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Mobileye’s CTO and Chairman Amnon Shashua talks about the Three Pillars of Autonomous Driving:Archives for June 2016
Altera Demos AlexNet CNN
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Altera shows a demo of its AlexNet Convolution Neural Network (CNN), said to be able to identify many common objects in the image:Valeo on Automotive Vision
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Autosens Conference publishes an interview with Valeo Senior Expert and Adjunct Professor of Automotive Electronics at the University of Ireland Patrick Denny. Few points on image sensor implications:"The pervasive tendency in the industry is a transition from component-level thinking to system-level, where the products and applications are considerably more than the sum of their parts.
This calls for: glass-to-glass thinking for the video chain (for viewing), and; glass-to-bit appreciation (for machine vision).
These instincts must be further widened in multi-sensor architectures that support sensor fusion to include photon/phonon-to-bit thinking. The day of daisy-chaining black boxes to make an automotive product is gone and stakeholders in the video chain need to have an appreciation of, and accommodation for, the interaction of the elements which originate both inside and outside of the automotive industry."
"A typical colour megapixel automotive camera generates a data bit for every man, woman and child on Earth in under 6 seconds and is connected in turn to multi-sensor systems that perform ever more complex processing, and this is the tip of the data iceberg among the sensor fusion systems on a vehicle.
The introduction of cameras on to vehicles caused a leap in the volume, variety and velocity of data available to the vehicle and a rock solid mathematical appreciation of how these data sets work is vital for automotive technologists trying to make product differentiators."
Mobileye Chief Engineer on ADAS Market
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EETimes publishes an article "Mobileye Chief Engineer Explains EyeQ5" by Junko Yoshida. Few quotes:"12 to 18 months ago, automakers were more inclined to develop an autonomous car that allows a driver to take his mind off driving on the highway, according to Mobileye. That would be a Level 3 autonomous car – according to the SAE standard -- defined as “within known, limited environments (such as freeways), the driver can safely turn their attention away from driving tasks.”
Now, automakers want autonomous cars that can operate without a driver – much sooner than later, according to Mobileye.
In keeping up with its customers’ more aggressive timetable, Mobileye has also “slightly pulled forward” — to 2020 — its plan for EyeQ5.
[Elchanan Rushinek, Mobileye’s SVP of Engineering] said that EyeQ5 was designed to support more than 16 cameras in addition to multiple radars and LIDARs, including the low-level processing of all sensors.
More at the technical level, he explained, “There are 16 virtual MIPI channels and more than 16 sensors can be supported by multiplexing several physical sensors on a single virtual MIPI channel.”
“Camera processing is the most computationally intensive, so any solution would include dedicated vision processing ECUs in addition to sending some of the raw data to the central ECU. Both EyeQ4 and EyeQ5 can support both goals -- specific vision processing, as well as master ECU,” he added. “The EyeQ controls each sensor via I2C bus on a frame basis in order to get the optimized output, which is deeply aligned with real time algorithms.”
