Sabtu, 07 Maret 2015
Omnivision to Settle With Class Lawsuit
Courthouse News Service: A federal judge preliminary approved a $12.5M class settlement that claims that OmniVision misled shareholders into believing it had an exclusive contract related to the Apple iPhone 4. Shareholders claimed that the company CFO Anson Chan made false and misleading statements about the technological advantages of its image sensor versus its competitors', and its competitive position with customers such as Apple. These misrepresentations deceived the market into believing that OmniVision was maintaining its exclusive position as the supplier of image sensors for iPhone 4, causing Omnivision's stock to be artificially inflated, according to the lawsuit.
Jumat, 06 Maret 2015
Messages on Sony CCD Discontinuation
Vision Systems Design publishes a nice collection of various companies announcements of Sony stopping CCD production. Among them are Framos video, IDS announcement, and a private email from Vision Components saying that just one CCD model, the B&W 1.4MP, 6.45um pixel ICX285, escaped the axe so far:
Imaging Remains Major Power Consumer in Wearables
EETimes: TechInsights and eSoftThings analysed power consumption of 3 smart glasses: Google Glass, Vuzix M100, and Optinvent AR Glasses. Imaging functions consume the major power in all three devices:
Kamis, 05 Maret 2015
Rambus Launches Partners-in-Open-Development Program to Promote Lensless Sensors
Rambus announces its Partners-in-Open-Development (POD) program in collaboration with design firms frog and IXDS to promote the adoption of its lensless smart sensor (LSS) technology.
"Our Partners-in-Open-Development provides a great opportunity for innovators to develop technology for a smarter world. With this program, we encourage developers across the globe to join in to create new products that introduce real-world IoT applications that will touch so many parts of our lives. This is the first step toward expanding the accessibility of an ecosystem that will foster a new generation of innovation," said Gary Bronner, VP of Rambus Labs.
"Our work with lensless smart sensors through the POD program is helping to pave the way for innovations that are sure to inspire and become ubiquitous throughout our lives," said Andrew Zimmerman, president of frog. "The opportunity to partner with Rambus, through our R&D platform frogLabs and other organizations, to build out the burgeoning sensor ecosystem means we are helping to propel solutions that can be adopted much more quickly."
"Opening its innovative lensless smart technology to the developer community enables Rambus to promote what promises to be a robust, intelligent ecosystem around this new approach to sensing and imaging," said Dr. Reto Wettach, founder and design director with IXDS. "We are proud to be among the inaugural POD partners and look forward to being among the first contributors to identify and expand upon existing IoT-based applications for this technology."
Tom's Hardware publishes a nice article accompanied by a Youtube interview with Patrick Gill on the new developments:
"Our Partners-in-Open-Development provides a great opportunity for innovators to develop technology for a smarter world. With this program, we encourage developers across the globe to join in to create new products that introduce real-world IoT applications that will touch so many parts of our lives. This is the first step toward expanding the accessibility of an ecosystem that will foster a new generation of innovation," said Gary Bronner, VP of Rambus Labs.
"Our work with lensless smart sensors through the POD program is helping to pave the way for innovations that are sure to inspire and become ubiquitous throughout our lives," said Andrew Zimmerman, president of frog. "The opportunity to partner with Rambus, through our R&D platform frogLabs and other organizations, to build out the burgeoning sensor ecosystem means we are helping to propel solutions that can be adopted much more quickly."
"Opening its innovative lensless smart technology to the developer community enables Rambus to promote what promises to be a robust, intelligent ecosystem around this new approach to sensing and imaging," said Dr. Reto Wettach, founder and design director with IXDS. "We are proud to be among the inaugural POD partners and look forward to being among the first contributors to identify and expand upon existing IoT-based applications for this technology."
Tom's Hardware publishes a nice article accompanied by a Youtube interview with Patrick Gill on the new developments:
NHK and Forza Silicon Present 133MP/60 fps Sensor Internals
Business Wire: Forza Silicon announces that researchers at NHK presented the design architecture and specifications of the 133MP 60fps CMOS image sensor at ISSCC 2015. The image sensor presented by NHK was designed by Forza Silicon and fabricated using a 0.18 µm 3.3V/1.8V process with 1D stitching.
To date conventional image sensors for 8K applications have used 8 MP and 33 MP solutions in large optical formats. In order to eliminate the bulky lens/color-prism optical system of previous generation cameras, the team developed a single-chip 133 MP image sensor. The sensor takes advantage of Forza Silicon’s Gen 3 readout architecture to achieve frame frequency of 60 fps. The Gen 3 readout architecture uses a pseudo-column parallel design with 14b redundant successive approximation register ADCs to achieve a throughput of 128 Gb/s at full resolution and frame rate.
“Our continued partnership with Forza Silicon through the years to support NHK has resulted in the success of a number of significant projects such as the development of the 133 MP sensor, and previously the 33 MP Super Hi-Vision image sensor. Forza’s dedicated support and its image sensor design expertise enabled us to achieve the Super Hi-Vision 8K single-chip camera — the largest pixel count of any video image sensor,” said Dr. Hiroshi Shimamoto, senior research engineer at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories (STRL).
“The advanced research and development initiatives by NHK continue to push the boundaries for UHDTV broadcast experiences. NHK’s next-generation digital broadcast systems stem from their long heritage as the world’s premier R&D center for broadcast camera technology. The groundbreaking technologies we’ve jointly developed have evolved over a span of 10 years as a result of our tight collaboration, and Forza’s decades of design experience and wide selection of silicon-proven IP,” said Barmak Mansoorian, president & co-founder at Forza Silicon.
To date conventional image sensors for 8K applications have used 8 MP and 33 MP solutions in large optical formats. In order to eliminate the bulky lens/color-prism optical system of previous generation cameras, the team developed a single-chip 133 MP image sensor. The sensor takes advantage of Forza Silicon’s Gen 3 readout architecture to achieve frame frequency of 60 fps. The Gen 3 readout architecture uses a pseudo-column parallel design with 14b redundant successive approximation register ADCs to achieve a throughput of 128 Gb/s at full resolution and frame rate.
“Our continued partnership with Forza Silicon through the years to support NHK has resulted in the success of a number of significant projects such as the development of the 133 MP sensor, and previously the 33 MP Super Hi-Vision image sensor. Forza’s dedicated support and its image sensor design expertise enabled us to achieve the Super Hi-Vision 8K single-chip camera — the largest pixel count of any video image sensor,” said Dr. Hiroshi Shimamoto, senior research engineer at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories (STRL).
“The advanced research and development initiatives by NHK continue to push the boundaries for UHDTV broadcast experiences. NHK’s next-generation digital broadcast systems stem from their long heritage as the world’s premier R&D center for broadcast camera technology. The groundbreaking technologies we’ve jointly developed have evolved over a span of 10 years as a result of our tight collaboration, and Forza’s decades of design experience and wide selection of silicon-proven IP,” said Barmak Mansoorian, president & co-founder at Forza Silicon.
Toshiba Announces Mass Production of 20MP, 1.12um Pixel Sensor
Business Wire: Keeping up with its production schedule in the early product announcement, Toshiba starts mass production of the T4KA7, a 20MP, 1/2.4-inch CMOS sensor based on 1.12um BSI pixels. The sensor makes possible the realization of 20MP mobile camera modules with a height of 6mm or less.
IS Auto 2015 Speakers
Smithers Image Sensors Auto conference to be held on June 23-25 in Brussels, Belgium announces a list of confirmed speakers including:
Also, Image Sensors publishes an interview with Markus Rossi, Chief Innovation Officer, Heptagon on the company's 3D imaging solutions. Few quotes:
"Optimizing image sensors for 3D imaging is an opportunity, since those system typically have different optical requirement and layout. A key aspect of Heptagon’s products their small mechanical form factor. A novel, wafer-based camera assembly technology - called “FCP” - reduces the mechanical complexity of the camera and projection modules and therefore enables high turn-over, passive alignment manufacturing methods."
"One example for a very important component in depth sensing is the so-called IR illuminator. Our miniature illumination systems are optimised for uniform illumination in ToF applications, pattern generators for contrast enhancement in active stereo as well as structured light systems. Each of this systems needs to be tuned for best optical performance (efficiency, contrast, …) and smallest form factor (need to fit into mobile devices)."
- Henrik Lind
Technical Expert
Volvo Car Corporation - Martin Edney
Lead Systems Engineer Rear & Surround Cameras Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
Jaguar Land Rover - Kevin Lu
Global Manager - Optical Engineering, Product Architect - Image Vision Systems
Magna Electronics - Salah Hadi
Global R&D Director Vision & Night Vision Systems
Autoliv - Riccardo Mariani
CTO
Yogitech - Benjamin Stauss
R&D Engineer – Optical Camera Testing
TriOptics
Also, Image Sensors publishes an interview with Markus Rossi, Chief Innovation Officer, Heptagon on the company's 3D imaging solutions. Few quotes:
"Optimizing image sensors for 3D imaging is an opportunity, since those system typically have different optical requirement and layout. A key aspect of Heptagon’s products their small mechanical form factor. A novel, wafer-based camera assembly technology - called “FCP” - reduces the mechanical complexity of the camera and projection modules and therefore enables high turn-over, passive alignment manufacturing methods."
