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BusinessWire: Ambarella introduces the CV25 camera SoC in the CVflow family, combining advanced image processing, high-resolution video encoding and CVflow computer vision processing in a single, low power design. The CV25’s CVflow architecture provides the Deep Neural Network (DNN) processing required for intelligent home monitoring, professional surveillance, and aftermarket automotive solutions, including smart dash-cameras, Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS), and electronic mirrors.

“CV25 brings computer vision at the edge into the mainstream,” said Fermi Wang, President and CEO of Ambarella. “With this new SoC, we are sharply focused on reducing our customer’s overall system cost for delivery of significant computer vision performance, high-quality image processing and advanced cyber-security features at very low power. CV25-based cameras are capable of performing Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the edge, allowing features like facial recognition to happen in real-time on the device, rather than in the cloud.”

BusinessWire: Toshiba announces the development of DNN hardware IP block that will help to realize ADAS and autonomous driving functions. The company will integrate the DNN hardware IP with conventional image processing technology and start sample shipments of Visconti5, the next generation of Toshiba’s image-recognition processor, in September 2019. It enables Visconti5 to recognize road traffic signs and road situations at high speed with low power consumption. Toshiba will promote Visconti5 equipped with DNN hardware IP as a key component of next-generation advanced driver assistance systems.

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Paul Enquist from Xperi (Ziptronix, Invensas) publishes an article "Direct Bond Technology Enables CMOS Image Sensor Evolution." Few quotes:

"A hybrid bond improvement in direct bond technology that allowed the elimination of TSVs and associated cost and die area by enabling scalable interconnection between two stacked wafers as part of the direct bond process was initially mass produced by Sony to deliver a third generation 1.4-µm pixel, 12-Mpixel BSI CIS in the 2016 iPhone 6S. A 14-µm hybrid bond interconnect pitch was used outside the pixel array for row/column interconnect and an electrically isolated 6-µm hybrid bond interconnect pitch was used within the pixel array.

Earlier this year, a fourth generation BSI using two iterations of the second-generation direct bond plus TSV interconnect was subsequently used to mass produce a three-layer stack of photodiode, 1-Gb DRAM memory, and logic. The DRAM buffering enabled unpresented performance of 960 fps at 1080p with a 1.4-µm pixel, 12-Mpixel BSI CIS used in the Samsung Galaxy S9. Also this year, Sony announced a fifth generation BSI CIS using a hybrid bond with a per pixel interconnect underneath the pixel array not possible with TSV technology. This enabled a 6.9-µm pixel, 1.5-Mpixels at 660 fps with a dedicated subthreshold ADC per pixel and a global shutter with and -75 dB parasitic light sensitivity.

Direct and hybrid bond technology has thus played an enabling role in the realization of BSI and stacked BSI with multiple generational variations of BSI CIS as summarized in Figure 1. The development of these technologies has been led by Xperi for over 15 years resulting in a substantial intellectual property portfolio that has been licensed to CIS industry leaders. The direct bond technology and hybrid bond technologies have been trademarked as ZiBond and DBI, respectively."

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Valeo publishes a couple of video showing the capabilities of its camera-based systems:

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MDPI publishes University of Glasgow paper "Time-of-Flight Imaging at 10 ps Resolution with an ICCD Camera" by Lucrezia Cester, Ashley Lyons, Maria Chiara Braidotti, and Daniele Faccio.

"ICCD cameras can record low light events with extreme temporal resolution. Thus, they are used in a variety of bio-medical applications for single photon time of flight measurements and LIDAR measurements. In this paper, we present a method which allows improvement of the temporal resolution of ICCD cameras down to 10 ps (from the native 200 ps of our model), thus placing ICCD cameras at a better temporal resolution than SPAD cameras and in direct competition with streak cameras. The higher temporal resolution can serve for better tracking and visualization of the information carried in time-of-flight measurements."

