AutoSens conference held in Brussels, Belgium, in September 2018, publishes a nice collection of interviews with its exhibitors:

IEDM publishes a teaser for Artilux paper "Ge-on-Si Lock-In Pixels for Distance Ranging" by N. Na et al.

Omnivision's video explains LED flicker and the ways to reduce it:

PRNewswire: OmniVision announces the OS02C10, a 2.9um, 2MP sensor with ultra-low-light (ULL) technology. Combining ULL with Nyxel NIR technology, the OS02C10 can detect incident light in both visible and NIR wavelengths and produce color and monochrome images for security applications.

TI whitepaper "DLP DMD Technology: LIDAR ambient light reduction" proposes to use the company's DLP chip in LiDAR:

Finland's Tampere University of Technology (TUT) is developing light-controlled materials that change their shape, length or thickness in response to light.

PRNewswire, Thomas-PR: RoboSense announces the completion of China’s largest-ever single round of financing for a LiDAR company – a combined investment of over $45 million (RMB 300 million). The investors include Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd.

Yole Developpement publishes its presentations at CIOE Photonics Executive Forums (requires free registration to download):"3D sensing for consumer: the game changing interface" by Pierre Cambou"The automotive market will shape the future of LiDAR - The multi-billion dollars opportunity" by Guillaum...

San Diego-based image sensor distributor AlliedSens reveals that Brookman 1.3MP BT130C and 2MP BT200C are used in Japanese color night vision cameras, such as this one.

Science Magazine publishes a paper on wideband light sensing device "Ultrabroadband photosensitivity from visible to terahertz at room temperature" by Dong Wu, Yongchang Ma, Yingying Niu, Qiaomei Liu, Tao Dong, Sijie Zhang, Jiasen Niu, Huibin Zhou, Jian Wei, Yingxin Wang, Ziran Zhao, and Nanlin Wang...

Teledyne e2v announces that samples are now available for Emerald 8M9, the newest member of the Emerald CMOS sensor family dedicated to machine vision and Intelligent Traffic System (ITS) applications.Emerald 8M9 features a 2.8µm global shutter pixel and provides a 8.

Taiwan-based Artilux' paper "Proposal and demonstration of lock-in pixels for indirect time-of-flight measurements based on germanium-on-silicon technology" by N. Na, S.-L. Cheng, H.-D. Liu, M.-J. Yang, C.-Y. Chen, H.-W. Chen, Y.-T. Chou, C.-T. Lin, W.-H. Liu, C.-F. Liang, C.-L. Chen, S.-W. Chu, B.

Omnivision patent application US20180249105 "Image Sensor with Two-Dimensional Split Dual Photodiode Pairs" by Gang Chen, Qin Wang, Duli Mao, and Lindsay Grant proposes cross-type PDAF pixels that are also used for a regular image sensing:

Every two years the photography world gathers at Photokina in Cologne, Germany, to show off their latest products and unveil their plans for the future.

Panasonic is developing a 3D ToF image sensor for AI-based advanced driver monitoring systems. The ToF image sensor has 5.6um pixel optimized for high sensitivity at 940nm wavelength to operate under bright sunlight.

Facebook Oculus announces its next generation stand-alone VR headset - Oculus Quest.

TechInsights iPhone XS Max teardown has been updated with the cost analysis of the new model vs the last year iPhone X:Components cost estimationApple iPhone XS MaxA1921Apple iPhone XA1091Applications Processor/Modems$72.00$66.22Battery$9.00$6.46Connectivity & Sensors$18.00$17.11Cameras$44.

Hong Kong-based GF Securities publishes "Greater China Smartphone Supply Chain" report dated by Sept. 26, 2018. The analysts say about the forthcoming Apple ToF solution:"Due to Apple’s AR focus (Apple launched its ARkit in June-2017), we expect ToF to be installed in Apple's 2019 iPhone models.

Sony publishes the maps explaining its image sensor lineups for consumer cameras and industrial applications:

BusinessWire: Samsung announces its new automotive solution brand Samsung ISOCELL Auto.

GlobeNewswire: TowerJazz announces ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) compliant processes now include 65nm technology access for next-generation ROICs, enabling essential military and space applications critical to national defense.

Yole Developpement publishes an interview with Michael Wu, SVP Global Marketing and Sales at OmniVision. Few interesting quotes:Update: The quote below has been edited according to Omnivision's request on Oct. 15, 2018:"Our IPO on the Nasdaq Exchange was in 2000. In 2016, we went private.

AppleInsider: California residents Yanbin Yu and Zhongxuan Zhang filed a lawsuit alleging Apple infringed on their US6611289 patent in the company's dual-camera mobile phones, such as iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Cermaq Group AS in Norway has developed a 3D face recognition for salmon fish, based on the distinct pattern of spots around their eyes, mouth and gills.

poLight has completed a successful IPO at Oslo Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2018. The company has raised 130m NOK (about $15.5m).