"One example for a very important component in depth sensing is the so-called IR illuminator. Our miniature illumination systems are optimised for uniform illumination in ToF applications, pattern generators for contrast enhancement in active stereo as well as structured light systems. Each of this systems needs to be tuned for best optical performance (efficiency, contrast, …) and smallest form factor (need to fit into mobile devices)."
Rabu, 04 Maret 2015
Taiwan and China CIS Foundries
Digitimes posts an article on Taiwan and China CIS foundries. Few quotes:
"TSMC has been the major CIS module production partner for OmniVision although the module vendor is also outsourcing part of its production to China-based XMC. However, the partnership between TSMC and OmniVision may change in the future as China-based Hua Capital, an investment firm, has offered a bid to acquire OmniVision, indicated the sources.
UMC has tied up with STMicroelectronics to develop 65nm BSI CIS technology and is currently producing BSI products at its Fab 12i in Singapore."
"TSMC has been the major CIS module production partner for OmniVision although the module vendor is also outsourcing part of its production to China-based XMC. However, the partnership between TSMC and OmniVision may change in the future as China-based Hua Capital, an investment firm, has offered a bid to acquire OmniVision, indicated the sources.
UMC has tied up with STMicroelectronics to develop 65nm BSI CIS technology and is currently producing BSI products at its Fab 12i in Singapore."
Teledyne Dalsa Announces New X-Ray Imagers
Marketwired: Teledyne Dalsa new dental Xineos models, including the 1511, 1501 and 2301 utilize Teledyne DALSA's sixth generation radiation-hard CMOS active pixel design with active areas of 15x11cm, 152x7mm, and 228x7mm respectively. The new sensors offer switchable saturation dose, low dissipation power and built-in gain, offset and defect correction.
"With the addition of our new Xineos CMOS X-Ray detectors, we're offering dental equipment manufacturers a complete portfolio of more versatile, more flexible, lower dose and cost effective options to satisfy a wider range of dental practices," commented Dr. Mila Heeman, Senior Marketing Manager at Teledyne DALSA. "Our detectors allow dentists to offer a more precise diagnosis as a result of our continued commitment to improving CMOS X-Ray technology."
Xineos range of X-Ray sensors features high frame rate in range of 30-45fps. Dalsa Youtube video demos X-ray imaging at high speed:
"With the addition of our new Xineos CMOS X-Ray detectors, we're offering dental equipment manufacturers a complete portfolio of more versatile, more flexible, lower dose and cost effective options to satisfy a wider range of dental practices," commented Dr. Mila Heeman, Senior Marketing Manager at Teledyne DALSA. "Our detectors allow dentists to offer a more precise diagnosis as a result of our continued commitment to improving CMOS X-Ray technology."
Xineos range of X-Ray sensors features high frame rate in range of 30-45fps. Dalsa Youtube video demos X-ray imaging at high speed:
ON Semi Shows its OIS Solution
ON Semi demos its OIS solution in this Youtube video. The frequency range of the company's demo covers 1Hz to 10Hz camera shake speed, a bit slow for consumer cameras, but might fit to some other applications:
Mobileye Unveils its 4th Gen Vision Processor
PRNewswire: Mobileye introduces its 4th generation system-on-chip, the EyeQ4, consisting of 14 computing cores out of which 10 are specialized vector accelerators for visual processing and understanding. The first design win for EyeQ4 has been secured for a global premium European car manufacturer for production to start in early 2018. The EyeQ4 would be part of a scalable camera system starting from monocular processing for collision avoidance applications, in compliance with EU NCAP, US NHSTA and other regulatory requirements, up to trifocal camera configuration supporting high-end customer functions including semi-autonomous driving. The EyeQ4 would support fusion with radars and scanning-beam lasers in the high-end customer functions.
"Supporting a camera centric approach for autonomous driving is essential as the camera provides the richest source of information at the lowest cost package. To reach affordable high-end functionality for autonomous driving requires a computing infrastructure capable of processing many cameras simultaneously while extracting from each camera high-level meaning such as location of multiple types of objects, lanes and drivable path information," said Amnon Shashua, cofounder, CTO and Chairman of Mobileye. "The EyeQ4 continues a legacy that began in 2004 with EyeQ1 where we leveraged deep understanding of computer vision processing to come up with highly optimized architectures to support extremely intensive computations at automotive compliant power consumption of 2-3 Watts."
The EyeQ4 provides "super-computer" capabilities of more than 2.5 teraflops within a low-power (approximately 3W) automotive grade system-on-chip.
EyeQ4-based ADAS uses computer vision algorithms like Deep Layered Networks and Graphical Models while processing information from 8 cameras simultaneously at 36fps. The EyeQ4 will accept multiple camera inputs from a trifocal front-sensing camera configuration, surround-view-systems of four wide field of view cameras, a long range rear-facing camera and information from multiple radars and scanning beam lasers scanners. Taken together, the EyeQ4 will be processing a safety "cocoon" around the vehicle – essential for autonomous driving.
Engineering samples of EyeQ4 are expected to be available by Q4 2015. First test hardware with the full suite of applications including active safety suite of customer functions, environmental modeling (for each of the 8 cameras), path planning for hands-free driving and fusion with sensors, is expected to be available in Q2 2016.
Thanks to MM for the link!
"Supporting a camera centric approach for autonomous driving is essential as the camera provides the richest source of information at the lowest cost package. To reach affordable high-end functionality for autonomous driving requires a computing infrastructure capable of processing many cameras simultaneously while extracting from each camera high-level meaning such as location of multiple types of objects, lanes and drivable path information," said Amnon Shashua, cofounder, CTO and Chairman of Mobileye. "The EyeQ4 continues a legacy that began in 2004 with EyeQ1 where we leveraged deep understanding of computer vision processing to come up with highly optimized architectures to support extremely intensive computations at automotive compliant power consumption of 2-3 Watts."
The EyeQ4 provides "super-computer" capabilities of more than 2.5 teraflops within a low-power (approximately 3W) automotive grade system-on-chip.
EyeQ4-based ADAS uses computer vision algorithms like Deep Layered Networks and Graphical Models while processing information from 8 cameras simultaneously at 36fps. The EyeQ4 will accept multiple camera inputs from a trifocal front-sensing camera configuration, surround-view-systems of four wide field of view cameras, a long range rear-facing camera and information from multiple radars and scanning beam lasers scanners. Taken together, the EyeQ4 will be processing a safety "cocoon" around the vehicle – essential for autonomous driving.
Engineering samples of EyeQ4 are expected to be available by Q4 2015. First test hardware with the full suite of applications including active safety suite of customer functions, environmental modeling (for each of the 8 cameras), path planning for hands-free driving and fusion with sensors, is expected to be available in Q2 2016.
Thanks to MM for the link!
Selasa, 03 Maret 2015
TowerJazz Makes IR Sensors for Intel RealSense Cameras
GlobeNewswire: TowerJazz begins mass production of an IR sensor used by Intel in one of its new 3D sensing solutions. Intel chose TowerJazz's 0.11um IS11 process, due to its pixel performance in NIR combined with high speed, high QE and high optical resolution. The unique pixel developed by TowerJazz for Intel is a 3.5um global shutter very fast pixel that allows high QE in NIR, specifically at the scanning laser wavelength with high sensor resolution.
"Partnering with TowerJazz was a part of our success in producing our advanced image sensor for 3D imaging and was a natural choice as they were able to offer the required technical specifications and performance for this breakthrough technology," said Sagi Ben Moshe, Director Depth Camera Engineering, Intel Corporation.
"This collaboration between Intel and TowerJazz was a natural fit. Intel's leadership in this market, combined with our leading technology that provides outstanding pixel performance for near IR 3D imaging, along with the proximity of our Israel fab with Intel Israel, the group developing this technology, was an ideal alignment," said Russell Ellwanger, CEO, TowerJazz. "We are very excited to partner with Intel to produce lifestyle changing technology that will revolutionize the way we interact with devices in both our professional and personal lives. We highly value our business relationship with Intel and look forward to further collaboration on their sensing technology."
"It is truly amazing and thrilling to see our lengthy experience in the imaging field and our own CMOS image sensor technology developed in-house, combined with all of the R&D work we have undertaken for many years come to fruition in such a groundbreaking way," said Dr. Avi Strum, VP and GM, CMOS Image Sensor Business Unit, TowerJazz. "Intel sensing solutions will bring consumers new experiences and will change the way people capture and share 3D images. We are very proud of our work with Intel and our ability to assist them in bringing cutting-edge technologies to market quickly and in high volume."
TowerJazz stock jumped by 7.5% after the announcement:
"Partnering with TowerJazz was a part of our success in producing our advanced image sensor for 3D imaging and was a natural choice as they were able to offer the required technical specifications and performance for this breakthrough technology," said Sagi Ben Moshe, Director Depth Camera Engineering, Intel Corporation.
