Vadzo Validates Merlin-291CRS IMX291 HDR USB Camera with Dual Endpoint H.264 Streaming for Kiosks, Digital Signages and Retail AI

Vadzo’s Me li -291CRS is a 2MP So y IMX291 STARVIS HDR USB came a with dual e dpoi t H.264 a d MJPEG st eami g, e abli g simulta eous comp essed a d u comp essed video output ove a si gle USB 2.0 co ectio fo facial ecog itio , etail AI a alytics, a d sma t kiosk deployme ts whe e ba dwidth efficie cy a d i fe e ce-g ade image quality a e co cu e t system equi eme ts

FORT WORTH, TX / ACCESS Newswi e / Ju e 30, 2026 / Vadzo Imagi g today validates the Me li -291CRS, a 2MP So y STARVIS IMX291 USB came a e gi ee ed fo kiosk facial ecog itio , etail AI visio , a d embedded video a alytics applicatio s. Built o the So y IMX291 BSI CMOS se so with dual e dpoi t H.264 a d MJPEG st eami g ove USB 2.0, the Me li -291CRS add esses a pe siste t deployme t challe ge i always-o USB visio systems: delive i g both a ba dwidth-efficie t comp essed st eam fo eco di g o emote t a smissio a d a high-quality st eam fo i fe e ce-g ade local p ocessi g f om a si gle came a module without switchi g p otocols o sac ifici g f ame quality o eithe output.

Key Capabilities of the Me li -291CRS So y IMX291 STARVIS HDR USB Came a

So y IMX291 STARVIS BSI Se so fo Low Light a d Facial Recog itio Imagi g: The So y IMX291 is a Back-side illumi ated CMOS se so f om So y’s STARVIS ge e atio , built a ou d a 1/2.8″ optical fo mat with 2.9 µm pixel pitch a d 2MP (1920 x 1080) esolutio . Back-side illumi atio epositio s the photodiode laye to the light- eceivi g su face of the se so subst ate, outi g metal wi i g below athe tha above the pixel laye . This co figu atio maximizes photo captu e efficie cy pe pixel a ea, which is the p ima y se so -level facto that dete mi es low-light imagi g pe fo ma ce. I facial ecog itio of USB came a deployme ts, the p actical effect is the ability to captu e biomet ically usable face images i lobby, e t a ce, a d kiosk e vi o me ts whe e ambie t illumi atio is u co t olled o o -u ifo m.

The IMX291 STARVIS a chitectu e delive s st o g ea -i f a ed se sitivity alo gside visible-light colo imagi g, maki g it well-suited to facial ecog itio systems that combi e visible-light captu e with NIR-illumi ated live ess detectio passes withi the same imagi g pipeli e. I etail AI came a deployme ts, this low-light capability exte ds eliable people cou ti g a d behavio a alysis i to ea ly mo i g a d late eve i g sto e hou s without equi i g suppleme tal illumi atio ha dwa e. The olli g shutte eadout p ovides full-f ame colo imagi g at 1920 x 1080 esolutio , meeti g the mi imum esolutio that most facial ecog itio i fe e ce pipeli es equi e to p oduce eliable biomet ic embeddi gs f om a face c op at typical kiosk wo ki g dista ces.Key specs: 2MP (1920 x 1080) | So y IMX291 STARVIS BSI 1/2.8″ 2.9 µm pixel | Colo | Rolli g Shutte | Dual E dpoi t H.264 + MJPEG | HDR | USB 2.0 | 1080p / 720p | UVC | Wi dows · Li ux · A d oid

Dual E dpoi t H.264 a d MJPEG St eami g fo Co cu e t I fe e ce a d Reco di g: The defi i g tech ical featu e of the Me li -291CRS is its dual e dpoi t USB a chitectu e. A si gle USB came a module p ese ts two disti ct USB video e dpoi ts to the host system: o e st eami g H.264 comp essed video a d o e st eami g MJPEG. The host applicatio accesses both e dpoi ts simulta eously, e abli g the came a to se ve two pa allel co sume paths f om a si gle se so to captu e without switchi g codec mode o i te upti g eithe st eam.