Rumor: iPhone 7 Dual Camera Cancelled
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BGR quotes a rumor that the upcoming iPhone 7 will not have dual camera: "Apparently, an unnamed Foxconn employee told people that the dual lens camera in the iPhone 7 Plus has been canceled because of “immature technology.” It’s not clear what that means, or whether the claim is even accurate."Sony AR Glasses Demo
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Sony publishes a promotional video of its SmartEyeGlass equipped with a 3MP camera:ULIS’ 17µm Gen2 Thermal Sensor Used by Bertin Technology
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ALA News: ULIS announces the selection of its VGA 17um Gen2 thermal sensor in Bertin Technology’s FusionSight camera. “Bertin Technology’s choice of ULIS’ VGA 17µm 640x480 thermal image sensor is further evidence of the true competitiveness and sustainability of our 17 micron Gen2 products, designed to offer peak performance, environmental hardiness and reductions in the overall cost of system ownership,” said Emmanuel Bercier, senior marketing manager at ULIS.Photometrics on New Generation of Image Sensors
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LabRoots publishes Photometrics Youtube presentation on new generation of image sensors and image processing by Rachit Mohindra, Photometrics' Life Science Research Cameras Product Manager:SPAD Imager Presentation
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The 10th International Meeting on Front-End Electronics (FEE 2016) publishes "Single-Photon Imager" presentation by Edoardo Charbon, TU Delft. Few slides out of the deck of 92:Pinned Photodiode Presentation
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The 10th International Meeting on Front-End Electronics (FEE 2016) publishes "The Pinned Photodiode" lecture by Nobukazu Teranishi, University of Hyogo and Shizuoka University. Few slides out of the stack of 41:RTN Noise Theory Predictions
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A group of researches from China Hangzhou Dianzi University publishes their theoretical RTN noise model in the paper "Modeling random telegraph signal noise in CMOS image sensor under low light based on binomial distribution" by Yu Zhang, Xinmiao Lu, Guangyi Wang, Yongcai Hu, and Jiangtao Xu in Chinese Physics B Journal Vol. 25, No. 7 (2016). The paper describes a theoretical model and announces the plans to verify some of its predictions in a future experiment:"the long channel device has the longer tail in the RTS noise histogram when the density of the oxide trap is high, while the short channel device has the longer tail in the RTS noise histogram in the case of low oxide trap density. The simulation results also illustrate that the longer tail in the RTS noise histogram will appear at the high environmental temperature if the device dimension and the density of the oxide trap are fixed."
Pacific Crest Forecasts ON Semi Image Sensor Sales to Grow 3x
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BidnessEtc: Pacific Crest believes that ADAS is ON Semi's future growth drive. ON Semi is said to have a 70% share in the automotive image sensor sector and a three-year design-win visibility. Pacific Crest projects that this could drive the company’s image sensor over 3x to $28 per vehicle in next three years, which may lead to better earnings.Nikon D500 review – supremely confident for sports and wildlife!
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The Nikon D500 is a pro DSLR with a 20 Megapixel APSC sensor. Announced alongside the full-frame D5, it brings features from the flagship to a smaller, lighter and more affordable body. Headlines include 10fps continuous shooting, a new 153-point AF system inherited from the D5, a large viewfinder, weather sealing, a 3.2in tilting touch-screen, dual memory card slots, 4k movies and built-in Wifi, NFC and Bluetooth, the latter exploited by Nikon's new SnapBridge technology. I spent several weeks testing the D500 for my in-depth review - find out if it's the sports and wildlife DSLR you've been waiting for in my Nikon D500 review!Sony Semiconductor Business
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Sony updates its Semiconductor Business flyer with the new data, mostly in line with the previously announced ones. Ex-Toshiba Oita fab that Sony intended to use for non-imaging products, is now listed as the one that is fully devoted to CMOS sensors:Lenovo Unveils First Tango-Enabled Smartphone
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Lenovo Phab 2 Pro Tango-enabled smartphone features PMD-Infineon ToF Sensor. PMD put together a nice Youtube playlist with the product videos.“Through the Tango-enabled PHAB2 Pro, we are opening a complete new era of mobile applications”, says Hua Zhang, VP, Lenovo Android and Chrome Computing Business Group.
“This is just the beginning of a journey and we are really proud to contributing our unique technology to Project Tango and this great new Lenovo product. We believe that with the miniaturization of depth sensing for mobile device integration, while staying extremely robust and efficient, we have broken a barrier, which will make our 3D ToF cameras as common as conventional cameras in the next years,” says Bernd Buxbaum, CEO of pmd.
“It was a long journey, and this remarkable success became possible due to the very intense cooperation between pmd and Infineon technically as well as businesswise,” adds Jochen Penne, Director Business Development at pmd.
Piezoelectric AF Module Durability Improved to 1.2km
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New Scale Technologies has increased the lifetime specification for its M3-FS Focus Module and M3-LS Linear Smart Stage to greater than 10 million random moves within 1.2 km of total distance traveled.The lifetime specification of >10 million moves is a 10x improvement and is based on months of performance testing, in which standard M3-FS modules achieved more than 56 million movements of approximately 21 µm each for a total distance moved of 1.2 kilometers, with no performance reduction or sign of failure at teardown. Testing conditions included vertical motion and a 10g load. Actual performance will depend on the application and use case.