"This collaboration between Intel and TowerJazz was a natural fit. Intel's leadership in this market, combined with our leading technology that provides outstanding pixel performance for near IR 3D imaging, along with the proximity of our Israel fab with Intel Israel, the group developing this technology, was an ideal alignment," said Russell Ellwanger, CEO, TowerJazz. "We are very excited to partner with Intel to produce lifestyle changing technology that will revolutionize the way we interact with devices in both our professional and personal lives. We highly value our business relationship with Intel and look forward to further collaboration on their sensing technology."
"It is truly amazing and thrilling to see our lengthy experience in the imaging field and our own CMOS image sensor technology developed in-house, combined with all of the R&D work we have undertaken for many years come to fruition in such a groundbreaking way," said Dr. Avi Strum, VP and GM, CMOS Image Sensor Business Unit, TowerJazz. "Intel sensing solutions will bring consumers new experiences and will change the way people capture and share 3D images. We are very proud of our work with Intel and our ability to assist them in bringing cutting-edge technologies to market quickly and in high volume."
TowerJazz stock jumped by 7.5% after the announcement:
Altera, Cadence Demos
Altera shows its low power stereo vision FPGA solution in this Youtube video:
Cadence Youtube video presents is video/imaging DSP IP platform, says it consumes 10x less power:
Cadence Youtube video presents is video/imaging DSP IP platform, says it consumes 10x less power:
Samsung Announces 8MP RWB ISOCELL Sensor
Business Wire, Samsung Tomorrow: Samsung’s 8MP ISOCELL RWB CMOS image sensor, the S5K4H5YB, is aimed to front-facing mobile cameras. By combining ISOCELL technology with the newly developed RWB (Red-White-Blue) color filter, the new image sensor enhances light sensitivity and color fidelity, allowing an improvement of over 3 dB in SNR in low light settings. In addition, unlike other types of color pattern configurations, the high similarity between the RWB and RGB patterns eliminates the need for an RGB convertor in a RWB filter, which prevents unnecessary color deviation.
Physical barriers between each ISOCELL pixel allow 30% decrease in crosstalk and 30% increase in full-well capacity when compared to "conventional" BSI sensors, possibly, S5K4H5YC.
Samples of the 8 MP RWB ISOCELL image sensor are available for customers and mass production of the product is scheduled for Q2 2015. Incidentaly, the S5K4H5YB has already been announced a year and a half ago. By that time, Samsung said "The S5K4H5YB is currently sampling to customers with mass production scheduled for Q4 2013." However, in the earlier announcement, Samsung has not mentioned RWB CFA.
Samsung S5K4H5YB product page says that it's already in production:
Physical barriers between each ISOCELL pixel allow 30% decrease in crosstalk and 30% increase in full-well capacity when compared to "conventional" BSI sensors, possibly, S5K4H5YC.
Samples of the 8 MP RWB ISOCELL image sensor are available for customers and mass production of the product is scheduled for Q2 2015. Incidentaly, the S5K4H5YB has already been announced a year and a half ago. By that time, Samsung said "The S5K4H5YB is currently sampling to customers with mass production scheduled for Q4 2013." However, in the earlier announcement, Samsung has not mentioned RWB CFA.
Samsung S5K4H5YB product page says that it's already in production:
Senin, 02 Maret 2015
Omnivision Shrinks Pixel to 1um
PR Newswire: OmniVision announces the OV16880, a 16MP sensor built on OmniVision's PureCel-S stacked die technology. The 1/3-inch OV16880 introduces a new 1um (!) pixel technology, as well as advanced features such as phase detection autofocus (PDAF).
"Industry observers expect the 1/3-inch image sensor market for 13-megapixel to 16-megapixel resolution segments to double within the next two years, driven mostly by the proliferation of higher resolution mainstream smartphones and tablets," said Kalai Chinnaveerappan, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. "The OV16880 is the industry's first 1/3-inch 16-megapixel image sensor, putting it in the forefront of this high-growth market segment. The sensor enables slim devices to transition from a 13-megapixel to 16-megapixel camera while maintaining excellent image quality and pixel performance."
The OV16880 PureCel-S stacked die pixel array features buried color filter array (BCFA) technology, which reduces pixel crosstalk and improves SNR. The OV16880 captures 16MP images at 30fps, allowing burst photography and zero shutter lag at full resolution. Additionally, the sensor is capable of capturing 4K video at 30fps, 1080p video at 90fps, and 720p video at 120fps. The OV16880 also supports interlaced high dynamic range (iHDR) timing functionality. The sensor fits into a 8.5 mm x 8.5 mm module with a z-height of less than 5 mm.
The sensor is currently available for sampling, and is expected to enter volume production in Q3 2015.
"Industry observers expect the 1/3-inch image sensor market for 13-megapixel to 16-megapixel resolution segments to double within the next two years, driven mostly by the proliferation of higher resolution mainstream smartphones and tablets," said Kalai Chinnaveerappan, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. "The OV16880 is the industry's first 1/3-inch 16-megapixel image sensor, putting it in the forefront of this high-growth market segment. The sensor enables slim devices to transition from a 13-megapixel to 16-megapixel camera while maintaining excellent image quality and pixel performance."
The OV16880 PureCel-S stacked die pixel array features buried color filter array (BCFA) technology, which reduces pixel crosstalk and improves SNR. The OV16880 captures 16MP images at 30fps, allowing burst photography and zero shutter lag at full resolution. Additionally, the sensor is capable of capturing 4K video at 30fps, 1080p video at 90fps, and 720p video at 120fps. The OV16880 also supports interlaced high dynamic range (iHDR) timing functionality. The sensor fits into a 8.5 mm x 8.5 mm module with a z-height of less than 5 mm.
The sensor is currently available for sampling, and is expected to enter volume production in Q3 2015.
Toshiba Announces 13MP BSI Sensor
Business Wire: Toshiba announces the T4KB3, a 13MP BSI CMOS image sensor with the optical format of 1/3.07-inch for smartphones and tablets. The new design methodology helps to reduce the power consumption of the new 13MP sensor to 53% of Toshiba’s sensor currently in mass production, to 200mW or less at 30fps. The 1.12um pixel-based T4KB3 is also said to be world’s smallest 13MP sensor. Toshiba “Bright Mode” technology boosts image brightness up to four times in Full-HD video capture at 120fps equivalent. The sample shipments start today.
Freescale Presents Automotive Vision Processor
Business Wire: Freescale introduces the S32V vision microprocessor, said to be the first automotive vision SoC with the requisite reliability, safety and security measures to automate and ‘co-pilot’ a self-aware car. “Many automotive vision systems available today are based on consumer-oriented silicon solutions originally designed to enhance gaming graphics or run smartphone apps. But in a new era where cars will serve as trusted co-pilots, utilizing consumer-oriented silicon is fundamentally unwise,” said Bob Conrad, SVP and GM of Automotive MCUs for Freescale. “Relying on anything less than automotive-grade silicon to take control of a vehicle and make critical driving decisions is simply not acceptable – not for me, not for my family and not for my customers.”
The S32V vision microprocessor integrates the 2nd generation CogniVue APEX-642 core image processing technology, as well as four ARM Cortex-A53 cores. Full market availability for the S32V is expected in July 2015.
The S32V vision microprocessor integrates the 2nd generation CogniVue APEX-642 core image processing technology, as well as four ARM Cortex-A53 cores. Full market availability for the S32V is expected in July 2015.
Mentor Graphics Buys Tanner
Semiconductor Engineering reports that Mentor Graphics has purchased Tanner EDA for an undisclosed sum. Tanner CAD is popular among low budget image sensor design houses.
Minggu, 01 Maret 2015
Toshiba Announces ADAS Image Processor
Toshiba announces the TMPV7608XBG, an image recognition processor that provides recognition and detection of vehicles and pedestrians at night. The new processor is capable of 1.9 Tera operations per second (TOPS) and integrates new feature descriptors that make use of color-based image information.
The new processor is said to realize a nighttime pedestrian detection as reliable as a daytime detection available with conventional vision systems. Toshiba’s original Enhanced CoHOG (Co-occurrence Histograms of Oriented Gradients) accelerators combine luminance-based CoHOG feature descriptors with color-based feature descriptors obtained using a newly developed technique. This enhancement leads to an improvement in the recognition accuracy, especially at nighttime and at scenes with less luminance differences between objects and the background:
The TMPV7608XBG incorporates a Structure from Motion (SfM) accelerator that allows detection of general stationary obstacles such as fallen objects and landslides. The SfM accelerator provides three-dimensional (3D) estimates of the distance to, and the height and width of, the stationary obstacles, based on a sequence of images from a monocular camera. This accelerator makes it possible to detect any stationary obstacles without a learning curve, as well as moving objects (using motion analysis) and a particular class of objects such as pedestrians and vehicles (using pattern recognition).
The TMPV7608XBG is able to simultaneously perform Traffic Light Recognition (TLR), Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Vehicle and Pedestrian Collision Warning and Collision Avoidance, High-Beam Assistance, and General Obstacle Collision Warning. The devices interfaces with up to 8 cameras, while consuming 3.37W of power:
The sample shipment started in January 2015.