I a etail AI came a deployme t, the i fe e ce pipeli e eceives MJPEG f ames that p ese ve spatial detail fo people cou ti g a d behavio a alysis at full 1080p esolutio , while the H.264 st eam feeds a eco di g o emote mo ito i g system simulta eously. I a kiosk facial ecog itio came a deployme t, the comp essed H.264 e dpoi t se ves a ce t al video ma ageme t o complia ce eco di g system while the MJPEG e dpoi t p ovides the lowe -comp essio f ame quality that biomet ic ecog itio algo ithms equi e fo accu ate featu e ext actio . Without dual e dpoi t a chitectu e, a USB came a module ope ati g i a si gle codec mode must switch betwee comp essed a d u comp essed output depe di g o the active co sume , mea i g the eco di g a d the i fe e ce pipeli e ca ot u co cu e tly f om the same device.

H.264 comp essio is also the tech ical e able fo 1080p st eami g ove USB 2.0. USB 2.0 p ovides 480 Mbps of aw ba dwidth, which is i sufficie t fo 1920 x 1080 u comp essed YUV output at 30fps. H.264 educes that bit ate sig ifica tly without mea i gful loss of image quality at i fe e ce- eleva t spatial f eque cies, maki g full HD ope atio ove USB 2.0 p actical o embedded hosts whe e USB 3.x po t availability is limited o abse t.

HDR fo Challe gi g Kiosk a d Retail Lighti g E vi o me ts: Facial ecog itio a d etail AI deployme ts e cou te lighti g sce a ios that a si gle-exposu e imagi g pipeli e ca ot ha dle eliably. Kiosk te mi als positio ed ea wi dows o e t a ces face backlighti g co ditio s that c eate high-co t ast f ames whe e a face i the fo eg ou d becomes silhouetted agai st a b ight backg ou d. Retail floo e vi o me ts mix ove head fluo esce t o LED illumi atio with atu al daylight f om sto ef o ts, c eati g ho izo tal illumi atio g adie ts ac oss the sce e. The So y IMX291 se so suppo ts HDR imagi g that exte ds the effective dy amic a ge of each captu ed f ame, p ese vi g usable detail i both shadow egio s a d highlights withi the same captu e.

Fo a kiosk HDR came a deployme t, this mea s facial featu e data is ecove able eve whe the backg ou d behi d the subject is sig ifica tly b ighte tha the face itself. Fo a etail AI deployme t a alyzi g footfall ac oss a sto e floo , HDR p eve ts the loss of t ackable huma silhouettes i the t a sitio zo es betwee b ight a d shadowed a eas. The esult is mo e co siste t i put quality to the dow st eam AI i fe e ce pipeli e ac oss a wide a ge of eal-wo ld lighti g co ditio s tha sta da d si gle-exposu e imagi g p ovides.

UVC Plug-a d-Play I teg atio o USB 2.0: The Me li -291CRS is UVC complia t, egiste i g as a sta da d USB video device o Wi dows, Li ux, a d A d oid without equi i g custom d ive i stallatio . Fo OEM teams i teg ati g a facial ecog itio came a module i to a kiosk o etail te mi al platfo m, UVC complia ce elimi ates d ive developme t f om the i teg atio scope, emoves d ive compatibility isk ac oss OS ve sio s, a d simplifies the softwa e mai te a ce bu de ac oss the deployed fleet. USB 2.0 host availability is b oade tha USB 3.x o compact embedded SBCs, mic oco t olle s, a d e t y-level kiosk ha dwa e, maki g the Me li -291CRS di ectly deployable o a wide a ge of p oductio host platfo ms without boa d edesig o i te face adapte ha dwa e.