3rd International Workshop on Image Sensors and Imaging Systems: Frontier of image sensors based on conceptual breakthroughs inspired by applications
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Tokyo Institute of Technology announces 3rd International Workshop on Image Sensors and Imaging Systems (IWISS2016) to be held on Nov. 17-18, 2016 at Tamachi Campus. The Workship is accepting approximately 20 poster papers. Submission of papers for the poster presentation starts in September, and the deadline is on September 23, 2016.The preliminary list of invited presentations is impressive:
- Ion implantation technology for image sensors
Nobukazu Teranishi, Genshu Fuse, and Michiro Sugitani,
Shizuoka Univ./ Univ. of Hyogo, Sumitomo, Heavy Industries Ion Technology Co., Ltd., Japan) - 3D-stacking architecture for low-noise high-speed image sensors
Shoji Kawahito,
Shizuoka Univ., Japan - A Dead-time free global shutter stacked CMOS image sensor with in-pixel LOFIC and ADC using pixel-wise connections
Rihito Kuroda, Hidetake Sugo, Shunichi Wakashima, and Shigetoshi Sugawa,
Tohoku Univ., Japan - 3D stacked image sensor featuring low noise inductive coupling channels
Masayuki Ikebe, Daisuke Uchida, Yasuhiro Take, Tetsuya Asai, Tadahiro Kuroda, and Masato Motomura,
Hokkaido Univ., Keio Univ., Japan - Low-noise CMOS image sensors towards single-photon detection
Min-Woong Seo, Keiichiro Kagawa, Keita Yasutomi, and Shoji Kawahito,
Shizuoka Univ., Japan - Bioluminescence imaging in living animals
Takahiro Kuchimaru, Tetsuya Kadonosono, Shinae Kizaka-Kondoh,
Tokyo Inst. of Tech., Japan - Restoration of a Poissonian-Gaussian color moving-image sequence
Takahiro Saito and Takashi Komatsu,
Kanagawa Univ., Japan - Always-on CMOS image sensor: energy-efficient circuits and architecture
Jaehyuk Choi,
Sungkyunkwan Univ., Korea - Low-voltage high-dynamic-range CMOS imager with energy harvesting
Chih-Cheng Hsieh and Albert Yen-Chih Chiou,
National Tsing Hua Univ., Taiwan - Various ultra-high-speed imaging and applications by Streak camera
Koro Uchiyama,
Hamamatsu Photonics K. K., Japan - Time-of-flight image sensors toward micrometer resolution
Keita Yasutomi and Shoji Kawahito,
Shizuoka Univ., Japan - Toward the ultimate speed of silicon image sensors: from 4.5 kfps to Gfps and more
Goji Etoh,
Osaka Univ., Japan - Studies on adaptive optics and application to the biological microscope
Masayuki Hattori,
National Inst. for Basic Biology, Japan - Application of light-sheet microscopy to cell and development biology
Shigenori Nonaka,
National Inst. for Basic Biology, Japan - Non-contact video based estimation for heart rate variability spectrogram using ambient light by extracting hemoglobin information
Norimichi Tsumura,
Chiba Univ. , Japan - Development of ultraviolet- and visible-light one-shot spectral domain optical coherence tomography and in situ measurements of human skin
Heijiro Hirayama or Sohichiro Nakamura,
FUJIFILM Corp., Japan - Extremely compact hyperspectral camera for drone and smartphone
Ichiro Ishimaru,
Kagawa Univ., Japan
Photometrics Doesn’t Miss Any Photon, with GPixel’s Help
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BusinessWire: Photometrics and Gpixel announced the release of the Photometrics Prime 95B Scientific CMOS camera featuring scientific-grade CMOS sensor available with 95% QE, the GSENSE400BSI-TVISB. It BSI technology with 11um large pixels and low-noise characteristics to maximize light collection.DynaOptics Launches Kickstarter Campaign
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DynaOptics announces its Kickstarter fundrasing campaign for the OOWA rotationally asymmetrical lens:"A lens that is rotationally asymmetrical does not look the same after you turn it around it’s center point. The number of positions in which the object looks exactly the same is called the order of the symmetry. In OOWA, we are using second order symmetry.