The new processor is said to realize a nighttime pedestrian detection as reliable as a daytime detection available with conventional vision systems. Toshiba’s original Enhanced CoHOG (Co-occurrence Histograms of Oriented Gradients) accelerators combine luminance-based CoHOG feature descriptors with color-based feature descriptors obtained using a newly developed technique. This enhancement leads to an improvement in the recognition accuracy, especially at nighttime and at scenes with less luminance differences between objects and the background:
The TMPV7608XBG incorporates a Structure from Motion (SfM) accelerator that allows detection of general stationary obstacles such as fallen objects and landslides. The SfM accelerator provides three-dimensional (3D) estimates of the distance to, and the height and width of, the stationary obstacles, based on a sequence of images from a monocular camera. This accelerator makes it possible to detect any stationary obstacles without a learning curve, as well as moving objects (using motion analysis) and a particular class of objects such as pedestrians and vehicles (using pattern recognition).
The TMPV7608XBG is able to simultaneously perform Traffic Light Recognition (TLR), Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Vehicle and Pedestrian Collision Warning and Collision Avoidance, High-Beam Assistance, and General Obstacle Collision Warning. The devices interfaces with up to 8 cameras, while consuming 3.37W of power:
The sample shipment started in January 2015.
Sabtu, 28 Februari 2015
Omnivision Proposes DTI with Charge Transfer Assist
Omnivision patent application US20150048427 "Image sensor pixel cell with switched deep trench isolation structure" by Sing-chung Hu, Rongsheng Yang, Gang Chen, Howard E. Rhodes, Sohei Manabe, and Hsin-chih Tai proposes a BSI pixel with DTI, filled by a lightly doped poly. A negative pulse applied to the DTI poly allows increasing PD doping and full well while maintaining a low image lag:
Jumat, 27 Februari 2015
ISSCC 2015 Report: Shizuoka University Compressive Imager
Albert Theuwissen continues to post his reports from ISSCC. Shizuoka University presents a 200 million fps compressive imager. The imager consists of 15 pixel sub-arrays, each of them exposed at the differing times. In the end, a 200Mfps image sequence is recovered.
Cista and SMIC Start Mass Production of 0.13um-Process BSI Sensors
PR Newswire: Remember Cista, a mysterious image sensor startup founded by ex-Omnivision employees? SMIC and Cista System Corp. jointly announce a mass production start of two CIS-BSI products, of 1.3MP resolution with 1.75um pixel and 8MP resolution with 1.4um pixel, respectively. Both sensors are based on SMIC's 0.13um BSI process.
SMIC's 0.13um CIS-BSI technology is said to be independently developed and offers competitive performance. Based on a low leakage process, it only uses three aluminum metal layers for reduced cost and supports pixel sizes down to 1.4um for 8MP resolution CIS. SMIC also provides full in-house turn-key service which includes CIS wafer fabrication, color filter & micro-lens processing, TSV-CSP and testing to help customers shorten the supply chain with fast cycle time and low cost.
"Through working with our partner, Cista System Corp., we are very pleased with the achievement of the production phase for BSI technology," said Dr. Shiuh-Wuu Lee, EVP of Technology Development of SMIC. "Tests on the two sensors have shown great performance which demonstrates our readiness in 0.13-micron BSI technology platform. SMIC is also developing 1.1-micron pixel BSI for 13MP resolution and above, and 3D stacked BSI for high-end applications. With these new sets of products, we hope to provide high-quality CMOS Image Sensors to our customers at a competitive price."
"We are excited to partner with SMIC on launching the CIS-BSI sensors," said Wilson Du, CEO and President of Cista System Corp. "This partnership draws us one step closer to our goal of becoming more integrated with domestic industry resources in developing the image sensor sector. As we move forward, we hope to see more of our designs used in wider applications such as consumer electronics, telecommunications, medical equipment, automotive industry, automation and other applications."
So far, Cista web site only lists 1MP and 2MP products, with others, up to 13MP, are said to come soon. The 2MP C2580 and C2590 SoC specs look similar, and both sensors appear to be frontside-illuminated:
The 1MP C1680 has a similar block diagram and spec, but uses BSI technology:
SMIC's 0.13um CIS-BSI technology is said to be independently developed and offers competitive performance. Based on a low leakage process, it only uses three aluminum metal layers for reduced cost and supports pixel sizes down to 1.4um for 8MP resolution CIS. SMIC also provides full in-house turn-key service which includes CIS wafer fabrication, color filter & micro-lens processing, TSV-CSP and testing to help customers shorten the supply chain with fast cycle time and low cost.
"Through working with our partner, Cista System Corp., we are very pleased with the achievement of the production phase for BSI technology," said Dr. Shiuh-Wuu Lee, EVP of Technology Development of SMIC. "Tests on the two sensors have shown great performance which demonstrates our readiness in 0.13-micron BSI technology platform. SMIC is also developing 1.1-micron pixel BSI for 13MP resolution and above, and 3D stacked BSI for high-end applications. With these new sets of products, we hope to provide high-quality CMOS Image Sensors to our customers at a competitive price."
"We are excited to partner with SMIC on launching the CIS-BSI sensors," said Wilson Du, CEO and President of Cista System Corp. "This partnership draws us one step closer to our goal of becoming more integrated with domestic industry resources in developing the image sensor sector. As we move forward, we hope to see more of our designs used in wider applications such as consumer electronics, telecommunications, medical equipment, automotive industry, automation and other applications."
So far, Cista web site only lists 1MP and 2MP products, with others, up to 13MP, are said to come soon. The 2MP C2580 and C2590 SoC specs look similar, and both sensors appear to be frontside-illuminated:
The 1MP C1680 has a similar block diagram and spec, but uses BSI technology:
CEVA Announces 4th Gen Vision Platform
PR Newswire: CEVA unveils the CEVA-XM4, its fourth-generation imaging and vision processor IP. CEVA-XM4 achieves up to 8x performance improvement with 35% greater energy efficiency, compared to the previous generation CEVA-MM3101.
The new IP's capabilities include real-time 3D depth map generation and point cloud processing for 3D scanning. In addition, it can analyze scene information using the most processing-intensive object detection and recognition algorithms, ranging from ORB, Haar, and LBP, all the way to deep learning algorithms that use neural network technologies such as convolutional neural networks (CNN). The architecture also features a number of unique mechanisms, such as parallel random memory access and a patented two-dimension data processing scheme. These enable 4096-bit processing -- in a single cycle -- while keeping the memory bandwidth under 512bits for optimum energy efficiency.
In comparison to today's most advanced GPU cluster (points to NVIDIA, I guess), a single CEVA-XM4 core will complete a typical 'object detection and tracking' use-case scenario while consuming approximately 10% of the power and requiring approximately 5% of the die area.
Taking computer vision one step closer to human vision, the CEVA-XM4 also supports a wide range of computational photography algorithms that enhance the video or image, including refocus, background replacement, zoom, super-resolution, image stabilization, noise reduction and improved low-light capabilities.
The new IP's capabilities include real-time 3D depth map generation and point cloud processing for 3D scanning. In addition, it can analyze scene information using the most processing-intensive object detection and recognition algorithms, ranging from ORB, Haar, and LBP, all the way to deep learning algorithms that use neural network technologies such as convolutional neural networks (CNN). The architecture also features a number of unique mechanisms, such as parallel random memory access and a patented two-dimension data processing scheme. These enable 4096-bit processing -- in a single cycle -- while keeping the memory bandwidth under 512bits for optimum energy efficiency.
In comparison to today's most advanced GPU cluster (points to NVIDIA, I guess), a single CEVA-XM4 core will complete a typical 'object detection and tracking' use-case scenario while consuming approximately 10% of the power and requiring approximately 5% of the die area.
Taking computer vision one step closer to human vision, the CEVA-XM4 also supports a wide range of computational photography algorithms that enhance the video or image, including refocus, background replacement, zoom, super-resolution, image stabilization, noise reduction and improved low-light capabilities.
Kamis, 26 Februari 2015
Omnivision Reports Quarterly Results
PR Newswire: OmniVision reports results for its fiscal quarter ended on January 31, 2015. Revenues for the quarter were $292.3M, as compared to $394.0M in the previous quarter, and $352.0M a year ago. GAAP net income in the quarter was $14.0M, as compared to net income of $28.0M in the previous quarter, and $30.6M a year ago. GAAP gross margin for the quarter was 22.1%, as compared to 22.0% for the previous quarter and 19.6% a year ago. The Company ended the period with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $512.8M, a sequential decrease of $12.4M that resulted primarily from the use of cash in operating activities.
Based on current trends, the Company forecasts revenues for the next quarter in the range of $265M to $295M.
"As we continue to expand in Asia and find new opportunities in emerging economies, our results may continue to be volatile, at least in the near-term," said Shaw Hong, CEO of OmniVision. "However, it is important for us to participate in these markets as they are integral to our strategy. We remain confident about our long-term growth prospects."
SeekingAlpha publishes Omnivision's earnings call transcript. Shaw Hong says on the acquisition prgress: "I would like to comment on the proposed acquisition from Hua Capital Management Ltd., or HCM, a Beijing-based investment management company. A few months ago, we received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter from HCM, pursuant to which a group of investors led by HCM proposed us to acquire all of the outstanding share of common stock of the company in cash at US$29 per share. While the company's board of directors is reviewing and evaluating HCM's proposal, no decision has been made with respect to the proposed transaction. There is no assurance that this or any other transaction will be consummated."
