file to have unexpected content in the header that would lead to further issues when file was then converted to HDF5

• Packaging

  • Reviewed code samples organization and delivery:
    • C++ samples are now delivered in cpp_samples folders instead of samples (see Path of the Samples pages)
    • More samples are delivered in pre-compiled binaries to allow users to test them without having to go through the compilation step

• Added Event Frame Generation C++ sample showing how to generate and display histo/diff event frames using EventFrameDiffGenerationAlgorithm and EventFrameHistoGenerationAlgorithm algorithms.
• Added Time Surface Python sample showing how to compute the Time Surface of the CD events and to display it using our SDK UI module
• Fixed bug in C++ Sparse Optical Flow and Dense Optical Flow preventing to use them with VGA sensors
• In metavision_filtering samples C++ and Python, we now use a larger ROI that is more visible when using HD sensors
• Added new options in metavision_viewer sample to save/load camera state (Serialization): --output-camera-config and --input-camera-config

• Fixed and refactored some HAL Python API functions
  • Add missing functions in Metavision::DeviceDiscovery,Metavision::I_AntiFlickerModule,Metavision::I_CameraSynchronization,Metavision::I_ErcModule,Metavision::I_HW_Identification,Metavision::I_LL_Biases,Metavision::I_PluginSoftwareInfo
  • Refactored functions to set the filter type Metavision::I_EventTrailFilterModule
• Added more options when creating an OpenGL texture in UI module
• Added missing STL includes in HAL and Base C++ headers

• Added Time Surface C++ sample showing how to compute the Time Surface of the CD events and to display it using our SDK UI module
• Deprecated SimpleDisplayer class in favor of SDK UI Metavision::Window and Metavision::MTWindow
• Renamed Metavision::DeviceConfig::get_evt_format_key to Metavision::DeviceConfig::get_format_key
• Renamed Metavision::DeviceConfig::set_evt_format to Metavision::DeviceConfig::set_format
• Renamed Metavision::DeviceConfig::evt_format to Metavision::DeviceConfig::format
• Removed OpenCV from dependency list of C++ SDK Get Started sample

• Deprecated Python binding get_i_eventrailfilter_module and added get_i_event_trail_filter_module to replace it
• Deprecated Channel Python binding that was bound in metavision_hal and added Channel binding in I_TriggerIn to replace it
• Fixed Metavision::DeviceConfig::get_evt_format_key and Metavision::DeviceConfig::set_evt_format
• Fixed compilation issue on Ubuntu when using Cuda 11.7
• Fixed GUI interactions in Vibration Estimation sample
• Removed OpenCV from dependency list of Getting Started Guide for SDK in C++

Here is a comprehensive list of the changes to the HAL API introduced in this release ordered by class:

• DeviceDiscovery
  • Added DeviceDiscovery::list_device_config_options function to get a list of (key,option) representing configuration options that can be set on a DeviceConfig to customize the way a device can be opened
• I_AntiFlickerModule
  • Changed enable()/disable() into bool enable(bool)
  • Removed set_frequency function from HAL I_AntiFlickerModule (function set_frequency_band should be used now)
  • Removed set_frequency_band boolean parameter stop and added set_filtering_mode to select AFK filter
  • Added some functions to get/set advanced AFK configuration (threshold, duty cycle etc.)
• I_CameraSynchronization
  • Added class allowing to control the camera mode (standalone, master or slave)
• I_Decoder
  • Decoding is now handled in I_EventsStreamDecoder and I_EventFrameDecoder
• I_DeviceControl
  • This class was removed
  • Functions start and stop are now handled via cpp:class:I_EventsStream Metavision::I_EventsStream class. An example of new API usage can be found in metavision_hal_showcase sample
  • Functions set_mode_standalone, set_mode_master, and set_mode_slave were moved to I_CameraSynchronization class. An example of new API usage can be found in metavision_hal_sync
  • Function reset was removed
• I_DigitalCrop
  • Added class to leverage digital cropping offered by last generation of sensors
• I_DigitalEventMask
  • Added class to enable/disable pixels individually
• I_ErcModule
  • Renamed I_Erc class into I_ErcModule
  • Changed void enable(bool) into bool enable(bool)
  • Added functions to retrieve some ERC settings (e.g. get_min_supported_cd_event_rate, get_max_supported_cd_event_rate)
• I_EventTrailFilterModule
  • Renamed I_NoiseFilterModule class into I_EventTrailFilterModule
  • Changed void enable(Type type, uint32_t threshold)`/disable() into bool enable(bool state)
  • Added set_threshold and set_type functions to configure the filter
  • Added functions to retrieve some filter settings (get_min_supported_threshold, get_max_supported_threshold)
• I_EventsStream
  • Replaced Future::I_EventsStream class with I_EventsStream, making the seek feature part of the default Metavision:: namespace
  • Changed methods seek and get_seek_range to non-virtual methods
• I_HW_Identification
  • Removed get_system_version
  • Removed as_string from HAL in favor of name_ field
  • Renamed get_available_raw_formats to get_available_data_encoding_formats
  • Added get_current_data_encoding_format function
  • Added field name_ to SensorInfo
• I_Monitoring
  • Added get_pixel_dead_time to retrieve pixel dead time (aka. “refractory period”)
• I_ROI
  • Removed I_ROI::set_ROIs which was creating multiple ROI windows using row/columns mechanism hence creating “shadow symmetric” windows. The new function I_ROI::set_windows allows to create proper ROI Windows but multiple windows are only available in some sensors. The old set_ROIs behaviour with “shadow symmetric” windows can now be achieved using I_ROI::set_lines.
  • Removed I_ROI::set_ROIs_from_bitword, use the I_ROI::set_lines instead
  • Removed I_ROI::set_ROIs_from_file
  • Renamed I_ROI::set_ROI to I_ROI::set_window
  • Added I_ROI::get_max_supported_windows_count function that returns the maximum number of independent windows supported by the device
  • Added I_ROI::set_windows function to set multiple independent windows: an exception will be thrown if the number of windows passed is higher than what is returned by I_ROI::get_max_supported_windows_count
  • Added I_ROI::set_mode function to switch between the ROI and RONI mode when supported
• I_TriggerIn
  • Added I_TriggerIn::get_available_channels function to get the list of channels that are available and can be enabled/disabled
  • Numerical values for the channel argument of I_TriggerIn functions replaced by a strongly typed enumerations that abstracts the actual channel value. I_TriggerIn::Channel::Main, I_TriggerIn::Channel::Aux and I_TriggerIn::Channel::Loopback should now be used instead of the actual numeric value specific to the underlying system.
• I_TriggerOut
  • Added I_TriggerOut::get_period and I_TriggerOut::get_duty_cycle functions

Other changes in OpenEB API:

• Base module
  • Added LogOptions class to be used with setLogOptions as a replacement for setLogLevel and setLogStream
  • Added LogOptions::setLevelPrefixPadding function to enable fixed length level block logging
• HAL
  • Renamed metavision_hal_viewer sample into metavision_hal_showcase to convey the info that this sample is meant to be used as an example of various HAL facilities rather than as a viewer.
• Prophesee Devices
  • Prophesee EVK1 devices plugins have been discontinued
  • Changed set method I_ll_biases implementation to raise exception when attempting to set an invalid bias
  • Provide a shared library psee_hw_layer to access underlying implementations of facilities
• Core module
  • Added CoolWarm color palette to enable clearer distinction between negative and positive events
  • Added TimeDecayFrameGenerationAlgorithm class to generate on demand colored visualization of events with exponential decay
• Driver module
  • In AntiFlickerModule class, removed set_frequency (function set_frequency_band should be used now)
  • In Roi class, renamed Roi::Rectangle to Roi::Window
  • In Roi class, the function Roi::set(const std::vector<Window>& windows) will now try to set multiple independent windows and may throw an exception if the operation fails, as opposed to setting the union of rows and lines covered by the multiple windows as was done in previous releases
  • Renamed NoiseFilteringModule class into EventTrailFilterModule
  • Added Camera::from_serial overload that enables passing device config options
  • Renamed Camera::CameraConfiguration::event_format to Camera::CameraConfiguration::data_encoding_format
  • Added new HDF5 event data format with a lossless compression codec for event-based data called ECF (Event Compression Format)
• Requirements and support
  • Updated supported C++ Standard to C++17
  • Dropped Ubuntu 18.04 support
  • Updated Ubuntu 20.04 python support (now Python 3.8 and Python 3.9 are supported)
  • Added Ubuntu 22.04 support (with Python 3.9 and Python 3.10)
  • Updated Windows python support (now Python 3.8 and Python 3.9 are supported)
  • Updated Windows and Ubuntu 3rd parties minimum required versions (see Installation Guides)

OpenEB

• Added code sample showing how to record a RAW file using the Python API
• Split Tracking samples documentation into Generic Tracking and Spatter Tracking
• Reviewed RawReader Python class to lower its memory consumption
• Fixed issue in pipeline FrameDisplayStage preventing it to work properly when instantiated several times in a row
• Minor enhancements in Getting Started Guide for SDK in Python for better clarity

Documentation

• Enhanced Installation Guides: upgrade from previous version, dependencies installation, camera plugins configuration etc.