Following on after CircuitCo’s 3.1 megapixel cape for the BeagleBone Black single board computer, RadiumBoards have announced a $50 HD Camera Cape with a 1.3-megapixel Aptina sensor which provides 720p, 30fps video capture and has both Linux and Android support. The cape plugs onto the BeagleBone Black using the standard 46-pin DIL header connectors, along with an optional 6-pin connector. The camera sensor attaches to a small daughter board via a 24-way connector and this board connects to the cape via a 30-way DIL socket header.

 

RadiumBoards don’t specify the camera’s megapixels, but it uses a 1.3 megapixel, 1/6-inch Aptina MT9M114 HD sensor. Like the BeagleBone 3.1MP Camera Cape, it connects via the Aptina sensor’s CAM interface and the parallel 16-bit GPMC bus of the Beaglebone’s 1GHz, Texas Instruments AM3359 processor. This connection route results in lower overall power consumption compared to a USB connected camera and frees up the single USB port.
 

The HD Camera Cape has good low-light performance and low power consumption. It features progressive scan with “Electronic Rolling Shutter” capability and the 3.17 x 2.65-inch cape runs on 3.3V or 5V power from the expansion connectors. Two LEDs indicate status of the on-board generated 1.8 V and 2.8 V supply for the bridge connectivity chip.