Few other quotes from Aurelio Cisneros - SVP, Worldwide Sales & Sales Operations:
"In a special case, an innovative dual sensor main camera design featuring our 8-megapixel product line was launched by a major Tier 1 China customer. This represents a major potential technology shift where dual camera designs are built for a multitude of reasons such as improved sensitivity, slim compact design requirements and innovative 3D data capture. If this trend spreads, the total available opportunity in the already enormous handset market could surge to higher volumes because dual camera designs could be used for the main camera as well as for the front-facing camera slot. The benefits of a dual camera design are applicable to either case."
"In our third fiscal quarter, we shipped 198 million units as compared to 246 million units in our prior quarter. The average selling price in our fiscal third quarter was $1.46 as compared to $1.60 in our prior quarter. The drop in ASP was attributed to the product mix and aggressive price erosion in some product categories, primarily products shipped to the China market.
Unit sales of 8-megapixel and above represented approximately 10% of total shipments in the fiscal third quarter, compared to approximately 12% of total shipments in the prior quarter. Unit sales of 3-megapixel to 5-megapixel category represented approximately 41% of total shipments, as compared to 42% in the prior quarter for the same category. Unit sales of 2-megapixel and below represented approximately 49% of total shipments, as compared to 46% in the prior quarter."
Based on current trends, the Company forecasts revenues for the next quarter in the range of $265M to $295M.
"As we continue to expand in Asia and find new opportunities in emerging economies, our results may continue to be volatile, at least in the near-term," said Shaw Hong, CEO of OmniVision. "However, it is important for us to participate in these markets as they are integral to our strategy. We remain confident about our long-term growth prospects."
SeekingAlpha publishes Omnivision's earnings call transcript. Shaw Hong says on the acquisition prgress: "I would like to comment on the proposed acquisition from Hua Capital Management Ltd., or HCM, a Beijing-based investment management company. A few months ago, we received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter from HCM, pursuant to which a group of investors led by HCM proposed us to acquire all of the outstanding share of common stock of the company in cash at US$29 per share. While the company's board of directors is reviewing and evaluating HCM's proposal, no decision has been made with respect to the proposed transaction. There is no assurance that this or any other transaction will be consummated."
Few other quotes from Aurelio Cisneros - SVP, Worldwide Sales & Sales Operations:
"In a special case, an innovative dual sensor main camera design featuring our 8-megapixel product line was launched by a major Tier 1 China customer. This represents a major potential technology shift where dual camera designs are built for a multitude of reasons such as improved sensitivity, slim compact design requirements and innovative 3D data capture. If this trend spreads, the total available opportunity in the already enormous handset market could surge to higher volumes because dual camera designs could be used for the main camera as well as for the front-facing camera slot. The benefits of a dual camera design are applicable to either case."
"In our third fiscal quarter, we shipped 198 million units as compared to 246 million units in our prior quarter. The average selling price in our fiscal third quarter was $1.46 as compared to $1.60 in our prior quarter. The drop in ASP was attributed to the product mix and aggressive price erosion in some product categories, primarily products shipped to the China market.
Unit sales of 8-megapixel and above represented approximately 10% of total shipments in the fiscal third quarter, compared to approximately 12% of total shipments in the prior quarter. Unit sales of 3-megapixel to 5-megapixel category represented approximately 41% of total shipments, as compared to 42% in the prior quarter for the same category. Unit sales of 2-megapixel and below represented approximately 49% of total shipments, as compared to 46% in the prior quarter."
TI Structured Light Kit Demo
Embedded Vision Alliance posted a TI Youtube demo of its structured light reference design platform, first announced half a year ago.
Framos Survey on Machine Vision Market
Framos 2014 survey on machine vision market paints an interesting picture. "The study is based on answers from 54 respondents based in 13 countries, 10 manufacturers and 44 users, with the main focus on German-speaking countries and Europe. Respondents were ranked in terms of relevance, based on the production or purchase volumes on which they were surveyed. 40% of the manufacturers produce up to 500 cameras a year, 20% over 10,000 cameras. Principal sales areas are North America and Asia. 80% of users purchase fewer than 100 cameras a year, only 5% require more than 1000 cameras. The main area of use is Europe, at 75%, due to the focus of this survey."
Here is the respondents view on CCD vs CMOS market evolution:
"In respect of sensor brands and their future use in imaging systems, camera manufacturers and users are agreed on their decline or rise. Sensors from Sony may have less usage in percentage, but continue to be the most trusted brand, with a predicted market share of 35% in 2016. In particular, considerable growth is expected for the brands Aptina and Truesense Imaging (both now under one roof, belonging to OnSemi), to a market share of 13% and 19% respectively."
Here is the respondents view on CCD vs CMOS market evolution:
"In respect of sensor brands and their future use in imaging systems, camera manufacturers and users are agreed on their decline or rise. Sensors from Sony may have less usage in percentage, but continue to be the most trusted brand, with a predicted market share of 35% in 2016. In particular, considerable growth is expected for the brands Aptina and Truesense Imaging (both now under one roof, belonging to OnSemi), to a market share of 13% and 19% respectively."
AlliedSens to Represent Caeleste in Asia and America
AlliedSens becomes an official representative of Caeleste for custom design CMOS image sensor in Asia and America.
Patrick Henckes, CEO of Caeleste says “With the growing demand of custom design sensors, it is critical for Caeleste to rely on the best possible partners to expand our activities worldwide.“
Eiji Watanabe, CEO of AlliedSens says “We are happy to have Caeleste’s cutting edge custom image sensor into our product line in order to fulfill the rapid growing demand of high performance image sensors for industrial, medical and automotive applications in Asia and Americas.”
AlliedSens also represents CMOSIS, PixelPlus and Awaiba.
Patrick Henckes, CEO of Caeleste says “With the growing demand of custom design sensors, it is critical for Caeleste to rely on the best possible partners to expand our activities worldwide.“
Eiji Watanabe, CEO of AlliedSens says “We are happy to have Caeleste’s cutting edge custom image sensor into our product line in order to fulfill the rapid growing demand of high performance image sensors for industrial, medical and automotive applications in Asia and Americas.”
AlliedSens also represents CMOSIS, PixelPlus and Awaiba.
ISSCC 2015 Report - Forza & NHK Sensor, Samsung
Albert Theuwissen continues his report from ISSCC imaging session. The second part presents Forza and NHK 133MP 60fps sensor in 35mm FF format. 484 12b SAR ADCs support that high pixel rate. The pixel size is 2.45 um, 2×1 shared, 2.5T/pixel.
Samsung presents an always on low power sensor having an ultra-low power, low resolution, low quality mode, but waking up as soon as there is any movement in the scene and switching to a normal higher resolution, higher quality mode.
Samsung presents an always on low power sensor having an ultra-low power, low resolution, low quality mode, but waking up as soon as there is any movement in the scene and switching to a normal higher resolution, higher quality mode.
ON Semi Announces PDAF Technology
Business Wire: ON Semiconductor (Aptina) successfully demonstrated its second generation Phase Detect Auto Focus (PDAF) technology featuring a unique pixel micro-lens technology that enables fast focus at 25 Lux light levels. This PDAF has been implemented on a 13MP test chip with 1.1µm pixels and will be utilized in a new product introduction for mobile end-market customers later this year.
The PDAF technology uses two pixels to measure phase information from the target image. This phase information is then used to calculate the direction and the amount the lens needs to move to focus in less than 0.3 seconds, depending on focus actuator speed. Furthermore, ON Semiconductor has implemented a unique pixel micro-lens structure which maintains sensitivity in the PDAF pixels and ensures enough light is captured for PDAF to perform in low-light conditions as low as 25 Lux (similar to a dimly lit room). Competing technologies on the market employ methods that compromise pixel sensitivity and low light auto focus performance.
“ON Semiconductor’s PDAF technology is the result of innovations in both pixel and optical stack design,” said Shung Chieh, VP Mobile and Consumer Division for ON Semiconductor. “The outcome is a reduction of auto focus time by nearly a factor of four and delivers a great experience to the mobile device user. The leading low-light capability of our technology enables smartphone manufacturers to deliver a fast AF experience across all light levels to their customers.”
The PDAF technology uses two pixels to measure phase information from the target image. This phase information is then used to calculate the direction and the amount the lens needs to move to focus in less than 0.3 seconds, depending on focus actuator speed. Furthermore, ON Semiconductor has implemented a unique pixel micro-lens structure which maintains sensitivity in the PDAF pixels and ensures enough light is captured for PDAF to perform in low-light conditions as low as 25 Lux (similar to a dimly lit room). Competing technologies on the market employ methods that compromise pixel sensitivity and low light auto focus performance.
“ON Semiconductor’s PDAF technology is the result of innovations in both pixel and optical stack design,” said Shung Chieh, VP Mobile and Consumer Division for ON Semiconductor. “The outcome is a reduction of auto focus time by nearly a factor of four and delivers a great experience to the mobile device user. The leading low-light capability of our technology enables smartphone manufacturers to deliver a fast AF experience across all light levels to their customers.”