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PRNewswire: OmniVision announces the OV02K, a video-centric, 2.9um pixel 1080p image sensor for smartphones. The OV02K allows the secondary camera in multi-camera configurations to capture high-quality videos, even in very low ambient light conditions. This large 2.9um pixel size results in an SNR10 of less than 10 lux. The OV02K, which comes in a 1/2.8" optical format, features 1080p resolution at up to 120 fps. The sensor also supports up to three exposures of staggered timing to enable HDR, and supports frame-to-frame dual conversion gain (DCG).

"There is an increasing demand from smartphone users to capture high-quality videos, especially with social media sharing becoming more prevalent," said Arun Jayaseelan, senior marketing manager at OmniVision. "The OV02K, with its relatively large pixel size, is perfect for super-high-quality video captures, even in less-than-ideal lighting conditions."

According to TSR, the number of smartphones with two or three rear cameras will grow from 8% of the market in 2017, to over 20% by 2022, when the estimated total market size will be 5.5 billion sensors. Furthermore, the attachment rate for CMOS image sensors will be at 99.9%. Separately, Yole Developpement predicts that, on average, there will be three cameras per smartphone by 2022.

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Toyota Research Institute (TRI) unveils its 4th generation P4 automated driving test vehicle featuring new image sensors:

"P4 adds two additional cameras to improve situational awareness on the sides and two new imaging sensors―one facing forward and one pointed to the rear―specifically designed for autonomous vehicles. The imaging sensors feature new chip technology with high dynamic range. The LIDAR sensing system with eight scanning heads carries over from the previous test model, Platform 3.0, and morphs into the new vehicle design."


PRNewswire: Ouster announced its 128-beam flash lidar sensor, the OS-1-128. The OS-1-128 is said to be the highest resolution lidar on the market and comes with no change in size, mass, power consumption, or ruggedness compared to the OS-1-64. The OS-1-128 has a 45° vertical FOV, the widest available of any commercially sold high-performance lidar sensor. It has 0.35° vertical angular resolution.

The OS-1-128 is priced at $18,000, six times cheaper than the competing 128-channel lidar sensor. Ouster expects the OS-1-128 to be available for volume purchases in the summer of 2019.

"Ouster continues to push the frontier of what is possible in lidar; our multi-beam flash lidar architecture gives us the ability to constantly improve our performance while keeping prices low, reliability high, minimizing the sensor's size, weight and power consumption, and producing at volume. In a market where all of these metrics matter and under-delivering on even one of them is a dealbreaker, Ouster continues to provide performance without compromise," said Ouster CEO Angus Pacala.

PRNewswire: Sense Photonics, a startup building high-performance flash LiDAR, is partnering with Infineon. Sense Photonics' core technology – protected by over 200 patents – is said to enable a high-performance, solid state system, with no moving parts with performance, reliability and cost required for automotive and industrial automation applications.

"We are excited that our technology is capable of delivering high resolution, long-range flash LiDAR in a compact and energy efficient package," said Scott Burroughs, co-founder and CEO of Sense Photonics. "For customers pushing the limits in AI and machine learning, the 3D sensor is their view of the world, so point cloud quality and density is essential for exceptional product performance."

Thomas-PR: RoboSense, a CES 2019 Innovation Award Honoree, will publicly demonstrate at CES its new RS-LiDAR-M1 with patented MEMS technology that supports Level 5 driverless automated driving. A breakthrough on the measurement range limit based on 905nm LiDAR with a detection distance to 200 meters

A major step forward from the previous version RoboSense RS-LiDAR-M1Pre, the new RS-LiDAR-M1 MEMS optomechanical LiDAR provides an increased horizontal FOV by nearly 100%, reaching an amazing 120° FOV, so that only a few RS-LiDAR-M1s are needed to cover the 360° field of view. With only five RS-LiDAR-M1s, there is no blind zone around the car with dual LiDAR sensing redundancy provided in front of the car for a L5 level of automatic driving -- full driverless driving. Based on the target production cost at $200 each, the cost of five RS-LiDAR-M1 is only 1/100th the highest mechanical LiDAR available to the market, which is more in line with the cost requirements for the mass production of autonomous vehicles.