KB ViTA kindly sent me an info about their latest LWIR camera that senses polarization:"It all was started with the fact KB ViTA has developed a very sensitive thermal imaging module VLM640, which had a sensitivity of at least 20 mK in 8 — 12 µm band.

Espros September 2018 Newsletter announces that the company has signed a contract with Hypersen Technologies (Shenzhen) Co. to supply them with a mass delivery of the TOF epc635 imagers. The epc635 sensors run Hypersen's recently launched solid-state LiDAR (HPS-3D Series).

Wired, Verge, Axios: Mountain View, CA-based automotive LiDAR startup Aeva demos its coherent LiDAR prototype and announces $45m round A financing. The company was founded by two ex-Apple engineers in 2017.

Valeo shows how inside car cameras can be useful in various scenarios:

IHS Markit estimates Apple iPhone Xs Max camera components cost at $51.

Apple keeps filing continuation applications for its stacked pixel patent filed more than 4 years ago. The most recent continuation is named "Image Sensor Having Full Well Capacity Beyond Photodiode Capacity" by Xiaofeng Fan.

Pioneer announces that from late September, the company will sequentially start shipping three types and four models of 3D-LiDAR sensors, which adopt the MEMS mirror method and differ in measurement distance: “Telescopic LiDAR”, “Medium-range LiDAR” and “Short-range LiDAR.

Geneva, Switzerland-based ID Quantique launches the fruit of its cooperation with SK Telecom - an image sensor-based Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) chip - Quantis."At its core, the QRNG chip contains a light-emitting diode (LED) and an image sensor.

TWEPP Conference publishes Guy Meinants' (AMS) presentation "Low Noise Global Shutter Pixels And Readout Circuits For CMOS Image Sensors.

Digitimes expects the CMOS sensor demand to boom in 2019, thanks to triple-camera phones adoption and ADAS applications in 2019.

The Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 is a general-purpose zoom for Sony’s full-frame mirrorless cameras. It offers a classy step-up from Sony’s budget FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6, and is two-thirds the price of the FE 24-105mm f4, while boasting a brighter aperture than either.

Omnivision asked me to correct a part of Yole Developpement interview that talks about its relationship with Will Semiconductor:"PC: Since the change in shareholders two years ago, can you explain to our readers what has changed for the company?MW: Our IPO on the Nasdaq Exchange was in 2000.

Kingpak presentation on automotive image sensor packaging compares the company's BGA offerings with competition:

Teledyne e2v announces a new 11MP sensor in its Lince family. The Lince11M is designed for applications that require 4K resolution at very high shutter speed. It uniquely combines 4K resolution at 710fps in APS-C format or or 1400fps when windowing in full HD resolution.

Samsung Galaxy A9 mobile phone features 4 rear cameras:

The Nikon Z 24-70mm f4S is a general-purpose zoom for Nikon’s Z-format full-frame mirrorless cameras. The lens features a constant f4 focal ratio, fast and quiet focusing, and a compact design that’s a perfect match for Z bodies.

Photonics Spectra publishes an article "Emerging Applications Drive Image Sensor Innovations" Hank Hogan. Few quotes:"Vendors are responding by increasing sensor spectral range, integrating new capabilities into devices, and adding features such as 3D imaging.

James Hughes and Yash Gupta from UCSC present their idea of Gigabit random number generator for cryptography:

Ars Technica: Following a complaint by Eric Swildens, the USPTO has rejected all but three of 56 claims in Waymo's US9368936 patent. The USPTO found that some claims replicated technology described in an earlier patent from Velodyne, while another claim was simply "impossible" and "magic.

The Rode VideoMic ME-L is a small microphone designed for iPhones with Lightning ports. It's aimed at vloggers, interviewers and musicians who want to capture higher quality audio than the phone's built-in microphone.

IEDM 2018 to be held on Dec. 1-5 in San Francisco publishes a list of accepted papers with an interesting image sensor stuff:High Performance 2.5um Global Shutter Pixel with New Designed Light-Pipe StructureToshifumi Yokoyama, TowerJazz Panasonic Semiconductor Co.Back-Illuminated 2.

Sony officially unveils IMX250MZR / MYR polarization sensitive image sensors. The IMX250MZR monochromatic version is available now, while color IMX250MYR is expected to be available in December 2018. The 5.07MP sensors use 3.

The Fujifilm GFX 50R is a rangefinder-styled medium format mirrorless camera with 50 Megapixels and a built-in electronic viewfinder. It’s thinner and lighter than the original GFX 50S but sports the same quality.

RED introduces a camera for shooting immersive 360 degree VR content featuring 16 fish eye cameras with 8K 60fps Super 35mm Helium sensor each (active area 29.9 x 15.77mm2, 3.65um pixels).

ALA News: Isorg, a maker of printed organic photodetectors and large-area image sensors, raises €24M in a Series B round.