“Kiosk a d etail AI deployme ts have a dual-st eam p oblem that most USB came a module p oducts do ot add ess at the ha dwa e level. You eed a comp essed H.264 output fo eco di g o t a smissio to a ce t al system, a d you eed a quality MJPEG output fo the local i fe e ce e gi e at the same time. Switchi g betwee the two i softwa e is a wo ka ou d that i t oduces late cy a d i teg atio complexity. The Me li -291CRS dual e dpoi t a chitectu e esolves this at the USB level a d pai s it with the IMX291 STARVIS se so ‘s low-light pe fo ma ce a d HDR capability that these e vi o me ts actually dema d.”- Alwi Vi ce t, P oduct Ma age , Vadzo Imagi g

VISPA ARC SDK fo Develope I teg atio

The Me li -291CRS is suppo ted by the Vadzo VISPA ARC SDK, p ovidi g p og ammatic co t ol ove st eami g co figu atio , H.264 e codi g pa amete s, MJPEG quality setti gs, egio of i te est, exposu e, a d fi mwa e updates. APIs a e available i C, C++, C#, a d Pytho ac oss Wi dows, Li ux, a d A d oid. The SDK suppo ts i depe de t co figu atio of both USB e dpoi ts, e abli g developme t teams to set comp essio pa amete s, esolutio , a d ROI sepa ately fo the H.264 a d MJPEG outputs f om the same device ha dle. Fo OEM teams buildi g etail AI o kiosk facial ecog itio p oducts, the VISPA ARC SDK educes i teg atio time a d p ovides a co siste t co t ol i te face ac oss the Vadzo USB came a po tfolio.

Ta get Applicatio s

Facial Recog itio a d Access Co t ol Kiosks: Kiosk facial ecog itio systems ope ate at e t y poi ts, visito ma ageme t te mi als, a d self-se vice authe ticatio statio s whe e subjects app oach va yi g dista ces, u de mixed i doo lighti g, a d ofte agai st a backlit backd op. The IMX291 STARVIS se so ‘s BSI a chitectu e captu es biomet ically usable face images at low ambie t illumi atio levels without suppleme tal flash illumi atio , which is a p actical equi eme t at kiosk i stallatio s whe e additio al lighti g ha dwa e is imp actical. The dual e dpoi t a chitectu e allows the kiosk platfo m to u H.264 complia ce eco di g alo gside MJPEG i fe e ce p ocessi g simulta eously, add essi g both ope atio al loggi g equi eme ts a d biomet ic pipeli e equi eme ts f om a si gle came a module. HDR p ese ves facial featu e detail i backlit sce a ios whe e wi dow light o e t y sig age competes with the subject’s face fo se so dy amic a ge.

Retail AI a d People Cou ti g: Retail AI came a deployme ts fo people cou ti g, dwell time a alysis, a d custome flow mappi g eed sustai ed 1080p imagi g ac oss a full sto e ope ati g cycle that spa s low-t affic ea ly hou s, peak midday t affic, a d dimly lit eve i g pe iods. The IMX291 STARVIS se so mai tai s co siste t image quality i low ambie t illumi atio co ditio s that deg ade i fe e ce accu acy o f o t-illumi ated se so a chitectu es. Dual e dpoi t st eami g allows people to cou t a d behavio a alysis softwa e to access MJPEG f ames fo local i fe e ce while a comp essed H.264 st eam simulta eously feeds a cloud a alytics platfo m o ce t al sto e mo ito i g system. Fo OEM teams buildi g embedded visio solutio s fo etail e vi o me ts, the Me li -291CRS se ves as a People cou ti g USB came a that ha dles both i fe e ce a d eco di g equi eme ts without equi i g two sepa ate came a modules.

Sma t Kiosk a d Digital Sig age: Self-se vice kiosks fo ba ki g, etail checkout, ticketi g, a d i fo matio display equi e visio capability fo use i te actio detectio , audie ce a alytics, a d audie ce-adaptive co te t delive y. The Me li -291CRS p ovides USB 2.0 plug-a d-play i teg atio that kiosk ha dwa e desig e s equi e o compact embedded platfo ms, combi ed with HDR imagi g fo the mixed-light kiosk e vi o me ts that si gle-exposu e came a module p oducts ha dle i co siste tly. The dual e dpoi t H.264 st eami g a chitectu e e ables the kiosk to t a smit ma ageme t video to a emote fleet mo ito i g system while the local i te actio detectio pipeli e accesses the MJPEG st eam without i te fe e ce, cove i g both ope atio al a d a alytics equi eme ts f om the same device.