Toshiba Starts Mass Production of 8.1MP 1.12um Pixel Sensor
Business Wire: Toshiba started mass production of the previously announced 8MP, 1.12um pixel T4KA3 BSI sensor.
The sensor has a new low power circuit design that cuts power consumption to 46% that of Toshiba’s previous generation 8MP T4K35, an improvement over the earlier announcement that only stated 15% improvement. The sensor fits into 6.5mm square camera module, said to be the smallest in the class of 8MP sensors. The 8MP output at 30fps is possible using 2 Lane MIPI interface. The sensor incorporates "Bright Mode" that boosts image brightness up to four times, realizing HD video capture at 240 fps equivalent.
The sensor has a new low power circuit design that cuts power consumption to 46% that of Toshiba’s previous generation 8MP T4K35, an improvement over the earlier announcement that only stated 15% improvement. The sensor fits into 6.5mm square camera module, said to be the smallest in the class of 8MP sensors. The 8MP output at 30fps is possible using 2 Lane MIPI interface. The sensor incorporates "Bright Mode" that boosts image brightness up to four times, realizing HD video capture at 240 fps equivalent.
Rabu, 25 Februari 2015
Allied Vision Confirms Sony CCD Discontinuation
Allied Vision, vendor of machine vision cameras, confirms Sony plans to stop CCD production. Michael Cyros, Chief Commercial Officer of the company, says in an interview: "Many in the industry had expected this to happen sooner or later. As you know, CMOS sensors have become more and more popular in the last couple of years. With greatly improved image quality, sensitivity, dynamic range and speeds, they have outpaced CCD technology of late. Sony’s decision is a logical step in that context to provide further capacity for CMOS growth."
Thanks to PJ for quoting the link in comments to the earlier post.
Thanks to PJ for quoting the link in comments to the earlier post.
ISSCC 2015 Report
Albert Theuwissen starts publishing his overview of ISSCC 2015 imaging session. The first part talks about the new Sony 20MP/1.43um stacked sensor with two ADCs per column. The dual ADC can be used:
- for increased readout speed (120fps in 16MP/10b mode)
- for 3db noise improvement
- to achieve 1.3e- noise level by multiple reads
- simultaneous stills and video capture
More on Sharp Colorized IR Camera
Optics.org publishes an article on AIT and Sharp development of a colorized IR-illuminated camera: "The technology performs the color processing based on the weak correlation between the reflectance properties in the visible light region of objects and those in the infrared region, and obtains color images of the objects in the same or similar colors as the colors of the objects in visible light." The AIT colorizing algorithms require a modification of image sensor in the camera, but article gives no details on what kind of modification is needed.
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| Left- nightime image with no active IR illumination Right - IR illumination is on and colorizing algorithms enabled |
Selasa, 24 Februari 2015
OmniVision and eyeSight Partner on Gesture Recognition
PR Newswire: OmniVision and eyeSight announced their co-development of next-generation gesture recognition technology in the industry's smallest form factor. eyeSight's gesture recognition technology, together with OmniVision's OVM6211 global shutter camera solution brings gesture recognition to a wide range of applications. The OVM6211 CameraCubeChip is a complete camera solution with a lens, sensor and packaging that uses a 3um OmniPixel3-GS global shutter pixel to capture 400 x 400 pixel video at 120fps.
"One of the frustrations with gesture recognition solutions in the market today is that they tend to work poorly in low light conditions," said Gideon Shmuel, CEO at eyeSight. "OmniVision's easily integrated OVM6211 global shutter sensor, working in tandem with our gesture recognition technology, can overcome the inherent challenges of recognizing gestures in difficult lighting conditions. This is critical for enhancing user experience and further broadening the scope of potential applications."
"One of the frustrations with gesture recognition solutions in the market today is that they tend to work poorly in low light conditions," said Gideon Shmuel, CEO at eyeSight. "OmniVision's easily integrated OVM6211 global shutter sensor, working in tandem with our gesture recognition technology, can overcome the inherent challenges of recognizing gestures in difficult lighting conditions. This is critical for enhancing user experience and further broadening the scope of potential applications."
ON Semi Presents Imaging Solutions
Business Wire: ON Semiconductor presents 1/2.7-inch AR0230CS image sensor aimed to 1080p IP cameras with data rates up to 60fps. The sensor features 3um DR-Pix pixels, an integrated support for HDR video, improved motion compensation, advanced local tone mapping (ALTM), and digital lateral overflow (DLO) that minimizes motion artifacts and enhances HDR colors:
The company also presents AF controller LC898214XD and AF/OIS controller LC898123XC having quite a complex internal structure with 32b DSP and relatively large memories:
The company also presents AF controller LC898214XD and AF/OIS controller LC898123XC having quite a complex internal structure with 32b DSP and relatively large memories:
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| AF/OIS controller block diagram |
Senin, 23 Februari 2015
Samsung Techwin Sells off Its Imaging Patents
PR Web: ICAP Patent Brokerage announces for sale of Samsung Techwin Co., Ltd. imaging patents. The portfolio is directed to methods and apparatuses for camera phone modules, including:
- Nine patents directed to a lens system. These address reduction of an entire length, correction of distortion, increase in viewing angle, high resolution power, securing similar optical performance with fewer lenses, and reduction of variation of resolution power in automatic zooming, etc.
- Six patents directed to the structure and driving mechanism of the lens module. These allow for the minimization of the size of an optical system, auto-focus or zooming module, cost-saving of materials, and facilitation of electrical connection, etc.
- Four patents directed to the sliding structure. These address compact size with less thickness, reduction of friction, increase in sliding stroke, user convenience, smooth sliding operation, and better readability of a key pad, etc.
- One software patent addresses improvement of user convenience in combining images for panorama image.
Sony to Discontinue CCD Products?
This info originally appeared in a number of forums, such as this one, but it has no official confirmation. The info can be a hoax.
Said all that, it seems that Sony intends to discontinue its entire line of CCD products. The story started unfolding at the end of January with closing the production line for the complementary color filters and the Kagoshima 200mm wafer production line. Last week, Framos, one of the Sony CCD distributors, sent the following email to its customers:
"Dear Customer!
This message is to inform that SONY decided to discontinue all their CCD image sensor products! Attached please find the official letters from SONY!
The CCD End-of-Life plan of SONY is the following:
- customers need to order their last-time-buy quantities by end of Aug 2015
- SONY fab will shut-down March 2017
- deliveries can be made until March 2020
Please note: for new designs, especially with CMOS sensors we can offer in-depth technical support and are able to provide reference designs etc to you under certain conditions. Especially we are already working on reference designs of the upcoming IMX25x-series.
If there are any questions or any further need, please contact your FRAMOS account manager, or sales@framos.com as soon as possible!"
Before that, Sony reportedly sent to its customers two announcements dated by the end of January:
Thanks to NA for the info!
Update: According to Sony Semiconductor flyer dated by Feb. 4, 2015, CCD used to be manufactured at Kagoshima and Kumamoto fabs:
Said all that, it seems that Sony intends to discontinue its entire line of CCD products. The story started unfolding at the end of January with closing the production line for the complementary color filters and the Kagoshima 200mm wafer production line. Last week, Framos, one of the Sony CCD distributors, sent the following email to its customers:
"Dear Customer!
This message is to inform that SONY decided to discontinue all their CCD image sensor products! Attached please find the official letters from SONY!
The CCD End-of-Life plan of SONY is the following:
- customers need to order their last-time-buy quantities by end of Aug 2015
- SONY fab will shut-down March 2017
- deliveries can be made until March 2020
Please note: for new designs, especially with CMOS sensors we can offer in-depth technical support and are able to provide reference designs etc to you under certain conditions. Especially we are already working on reference designs of the upcoming IMX25x-series.
If there are any questions or any further need, please contact your FRAMOS account manager, or sales@framos.com as soon as possible!"
Before that, Sony reportedly sent to its customers two announcements dated by the end of January:
Thanks to NA for the info!
Update: According to Sony Semiconductor flyer dated by Feb. 4, 2015, CCD used to be manufactured at Kagoshima and Kumamoto fabs:
Sabtu, 21 Februari 2015
Sony Low-Cost Global Shutter Sensor
Sony IMX249 low-cost global shutter sensor has already appeared in Point Grey cameras. Now Sony publishes an official IMX249 flyer. There is a difference between Point Grey's announced speed of 41fps and Sony's official 30fps at full 2.35MP resolution. However, on the sample photograph Sony states 60fps for FHD resolution:
Omnivision Applies for Si Photomultiplier Patent
Omnivision patent application US20150041627 "Partitioned silicon photomultiplier with delay equalization" by Eric A. G. Webster proposes 3-wafer stacked photomultiplying imager. The top wafer has photomultiplier diodes with quenchers, the bottom wafer has the readout electronics, while the mid interposer-wafer ensures equal-length interconnects to ensure the equal delay between the PDs in each pixel, and so improve the timing resolution:
poLight TLens Datasheet
poLinght publishes its TLens brief datasheet.