The battle between 1550nm and 905nm LiDAR is about cost and performance. A low-cost 905nm RS-LiDAR-M1 is said to achieve a breakthrough on the measurement range limit based on the 905nm LiDAR, with a detection distance to 200 meters.

“The RoboSense RS-LiDAR-M1 LiDAR system is a giant leap forward for driverless technology,” said Mark Qiu, Co-founder, RoboSense.“We are committed to developing high-performance automotive-grade LiDAR at a low-cost to advance the LiDAR market, so that LiDAR can be used in fully unmanned vehicles, as well as assisted autonomous driving with superior environmental information detection that ensures driving safety.”


BusinessWire: Velodyne unveils the VelaDome, a compact embeddable lidar that provides an ultra-wide 180° x 180° image for near-object avoidance. Powered by Velodyne’s Micro Lidar Array (MLA) technology, the VelaDome is optimized for manufacturability and designed to meet automotive-grade standards.


BusinessWire, VentureBeat: Australian Lidar startup Baraja raises $32m in a series A round led by Sequoia China and Main Sequence Ventures’ CSIRO Innovation Fund, with participation from Blackbird Ventures. The company Spectrum-Scan lidar uses refraction in prisms to scan the scene with no mechanical moving parts. The startup only emerged from stealth in July 2018, and to date it had raised around $1.5m in seed funding.


Xenomatix partners with AGC put its LiDAR under windshield:

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AEI Mycronic publishes a video on its automotive camera module assembly system:

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IEEE Sensors publishes a 2017 FBK presentation of its motion-detecting vision sensor with static background rejection:

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Sofradir presents its uncooled "Tecless" InGaAs imagers for industrial and machine vision applications.


Thanks to TL for the link!

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Arm announces new ISP IP for consumer devices, such as drones, smart home assistants, security and IP cameras, etc:

"The new Arm Mali-C52 and Mali-C32 apply over twenty-five processing steps to each pixel, of which three critical ones deliver key differentiation in terms of image output quality. These include high-dynamic range (HDR), noise reduction and color management. By incorporating Arm’s market-leading Iridix technology and other industry-leading algorithms for noise and color management, Mali-C52 and Mali-C32 ISPs efficiently deliver all three at high resolution and in real-time (e.g. 4k resolution at 60fps).

The Mali-C52 can be configured for two different optimizations - image quality or area. This flexibility allows our silicon partners to use the same IP and software across a range of products and use cases. The Mali-C32 is optimized specifically for area in lower-power, cost-sensitive embedded vision devices such as entry-level access control or hobby drones."

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PRNewswire, PRNewswire: Omnivision announces two new sensors for smartphone cameras:

• OV13B: 1/3-inch 13MP sensor for mainstream and entry-level smartphone cameras
• OV16A: a cost-effective 16MP upgrade for rear- and front-facing cameras on mainstream smartphones with thin bezels

OV13B sensor features 1.12um PureCel Plus pixel technology and is specifically designed for the enormous mainstream and entry-level smartphone markets, providing a compelling solution for rear- or front-facing cameras.

“The market for 1/3-inch optical format 13-MP image sensors has grown significantly during the last couple of years due to their optimized size, performance and cost effectiveness; we anticipate that this strong demand will continue for both rear- and front-facing cameras, in mainstream and entry-level smartphone applications,” said James Liu, product marketing manager for OmniVision. “The OV13B builds on the success of our widely deployed 13-MP sensor family with the industry’s best 1.12-micron pixel performance. This sensor will not only fulfill the tremendous demand in the mainstream market, but can also boost the performance of entry-level smartphones. It is also a perfect fit for both wide-angle and telephoto cameras in multi-camera configurations.”