Edge Video A alytics a d Su veilla ce: Edge video a alytics deployme ts i etail, buildi g access, a d public space mo ito i g eed a came a module that delive s quality image data to a o -boa d i fe e ce e gi e while mai tai i g a pa allel eco di g o t a smissio st eam. The H.264 e dpoi t comp esses the 1080p video st eam fo etwo k t a smissio o local sto age at ma ageable bit ates, while the MJPEG e dpoi t feeds the i fe e ce pipeli e with mi imal comp essio loss fo object detectio a d classificatio . The IMX291 low-light pe fo ma ce exte ds eliable detectio i to low-illumi atio pe iods whe e ma y si gle-e dpoi t came a module p oducts educe f ame quality o equi e ha dwa e illumi atio assista ce to mai tai acceptable detectio ates.

OEM Embedded Facial Recog itio P oducts: OEM develope s buildi g embedded facial ecog itio came a p oducts fo access co t ol, atte da ce ma ageme t, a d secu e authe ticatio systems equi e a came a module that i teg ates i to compact ha dwa e platfo ms without custom d ive developme t, delive s co siste t face image quality ac oss va iable ambie t lighti g, a d p ovides both a eco di g output a d a i fe e ce output f om the same device. The Me li -291CRS meets all th ee equi eme ts di ectly. UVC complia ce e ables plug-a d-play i teg atio o Wi dows, Li ux, a d A d oid host platfo ms. The IMX291 STARVIS BSI se so p ovides the low-light se sitivity that i doo access co t ol deployme ts equi e. The dual e dpoi t a chitectu e emoves the eed fo codec switchi g logic i the host applicatio , educi g i teg atio complexity, a d elimi ati g the late cy pe alty associated with softwa e-side st eam ma ageme t.

F eque tly Asked Questio s

Q: What is the So y IMX291 STARVIS se so , a d why is it used i low-light USB came a p oducts?

A: The So y IMX291 is a back-side illumi ated CMOS image se so f om So y’s STARVIS ge e atio , featu i g a 1/2.8″ optical fo mat with 2.9 µm pixel pitch a d 2MP (1920 x 1080) esolutio i a olli g shutte colo a chitectu e. Back-side illumi atio places the photodiode di ectly i the path of i comi g photo s with metal eadout wi i g outed below the pixel laye . This st uctu al a a geme t i c eases the fill facto of each pixel, mea i g a g eate p opo tio of each pixel’s physical a ea is actively collecti g light. Highe fill facto p oduces a st o ge photo -ge e ated sig al elative to se so oise, which is the fu dame tal mecha ism behi d imp oved low-light imagi g pe fo ma ce.

Fo facial ecog itio of USB came a applicatio s, this matte s because kiosk a d access co t ol e vi o me ts ope ate u de va iable a d ofte low ambie t light without dedicated illumi atio ha dwa e at eve y deployme t poi t. The IMX291 STARVIS se so also delive s ea -i f a ed se sitivity, e abli g NIR live ess detectio illumi atio to each the se so without the spect al blocki g that limits NIR pe fo ma ce o se so s desig ed p ima ily fo daylight imagi g. This makes the IMX291 well suited to dual-pass facial ecog itio systems that combi e a visible-light e ollme t captu e with a NIR live ess ve ificatio pass i the same f ame acquisitio cycle. Vadzo Imagi g’s Me li -291CRS is built o the So y IMX291 se so specifically to se ve these deployme t equi eme ts, delive i g a low light facial ecog itio USB came a module that mai tai s biomet ic captu e quality ac oss the full ambie t lighti g a ge of p oductio kiosk a d etail e vi o me ts.