Due to the second order symmetry in our free-form lenses, we are able to optimize image quality in a rectang ular shape, mapping this high-quality image space onto the rectangular sensor."
ST 2m-Range ToF Sensor
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Webwire: While ST has already shown the new ToF sensor, the VL53L0X 2m-range 940nm-wavelength ToF sensor is officially presented just now:"The VL53L0X extends the ToF measurement range to two meters, and is accurate to within ±3%. It is also faster, measuring the distance in under 30ms, and highly energy-efficient, consuming only 20mW in active ranging mode and drawing 5µA in standby. At 2.4mm x 4.4mm x 1mm, it is also the smallest such device in the market.
The VL53L0X is in production now in a 12-pad reflow-compatible module, priced at $2.30 for orders of 1,000 pieces."
Lenovo Adapts Movidius Vision Processor
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Marketwired: Movidius and Lenovo announce a strategic partnership to provide vision processing technology to a variety of VR-centric Lenovo products. Lenovo will be able to source the advanced Myriad 2 Vision Processing Unit (VPU) and custom computer vision algorithms for various virtual reality projects."Our technology was built to maximize machine vision performance in a sub-1 Watt power budget," says Movidius CEO, Remi El-Ouazzane. "In selecting Myriad 2 for their VR products, Lenovo is building devices designed from the ground-up for VR. We're very much looking forward to these no-compromise devices that will push VR adoption into the mainstream."
"Myriad 2 is unique in its ability to deliver the kind of vision compute performance we need for our next generation VR products," says Lenovo's Shanghai Research & Technology group Manager, Li Xiang. "We can build the products we want, without compromising on cost, size, performance or battery life."
The first Lenovo products featuring Myriad 2 are expected in 2H 2016.
Invisage Unveils 13MP NIR Sensor with 1.1um Pixels
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BusinessWire: InVisage launches the Spark4K NIR camera sensor. A 1.1um pixel, 13MP sensor in a 1/3-inch module, Spark4K is said to feature the world’s highest NIR resolution and 4K video at 30 fps, targeting augmented reality, autonomous, and authentication systems that require high-resolution, high dynamic range NIR imaging with global shutter capability.Spark4K leverages the QuantumFilm technology platform’s combination of higher sensitivity with electronic global shutter to minimize power consumption while overcoming the glare of ambient infrared in sunlight. The photosensitivity of NIR-optimized QuantumFilm is sad to be 5x higher than conventional silicon at 940nm wavelength, allowing the Spark4K pixel to deliver 35% quantum efficiency. Spark4K can accurately detect a brighter but shorter LED pulse that instantaneously outshines ambient infrared light to help devices navigate and learn about their environments more accurately in pitch darkness or in direct sunlight. In addition, by pulsing the LED in sync with Spark4K’s global shutter, systems reduce battery consumption dramatically, enabling more compact, lighter weight product designs. The applications include drones, self-driving vehicles, and augmented reality devices that will benefit from Spark4K’s extended range and power savings.
“After the recent launch of our 2-megapixel NIR sensor SparkP2, we’re excited to expand our IR product portfolio with a higher resolution infrared camera sensor,” said Jess Lee, InVisage President and CEO. “As machine vision enters the mass consumer market of phones, drones, cars and AR headsets, the demands are clear. Small-footprint, high-resolution infrared cameras that perform invisibly indoors and outdoors are a must. By pairing higher sensitivity with a short pulse 940-nanometer source, our Spark products easily save 50 times on power compared to a conventional camera while overpowering sun irradiance.”