In comparison with its predecessors, the OV13B has significantly lower power consumption and a smaller chip size, enabling an 8.5 x 8.5-mm autofocus module for main cameras, or a 6.4 x 7.2-mm fixed-focus module for front-facing cameras with a Z height below 4 mm. This image sensor is sampling now.

The OV16A is built on OmniVision’s PureCel Plus 1.0um pixel architecture. With the OV16A, manufacturers can add a third camera for high-quality, ultra-wide-angle photos in high-end smartphones. Additionally, the OV16A extends battery life with the industry’s lowest power consumption—10% lower than the nearest competitor’s 16 MP 1.0um sensor.

Thin-bezel phones are gaining in popularity because of increased demand for full-display selfie screens. However, these space limiting thin-bezel designs require compact front-facing cameras. The OV16A allows designers to incorporate just such a camera in the bezel, and with 2.0-micron-equivalent pixel performance. The compact OV16A enables the industry’s smallest fixed-focus camera modules, with dimensions down to 6.5x6mm.

“Designers want to achieve the best balance among cost, image quality and low power consumption,” said Jason Chiang, product marketing manager at OmniVision. “The cost-effective OV16A allows them to provide excellent performance in a high-resolution camera for various smartphone applications, including tri-camera designs. The 4-cell color filter allows users to consistently capture high-quality photos without motion blur, even in low-light conditions indoors.”

The OV16A will begin sampling in February 2019.

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PRNewswire: Omnivision's OV9284 1MP sensor is aimed to driver and passenger monitoring in mainstream vehicles and is said to have a number of "best in the industry" and "first in the industry" features:

• the industry’s best NIR QE in a driver-monitoring image sensor, with 12% at 940nm
• consumes only 90mW of power at 60 fps, which is 30% lower than the nearest competitor
• the industry’s first image sensor with "the right balance of cost effectiveness, high-quality imaging and advanced features, meeting the needs of the mainstream automotive market"

The new sensor is based on high-speed global shutter OmniPixel3-GS pixel technology and offers 1280 x 800 resolution at video speeds of up to 120 fps. The OV9284 is available now.

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ON Semi publishes a video on automotive image sensors challenges under the direct sun:

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EETimes compiles more info about Foxconn plans to build CIS fab in China:

Foxconn, "also known as Hon Hai Precision, aims to launch a $9 billion fab near southern China’s Zhuhai city... The total amount of the investment in the project could add up to around 60 billion yuan, or $9 billion, with most of the investment coming from the Zhuhai government.

Initially, Foxconn is expected to draw on Sharp, which has experience making CCD/CMOS sensors... [and] has operated an 8-inch fab in Fukuyama at the 0.13μm process node. Foxconn’s 2016 takeover of Sharp provides the ability to design and produce semiconductors for the first time in Foxconn’s history as it shifts from electronics assembly to higher margin chip production.

“One of the Hon Hai group’s goals when acquiring Sharp was to gain semiconductor technology,” Tokyo-based Mizuho Securities analyst Yasuo Nakane told EE Times... chip projects are financed partly by China’s central government, which sees semiconductors as a more important field, Nakane said.

The main hurdle for the China fab project is likely to focus on securing intellectual property and engineers. “If Sharp were to invest in a 12-inch wafer plant in China, we doubt it would begin operations using processes several generations old, and we think it currently lacks enough engineers for the task,” Nakane said... The new fab will initially make chips for ultra high-definition 8K televisions and camera image sensors, as well as various sensors for industrial use and connected devices."

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TI publishes a comparison of automotive image sensors from different companies:

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Recently, Luminar LiDAR made its way to Volvo and Volkswagen-Audi autonomous car prototypes:

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Wuhan, China-based Silicon Integrated Inc. unveils SIF2310 that it calls "The first back-illuminated area array ToF sensor in China."

