Camera Was Dropped or Impacted

Problem

Your Zivid camera has been dropped, knocked, or otherwise subjected to a physical impact, and you are unsure whether it is still safe to use. Symptoms may include:

  • failed picks

  • sudden drop in point cloud quality

  • noticeable decrease in Signal-to-Noise ratio (SNR)

  • or simply an uncertainty about whether the camera’s factory calibration is still trustworthy

Potential Cause

A strong drop or impact can:

  • Damage the lens, projector, cover, or connectors.

  • Shift the camera’s internal optics, which degrades dimension trueness and point cloud quality.

  • Loosen the camera on its mount, changing the hand-eye geometry without damaging the camera itself.

A mild drop or bump (for example, the robot brushing a fixture) usually affects only the robot or the camera mount, not the camera’s internal calibration. A drop to a hard surface at an unfortunate angle is more likely to require returning the camera to Zivid.

Potential Solution

Follow these steps in order. If you cannot complete a step, escalate to Zivid Customer Success.

1. Visual inspection

Check the camera for visible damage:

  • Cracks in the lens cover glass or housing.

  • Loose or rattling parts when the camera is shaken.

  • Bent or damaged connectors.

  • Loose mounting screws.

If you see visible damage to the optics or hear loose parts, escalate to Zivid Customer Success.

Tip

  • For connector protection, use Strain Relief when mounting the camera on a robot.

  • For protection against unforeseen accidents, use a Protective Housing for Zivid 2+ and Zivid 2 cameras.

  • For additional safety to prevent screws from getting loose, use Loctite (purple or blue) and Nordlock washers; regular flat washers will not help with vibrations.

1. Warm up and run Infield Correction

Infield Correction is the primary self-check for whether the camera’s intrinsic calibration is still valid. A camera that has been heavily handled is exactly the scenario Infield Correction is designed for.

  1. Let the camera warm up before measuring.

  2. Run Infield Verification using the Zivid calibration board.

  3. Interpret the result:

    • Trueness error stays within the tolerance defined in the datasheet; the camera’s calibration is likely still good. Re-verify hand-eye, especially if the camera also moved on its mount.

    • Trueness error is high but Infield Correction succeeds and brings it back within tolerance: the camera is recoverable. Re-verify hand-eye and resume use.

    • Infield Correction fails, or the corrected camera still produces bad point clouds: continue to the next step.

3. Compare against a known-good capture

If you have a reference capture from before the incident (a ZDF of the same scene with the same settings), open both in Zivid Studio and compare:

  • Overall noise / SNR map.

  • Coverage on the same surfaces.

  • Shape of the point cloud (for example, known flat planes).

  • Color image sharpness and focus.

A sudden, large drop in SNR or coverage indicates internal damage that is unlikely to be fixed in the field.

4. Re-verify hand-eye calibration

If only the mount or robot was disturbed (the camera itself looks fine), the issue is likely hand-eye, not the camera. See Touch Test Fails (Poor Robot Positioning Accuracy) after Mild Collision for the recovery procedure.

5. Escalate to Zivid support

If the camera is still producing degraded point clouds, contact customersuccess@zivid.com and include:

  • A short description of the incident (drop/impact explanation, observed symptoms immediately after).

  • Serial number of the camera.

  • Photos of the camera (one from each of the six sides of the camera).

  • Photos of the mount (ideally from multiple angles, especially the side with the connectors).

  • A .zdf capture of a representative scene with Diagnostics enabled.

  • The most recent log files (see Contact Us for log file locations).

  • Infield Verification results.

Example photos of a Zivid camera taken from each of its six sides

Prevention

Drops are easier to prevent than to recover from. See Mechanical Considerations for Robot Mounting for mounting guidance and the Protective Housing, that are available for environments where impacts are likely. If the impact was caused by a robot collision, consider Zivid Motion.