The POL10-3215 TLens Silver features:
The POL10-3215 TLens Silver features:
- Suitable of 1/4-inch sensors
- Supports 3MP to 8MP resolutions
- Easy to add on camera module
- ESD and stray light protection option
- Package size: 4.8mm x 4.8mm
- Minimize additional thickness at fixed focus camera module level
- Centering accuracy < +/-0,05mm
- Response time down to 1ms
- Power consumption as low as 1mW
- Small footprint 3.2mm x 3.2mm
- Focus distance from infinity down to 10cm
- No sensitivity to gravity
- Voltage range at Bottom electrode: 0V to 5V
- Voltage at Top electrode: 0V to 40V
- Maximum applied current: 1mA
- Operating temperature from -10°C to 60°C
Qualcomm Research Demos
Qualcomm Research publishes Youtube videos of its 8-axis video image stabilization:
and scene classification:
and scene classification:
Jumat, 20 Februari 2015
Videantis and Gestigon Partner
Videantis and Gestigon partner to team Videantis’s low-power vision processing IP platform with Gestigon’s tracking and gesture recognition. The main aim of the cooperation is to bring gesture and pose recognition technology to the automotive market, which is rapidly adopting a wide variety of vision-based technology. More and more image sensors are entering cars, including depth-sensing technologies. These sensors can be used for skeleton tracking inside and around the car. The driver and passenger’s poses, behavior, and signals can be used for “classical” gesture control but also for more advanced, UX-focused comfort and security features.
“Videantis is the perfect partner for gestigon”, gestigon CEO, Moritz von Grotthuss, says. “Their scalable, efficient processor IP already powers millions of cars on the road, and is a great target for low-power implementations of our algorithms that enable an innovative state-of-the-art user experience. The partnership is a perfect match -- both companies excel in their field of work and have already built a significant customer network among global automotive Tier 1s and OEMs.”
“Videantis is the perfect partner for gestigon”, gestigon CEO, Moritz von Grotthuss, says. “Their scalable, efficient processor IP already powers millions of cars on the road, and is a great target for low-power implementations of our algorithms that enable an innovative state-of-the-art user experience. The partnership is a perfect match -- both companies excel in their field of work and have already built a significant customer network among global automotive Tier 1s and OEMs.”
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| Videantis products |
Broadcom Proposes to Involve Internet Data to In-Camera Processing
Broadcom patent application US20150042843 "Systems and methods for improving images" by Ike Aret Ikizyan and Noam Sorek proposes to use network connectivity to improve smartphone camera image processing:
"Systems and methods are provided for improving image accuracy and/or perceptual quality by using supplemental data from sources external to an image sensor and/or a light sensor of an imaging device without requiring users to manually enter this data. The supplemental data, for example, may include lighting condition information retrieved from databases that provide general weather information, color temperature models, images in a similar environment, control setting information of those images, statistical information of those images, and/or any other information that may be used to improve the accuracy and/or perceptual quality of an image that was or will be captured. In some aspects, if the image has not yet been captured, the supplemental data may be used by the imaging device to adjust appropriate control settings (e.g., a color balance setting, a flash setting, an aperture setting, a shutter speed setting, an exposure compensation setting, an ISO setting, a light frequency setting, a noise reduction setting, a sharpening setting, etc.) such that the image can be captured accurately and/or with higher perceptual quality. In some aspects, if the image has already been captured, the supplemental data may be used to adjust the image itself so that it accurately reflects the environment in the image and/or improves the perceptual quality.
...environment identification module 202 may determine the environment using a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a Wi-Fi-based positioning system (WPS) sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and/or other sensors. One or more of these sensors may be part of imaging device 102."
One could expect such kind of patents come from Apple, Broadcom is a surprising source for that.
"Systems and methods are provided for improving image accuracy and/or perceptual quality by using supplemental data from sources external to an image sensor and/or a light sensor of an imaging device without requiring users to manually enter this data. The supplemental data, for example, may include lighting condition information retrieved from databases that provide general weather information, color temperature models, images in a similar environment, control setting information of those images, statistical information of those images, and/or any other information that may be used to improve the accuracy and/or perceptual quality of an image that was or will be captured. In some aspects, if the image has not yet been captured, the supplemental data may be used by the imaging device to adjust appropriate control settings (e.g., a color balance setting, a flash setting, an aperture setting, a shutter speed setting, an exposure compensation setting, an ISO setting, a light frequency setting, a noise reduction setting, a sharpening setting, etc.) such that the image can be captured accurately and/or with higher perceptual quality. In some aspects, if the image has already been captured, the supplemental data may be used to adjust the image itself so that it accurately reflects the environment in the image and/or improves the perceptual quality.
...environment identification module 202 may determine the environment using a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a Wi-Fi-based positioning system (WPS) sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and/or other sensors. One or more of these sensors may be part of imaging device 102."
One could expect such kind of patents come from Apple, Broadcom is a surprising source for that.
Samsung Proposes Color Splitter
Samsung patent application US20150041940 "Image sensor and electronic device including the same" by Gae Hwang Lee, Kyu Sik Kim, and Yong Wan Jin proposes a micro color splitter instead of color filter in front of the pixels, somewhat similar to what Panasonic presented 2 years ago. Samsung's application shows nano-structures splitting the light:
Update: Incidentally, Nokia patent application US20150042850 "Apparatus and a method for imaging" by Radu Bilcu and Martin Schrader published almost simultaneously with the Samsung one. Nokia presents a hierarchical color splitter between different image sensors or parts of them:
Update: Incidentally, Nokia patent application US20150042850 "Apparatus and a method for imaging" by Radu Bilcu and Martin Schrader published almost simultaneously with the Samsung one. Nokia presents a hierarchical color splitter between different image sensors or parts of them:
Kamis, 19 Februari 2015
Interview with David Stork, Rambus
Image Sensors Conference, to be held in a month in London, UK, publishes an interview with one of its presenters, David Stork, Fellow and Research Director of the Computational Sensing and Imaging Group at Rambus Labs. The interview is mostly devoted to the lensless image sensor with grating instead of lens, already shown earlier on other conferences. Few quotes:
"In short, the grating produces an image blob on the sensor array that is meant for computers, not humans and unlike in a traditional camera, in our lensless smart sensor the image is computed using special algorithms. I’m particularly intrigued and encouraged by our most recent work on designing gratings and subsequent digital processing to address particular image sensing tasks such as image change detection, visual flow estimation, face detection, object tracking, people counting, and so on."
"Several facts are clear, though: our resolution is lower than that typically discussed at Image Sensors—thousands or tens of thousands of effective pixels, not millions or billions. Moreover, because of our sensor small size, we do not collect much light compromising our low-light sensitivity. We are confident that there are many large application areas for our sensors, even given these constraints."
"In short, the grating produces an image blob on the sensor array that is meant for computers, not humans and unlike in a traditional camera, in our lensless smart sensor the image is computed using special algorithms. I’m particularly intrigued and encouraged by our most recent work on designing gratings and subsequent digital processing to address particular image sensing tasks such as image change detection, visual flow estimation, face detection, object tracking, people counting, and so on."
"Several facts are clear, though: our resolution is lower than that typically discussed at Image Sensors—thousands or tens of thousands of effective pixels, not millions or billions. Moreover, because of our sensor small size, we do not collect much light compromising our low-light sensitivity. We are confident that there are many large application areas for our sensors, even given these constraints."
Sony to Spin-Off Image Sensor Business?
Among many comments on yesterday's Sony Corporate Strategy meeting, Financial Times stands out claiming that Sony will likely spin off its image sensor business in future. Here is the quote, believe it or not:
"Sony plans to make the department responsible for the Walkman brand a separate subsidiary in October. This would likely be followed by the spin-off of the device division including image sensors in the future, according to Kazuo Hirai, [Sony] chief executive."
Update: EETimes too quotes FT article on the image sensor business spin-off.
Update #2: Nikkei quotes Sony CEO intending to spin-off most businesses and keep the HQ small:
"We will spin off businesses that are currently run by the main body one by one," Hirai said. "(By leaving only departments related to management, R&D, etc to the main body), we will make small headquarters to increase the speed of making management strategies and decisions."
"Sony plans to make the department responsible for the Walkman brand a separate subsidiary in October. This would likely be followed by the spin-off of the device division including image sensors in the future, according to Kazuo Hirai, [Sony] chief executive."
Update: EETimes too quotes FT article on the image sensor business spin-off.
Update #2: Nikkei quotes Sony CEO intending to spin-off most businesses and keep the HQ small:
"We will spin off businesses that are currently run by the main body one by one," Hirai said. "(By leaving only departments related to management, R&D, etc to the main body), we will make small headquarters to increase the speed of making management strategies and decisions."
TI ToF Solutions
TI has updated its ToF imaging web page. The new version includes a fairly detailed ToF camera system design guide, and a comparison of different 3D depth imaging approaches:
Rabu, 18 Februari 2015
MIPI Officially Releases CSI-2 v1.3
Business Wire: MIPI Alliance introduces CSI-2 v1.3, an update to its Camera Serial Interface (CSI) spec. The new interface operates CSI-2 on either of two physical layer specs: D-PHY, which CSI-2 has used traditionally, as well as MIPI C-PHY, a new PHY that MIPI Alliance released as v1.0 in September 2014. Products may implement CSI-2 solutions using either or both PHYs in the same design.