Q: How does dual e dpoi t USB st eami g wo k, a d why does it matte fo AI came a deployme ts?

A: A dual e dpoi t USB came a p ese ts two sepa ate a d i depe de tly add essable USB video e dpoi ts to the host ope ati g system. Each e dpoi t is a disti ct video st eam that the host ope s, co figu es, a d eads i depe de tly of the othe s. I a dual st eam USB came a built a ou d H.264 a d MJPEG e dpoi ts, the H.264 st eam delive s ba dwidth-efficie t comp essed video suitable fo etwo k t a smissio , emote mo ito i g, o local sto age, while the MJPEG st eam delive s highe -fidelity f ames with lowe comp essio loss fo local i fe e ce pipeli es.

The p actical impo ta ce of AI came a deployme ts is that eco di g a d i fe e ce have fu dame tally diffe e t image quality equi eme ts. H.264 at a mode ate bit ate delive s acceptable video fo huma viewi g a d VMS eco di g but applies comp essio a tifacts at spatial f eque cies eleva t to facial biomet ic featu e ext actio . MJPEG at 1080p p ese ves those spatial featu es at a highe quality by usi g i t a-f ame comp essio without i te -f ame p edictio . A came a module without dual e dpoi t suppo t must switch betwee codecs i softwa e, mea i g eco di g a d i fe e ce ca ot ope ate simulta eously f om the same captu e. I kiosk facial ecog itio a d etail AI deployme ts, u i g both co cu e tly is ofte a system a chitectu e equi eme t that a si gle-e dpoi t came a module ca ot satisfy without addi g complexity at the host applicatio laye . The dual st eam USB came a app oach esolves this at the ha dwa e level, maki g both st eams available immediately without SDK-level codec ma ageme t f om the applicatio .

Q: What is the best low-light USB came a fo kiosk facial ecog itio a d etail AI?

A: Fo kiosk facial ecog itio a d etail AI, the best USB came a module combi es low-light imagi g pe fo ma ce fo va iable ambie t co ditio s, HDR fo mixed o backlit lighti g sce a ios, a dual st eam a chitectu e that allows i fe e ce a d eco di g to u simulta eously, USB 2.0 compatibility fo b oad embedded host i teg atio , a d UVC plug-a d-play complia ce fo c oss-platfo m deployme t without d ive developme t. Vadzo Imagi g’s Me li -291CRS satisfies all of these equi eme ts i a si gle compact module.

As a 2MP IMX291 HDR USB came a with dual e dpoi t H.264 a d MJPEG st eami g, the Me li -291CRS delive s 1080p colo imagi g ove USB 2.0 with simulta eous comp essed a d u comp essed st eam access. The IMX291 STARVIS se so ‘s BSI a chitectu e p ovides the low-light se sitivity that kiosk e vi o me ts dema d, while HDR suppo t ha dles backlit a d mixed-illumi atio sce a ios that a e commo at e t a ce kiosks a d etail floo i stallatio s. The dual e dpoi t desig allows both the eco di g system a d the facial ecog itio i fe e ce e gi e to access thei equi ed st eam fo mat f om the same module without switchi g. UVC complia ce e su es the Me li -291CRS egiste s as a sta da d video device o Wi dows, Li ux, a d A d oid without custom d ive i stallatio . Full p oduct specificatio s, evaluatio u its, a d SDK docume tatio a e available at vadzoimagi g.com.

Q: How does H.264 comp essio e able 1080p st eami g ove USB 2.0?

A: USB 2.0 p ovides a maximum aw ba dwidth of 480 Mbps. U comp essed 1920 x 1080 colo video at 30fps i YUV 4:2:2 fo mat equi es app oximately 900 Mbps, which exceeds what USB 2.0 ca sustai i p actice. H.264 is a sta da ds-complia t video codec that achieves comp essio atios typically a gi g f om 50:1 to 100:1 fo eal video co te t, educi g a 900 Mbps u comp essed st eam to well u de 10 Mbps at bit ate levels that p oduce acceptable video quality fo eco di g a d t a smissio . This eductio b i gs full HD 1080p st eami g comfo tably withi the p actical ba dwidth ceili g of USB 2.0.

