Pixel Latency Measurements of Event Cameras

Pixel latency of event cameras is an important parameter to take into account in real-time applications. Currently, pixel latency is insufficiently described in event camera specifications as a “typical latency at a certain light level”. This work is motivated by the need to have a well-defined pixel latency measurement since the latency depends on the irradiance of the stimulus, the event camera configuration, and the number of active pixels. The problem lies in defining a hardware setup and a measurement procedure that could be reproduced by event camera vendors to specify pixel latency and then used by event camera consumers for selecting event cameras according to their real-time applications. The challenges of solving the problem involve selecting accessible hardware for all vendors, precisely specifying the hardware configuration and measurement procedure, and defining the pixel latency metrics that are directly related to real-time applications. We describe such a solution and report pixel latency measurements for three event cameras in order to illustrate the reproducibility aspects and the value added to the deployment of event cameras in practice. The interactive visualization of all latency measurements is available from https://usnistgov.github.io/pixel_latency_eventcameras/.