MIPI C-PHY uses 3-phase symbol encoding of about 2.28 bits per symbol to transmit data symbols on 3-wire lanes, or “trios,” with embedded clocking, facilitating longer trace reach and maximizing camera port configurations on mobile platforms. MIPI CSI-2 v1.3 with C-PHY provides performance gains, increased bandwidth delivery of 22.7 Gbps over four lanes at 2.5 Gsps (Giga-symbols per second) for realizing higher resolution, better color depth, and higher frame rates on image sensors while providing pin compatibility with MIPI D-PHY. Popular imaging formats including 4K video at 30fps using 12 bits per pixel may be delivered using a single MIPI C-PHY lane.
CSI-2 with D-PHY v1.2 can achieve a peak transmission rate of 2.5 Gbps over a single lane or 10 Gbps over four lanes. A 12bpp, 30 FPS 4K video can be transmitted using two data lanes.
MIPI C-PHY uses 3-phase symbol encoding of about 2.28 bits per symbol to transmit data symbols on 3-wire lanes, or “trios,” with embedded clocking, facilitating longer trace reach and maximizing camera port configurations on mobile platforms. MIPI CSI-2 v1.3 with C-PHY provides performance gains, increased bandwidth delivery of 22.7 Gbps over four lanes at 2.5 Gsps (Giga-symbols per second) for realizing higher resolution, better color depth, and higher frame rates on image sensors while providing pin compatibility with MIPI D-PHY. Popular imaging formats including 4K video at 30fps using 12 bits per pixel may be delivered using a single MIPI C-PHY lane.
CSI-2 with D-PHY v1.2 can achieve a peak transmission rate of 2.5 Gbps over a single lane or 10 Gbps over four lanes. A 12bpp, 30 FPS 4K video can be transmitted using two data lanes.
Sony Announces New Sensors
Sony announces 4 new image sensors.
IMX290LQR and IMX291LQR are 1/2.8-inch, 2.3MP 2.9um BSI pixel CMOS sensors featuring an improved IR sensitivity and WDR modes. The new 2.9 µm BSI pixel is said to provide two or more times the sensitivity in the visible-light region and three or more times the sensitivity in the NIR region than that of the existing Sony product (IMX236LQJ). In addition, two types of WDR are provided: IMX290LQR has multiple exposure and DOL (Digital Overlap) -WDR function, while IMX291LQR has only multiple exposure WDR.
The multiple exposure-type WDR outputs one set of two or four frames with different exposure times. The gain can also be set separately for each frame in addition to the exposure time.
The DOL-type WDR function outputs the data for up to three frames with different storage times line by line. By performing special signal processing with an ISP or other device at the image sensor rear-end, this is said to improve the picture quality under low illumination compared to the multiple exposure-type WDR function.
Sony publishes quarter-resolution low-light images comparing the new sensors with the older IMX236LQJ, both shot at 0.08 lux, F1.4 lens 1080p30 mode (click to expand):
2.35MP IMX302LQJ is yet another member of 5.86um pixel-based global shutter sensor (Pregius) aimed to industrial and machine vision market. The sensor's speed is 64.1fps with 12b ADC.
Update: Talking about Sony global shutter sensors, IMV Europe quotes Thad Smith, director of business for image sensor products at ON Semiconductor: "IMX174 can indeed be considered a disruptive technology. The technology demonstrates the possibilities of the new charge-based pixel approach and sets a new benchmark for image quality. However, while IMX174 is a single part in the portfolio, On Semiconductor’s image sensors offer a larger range of solutions for the industrial market. This is a key differentiator." In recent months, Sony appears to release quite a few IMX174 derivatives featuring the same 5.86um global shutter pixels. And there is a 2nd generation of its global shutter pixel coming.
The 6.84MP ICX816AQG 1/1.1-inch CCD targets traffic monitoring cameras and features 3.69um pixels with high sensitivity and low smear:
Update: For some reason, as of Feb. 21, 2015, Sony has withdrawn the ICX816AQG CCD announcement. The links to it are broken.
IMX290LQR and IMX291LQR are 1/2.8-inch, 2.3MP 2.9um BSI pixel CMOS sensors featuring an improved IR sensitivity and WDR modes. The new 2.9 µm BSI pixel is said to provide two or more times the sensitivity in the visible-light region and three or more times the sensitivity in the NIR region than that of the existing Sony product (IMX236LQJ). In addition, two types of WDR are provided: IMX290LQR has multiple exposure and DOL (Digital Overlap) -WDR function, while IMX291LQR has only multiple exposure WDR.
The multiple exposure-type WDR outputs one set of two or four frames with different exposure times. The gain can also be set separately for each frame in addition to the exposure time.
The DOL-type WDR function outputs the data for up to three frames with different storage times line by line. By performing special signal processing with an ISP or other device at the image sensor rear-end, this is said to improve the picture quality under low illumination compared to the multiple exposure-type WDR function.
Sony publishes quarter-resolution low-light images comparing the new sensors with the older IMX236LQJ, both shot at 0.08 lux, F1.4 lens 1080p30 mode (click to expand):
 |
| Older IMX236LQJ, gain 48dB |
 |
| New IMX290LQR, gain 63dB |
2.35MP IMX302LQJ is yet another member of 5.86um pixel-based global shutter sensor (Pregius) aimed to industrial and machine vision market. The sensor's speed is 64.1fps with 12b ADC.
Update: Talking about Sony global shutter sensors, IMV Europe quotes Thad Smith, director of business for image sensor products at ON Semiconductor: "IMX174 can indeed be considered a disruptive technology. The technology demonstrates the possibilities of the new charge-based pixel approach and sets a new benchmark for image quality. However, while IMX174 is a single part in the portfolio, On Semiconductor’s image sensors offer a larger range of solutions for the industrial market. This is a key differentiator." In recent months, Sony appears to release quite a few IMX174 derivatives featuring the same 5.86um global shutter pixels. And there is a 2nd generation of its global shutter pixel coming.
The 6.84MP ICX816AQG 1/1.1-inch CCD targets traffic monitoring cameras and features 3.69um pixels with high sensitivity and low smear:
Update: For some reason, as of Feb. 21, 2015, Sony has withdrawn the ICX816AQG CCD announcement. The links to it are broken.
Omnivision Parnters with Almalence
PR Newswire: OmniVision is collaborating with Almalence to bring DSC-like performance to mobile applications. The coupling of 10MP OV10823 and 13MP PureCel OV13850 image sensors with Almalence's computational imaging algorithms allows for the capturing of high resolution images or videos in low-light conditions.
"When using Almalence's algorithms, our high performance OV13850 PureCel image sensor can enable high quality video recording in full resolution at 30 frames per second for zero shutter lag, and also can support high frame rate 1080p HD video at 60 frames per second with electronic image stabilization," said Tehzeeb Gunja, senior partnership and business development manager at OmniVision.
1.4um OmniBSI-2 pixel OV10823 performance is augmented by Almalence's low-light enhancement technology, which can enable 10dB reduction in noise without washing out desirable image details. Cameras using super resolution can experience a 1.5 to 2x effective resolution increase. Almalence's super resolution and low-light enhancement technologies are pure software solutions.
"As a result of this technology partnership between Almalence and OmniVision, consumers can benefit from the advantages of marrying advanced hardware and software solutions," said Eugene Panich, CEO of Almalence. "Our companies have developed complementary technologies and our passions are very much aligned. We are delighted to see our computational imaging solution paired with image sensors that operate at this level of performance."
"When using Almalence's algorithms, our high performance OV13850 PureCel image sensor can enable high quality video recording in full resolution at 30 frames per second for zero shutter lag, and also can support high frame rate 1080p HD video at 60 frames per second with electronic image stabilization," said Tehzeeb Gunja, senior partnership and business development manager at OmniVision.
1.4um OmniBSI-2 pixel OV10823 performance is augmented by Almalence's low-light enhancement technology, which can enable 10dB reduction in noise without washing out desirable image details. Cameras using super resolution can experience a 1.5 to 2x effective resolution increase. Almalence's super resolution and low-light enhancement technologies are pure software solutions.
"As a result of this technology partnership between Almalence and OmniVision, consumers can benefit from the advantages of marrying advanced hardware and software solutions," said Eugene Panich, CEO of Almalence. "Our companies have developed complementary technologies and our passions are very much aligned. We are delighted to see our computational imaging solution paired with image sensors that operate at this level of performance."
Sony FY2015-17 Strategy
Sony mid-term corporate strategy for FY2015-17 declares its image sensor business one of the main growth drivers. "In Devices, Sony aims to further bolster its competitive edge in the area of CMOS image sensors by investing to increase production capacity and enhance R&D."
From Sony strategy presentation:
From Sony strategy presentation:
Selasa, 17 Februari 2015
Pixart Reports its Sales Down
Pixart Q4 2014 earnings report reveals that "the revenue in 2014 Q4 decreased by 7.7% QoQ to NT$1,097.0 million. Due to favorable product mix and the appreciation of US dollar, 2014 Q4 gross margin increased to 47.8% from 46.4% in 2014 Q3." The company's investor presentation shows the segment sales proportions:
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