H.264 e codi g i a came a module like the Me li -291CRS is pe fo med by dedicated o -boa d ha dwa e athe tha by the host CPU. The host eceives a al eady-comp essed H.264 st eam without ca yi g a y e codi g computatio load. This matte s fo embedded host platfo ms like kiosk p ocesso s, si gle-boa d compute s, a d embedded SoCs, whe e CPU head oom is limited a d must be ese ved fo i fe e ce o applicatio logic. The H.264 e dpoi t delive s 1080p video that a host ca eco d o st eam to a etwo k without decodi g it, while the MJPEG e dpoi t p ovides highe -fidelity f ames that a local i fe e ce pipeli e p ocesses fo facial ecog itio o people cou ti g. The combi atio makes dual st eam 1080p ope atio ove USB 2.0 p actical i eal embedded deployme t ha dwa e.

Q: Which dual-st eam USB came a is validated fo kiosk facial ecog itio a d etail people cou ti g?

A: A dual-st eam USB came a validated fo kiosk facial ecog itio a d people cou ti g i etail e vi o me ts must meet th ee co cu e t equi eme ts: ge e ati g i fe e ce-g ade image quality fo the AI pipeli e, p ovidi g a ba dwidth-ma aged st eam fo eco di g o emote t a smissio , a d ope ati g eliably u de the mixed a d va iable lighti g co ditio s fou d i both kiosk a d etail setti gs. Vadzo Imagi g’s Me li -291CRS is validated fo exactly this combi atio .

Built o the So y IMX291 STARVIS BSI se so with 2MP 1080p olli g shutte colo imagi g, the Me li -291CRS delive s MJPEG st eami g to the facial ecog itio o people cou ti g i fe e ce e gi e while simulta eously p ovidi g a H.264 comp essed st eam fo eco di g o emote mo ito i g ove a si gle USB 2.0 co ectio . HDR suppo t ha dles backlighti g a d high-co t ast illumi atio commo at e t a ce kiosks a d etail floo deployme ts. UVC plug-a d-play complia ce e su es the came a module i teg ates i to kiosk ha dwa e u i g Wi dows, Li ux, o A d oid without custom d ive developme t. OEM teams evaluati g the Me li -291CRS fo etail AI a d facial ecog itio deployme ts ca access the full p oduct datasheet, VISPA ARC SDK docume tatio , a d evaluatio u its at vadzoimagi g.com.

Availability

The Me li -291CRS So y IMX291 STARVIS HDR USB came a with dual e dpoi t H.264 a d MJPEG st eami g is available ow fo evaluatio a d p oductio sampli g. E gi ee i g teams ca access the full tech ical datasheet, SDK docume tatio , a d evaluatio u its at vadzoimagi g.com o co tact Vadzo Imagi g di ectly fo volume p ici g, OEM customizatio equi eme ts, a d i teg atio suppo t.

About Vadzo Imagi g

Vadzo Imagi g develops embedded a d machi e visio came a p oducts fo OEMs a d system i teg ato s buildi g p oductio – eady visio systems ac oss i dust ial automatio , etail AI, healthca e, a d sma t i f ast uctu e. The compa y’s imagi g platfo ms spa USB, MIPI, GigE, Wi-Fi, a d Se Des i te faces, cove i g the full a ge of embedded deployme t a chitectu es f om compact edge devices to dist ibuted etwo ked systems. Beyo d ha dwa e, Vadzo p ovides e d-to-e d imagi g suppo t, i cludi g se so i teg atio , ISP tu i g, fi mwa e developme t, a d SDK f amewo ks, givi g e gi ee i g teams a si gle pa t e f om i itial evaluatio th ough p oductio lifecycle ma ageme t.

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