InVisage’s Spark line of NIR cameras is optimized for depth sensing, 3-D mapping, compositional analysis, authentication, and gesture tracking. Spark4K also features dynamic pixel sizing for lower resolution, high sensitivity security applications. Light captured from adjacent 1.1um pixels can be combined to maximize sensitivity and readout speed according to the demands of a specific application. In practice, this allows for an optional 3MP sensor mode with four times greater sensitivity in low light or long-range scenarios.
Spark4K is sampling in June 2016 with mass production scheduled by Q4 2016.
Omnivision R&D Works on Unusual Pixels
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Omnivision's patent application US20160099371 "Back side illuminated image sensor with guard ring region reflecting structure" by Eric Webster proposes just that - the reflective metal guard ring around SPAD pixel:Another Omnivision's application US20160027837 "Visible and Infrared Image Sensor" by Eric Webster, Howard Rhodes, and Dominic Massetti proposes Si-Ge photosensitive layer to extend IR response:
Canon EOS 1300D / Rebel T6 review – an affordable entry to DSLRs!
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The EOS 1300D, or Rebel T6 as it's known in North America, is Canon's latest entry-level DSLR. It represents a minor update to the earlier 1200D / T5, sharing its body, viewfinder, 9-point AF system, 18 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 1080p movies and 3fps continuous shooting. New to the 1300D / T6 are the long overdue inclusion of Wifi - here with NFC for touch-initiation on compatible phones - a slightly faster image processor with a new food preset and better-handling of Tungsten white balance, and a higher resolution panel for the screen. Find out if it's the best bet for an entry-level buyer in my Canon 1300D / T6 review!Yole 2016 Market Report and Rankings
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Yole publishes 2016 "Status of the CMOS Image Sensor Industry 2016: New Market and Technology Dynamics" market report and a slide deck by Pierre Cambou and Jean-Luc Jaffard. Few quotes:"Driven by renewed mobile and automotive applications, the ... industry is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.4% from 2015 to 2021, reaching US$18.8B market value by 2021.
One big story this year is the consumer market, which is recovering from the total collapse of digital photography. While action cameras seem to have reached a ceiling, new applications such as drones, robots, virtual reality and augmented reality are ready to rejuvenate this emblematic market. The Automotive camera market has established itself as a key growth market for CIS... Image analysis is the new frontier and early usage of artificial intelligence is catching people’s imagination. We are therefore in the middle of an explosive growth pattern that will not slow down before 2021. An exceptionally high 23% CAGR is predicted in automotive for the 2015-2021 period.
Sony has 50% of the world’s production capacity with ‘only’ 35% global market share shows its ambition. Its current lack of profitability shows that market pressure is extremely high.
SK Hynix is a great example of how quickly a prominent position can be obtained. The company has propelled itself into the top 10 in very little time. It has been able to monetize the increasing resolution of smartphone front-facing cameras, therefore capturing business from Galaxycore and Omnivision."
Omnivision Proposes DTI for GS Pixel Storage Node Protection
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Omnivision patent application US20160118438 "Isolated Global Shutter Pixel Storage Structure" by Kevin Ka Kei Leung and Dajiang Yang, proposes DTI for storage node protection:Olympus RGB-IR Imager
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Nanowerk: Olympus and Tokyo Institute of Technology RGB-IR solution presented at EI 2016 claims to be able effectively separate IR and RGB images taken by a mixed CFA sensor:Binning vs Averaging in Photon Shot Limited Case
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Albert Theuwissen continues his series of binning vs averaging comparison articles. In the most recent one, "the situation for a shot-noise limited condition is considered. And actually the story can be very short : it does not matter when or where the binning is done, in all cases the result is exactly the same." The full story includes a proof of that.Picture Taking Has No Slow Down
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KPCB Internet Trends presentation shows that although the picture taking devices growth is slowing (image sensors, cameras, smartphones), the images usage keeps growing exponentially:e2v Sapphire WVGA Sensor
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e2v Sapphire EV76C541 WVGA CMOS sensor is said to be a viable replacement for traditional industrial CCD sensors due to an excellent performance in low-light conditions and an electronic global shutter.