The SIF2310 integrates:

• HVGA (480x360) ToF pixel array
• signal generator modulating the IR source
• 12bit ADC
• on-chip temperature sensor
• logic control unit, high-speed clock
• MIPI interface

The SIF2310 supports modulation frequencies up to 100MHz and output frame rates up to 240fps. With IR light source, SIF2310 can be used in face recognition, AR/VR, motion capture, 3D modeling, machine vision, and ADAS applications. The chip is available in a die or Glass-BGA package.

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Digitimes overviews 2018 Far East semiconductor industry and emphasize Samsung impact on CIS market:

"With use of CMOS image sensors (CIS) extending from smartphone cameras to automotive cameras, Samsung has planned to expand its CIS production capacity to surpass Sony to become the globally largest supplier. Samsung began to modify Line 11 DRAM factory in its Hwaseong production base for production of CIS at the end of 2017, with the modification to be completed by the end of 2018.

Samsung also will modify Line 13 DRAM factory in the same production base for CIS production. Samsung had monthly production capacity of 45,000 12-inch wafers for making CIS at the end of 2017, and the capacity will increase to nearly 120,000 12-inch wafers when the two additional factories begin production.

Samsung's moves are in line with the optimism of carmakers and other semiconductor vendors about the future of autonmous driving."

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Bloomberg interviews Satoshi Yoshihara, the head of Sony’s image sensor division. He says that:

• Sony is boosting production of its ToF sensors after getting interest from customers including Apple
• Sony 3D business is already profitable and will make an impact on earnings from the next fiscal year starting in April 2019.
• Sony started providing 3D SDK to outside developers to experiment with its ToF chips and create apps.
• “Cameras revolutionized phones, and based on what I’ve seen, I have the same expectation for 3D,” said Yoshihara
• Huawei is using Sony’s ToF cameras in the next generation models, according to Bloomberg sources
• There will be a need for two 3D cameras on smartphones, for the front and back
• Sony ToF sensors will appear in models from several smartphone manufacturers in 2019
• Sony starts ToF sensors mass production in late summer 2019 to meet the demand

Thanks to RP and TG for the pointer!

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Hitachi-LG Data Storage presents a lineup of ToF cameras for industrial and machine vision use:

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Nikkei, EETimes: Foxconn Technology (AKA Hon Hai Precision Industry) is preparing to build a $9b chip fab in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai. The new fab will manufacture image sensors, chips for 8K TVs, and various sensors for industrial uses and connected devices, according to Nikkei. The construction is expected to start in 2021 (2020, according to Semimedia).

A majority of the investment is to be subsidized by Zhuhai city government. The new fab will rank as one of the country's top high-tech projects, according to Nikkei sources. The fab will make chips not just for its own use but for other customers, competing with TSMC, Globalfoundries, Samsung foundry unit, and SMIC.

According to Nikkei, Foxconn is expected to form a JV for the project with Sharp, which it acquired in 2016, and the Zhuhai government. However, Semimedia reports that Sharp denies its involvement in the project.

Meanwhile, Japan Times says that Sharp is going to spin-off its semiconductor business into two entities. One of them will be responsible for lasers, the second one - for sensors and other semiconductors. Sharp Chairman and President Tai Jeng-wu told reporters that he wants to tap overseas and domestic resources, showing eagerness to forge alliances with other firms including Sharp’s parent, Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn).

Currently, Sharp manufactures semiconductor-related products at its plants in the prefectures of Hiroshima and Nara.

Picture source: EENews

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LaserFocusWorld publishes an article "The Quanta Image Sensor (QIS): Making Every Photon Count" by Eric Fossum and Kaitlin Anagnost. The article presents Dartmouth work on Megapixel single photon resolving sensors and compares it with SAPDs and EMCCDs:

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DeviceSpecifications: Huawei Honor V20 smartphone features Sony 48MP IMX586 image sensor combined with a rear 3D ToF camera. Apparently, the ToF camera is used for better AF, AR applications, and games:


Update: PRNewswire: "...rear camera is a TOF 3D camera, which makes the phone capable of creating a new dimension in photography and videography that brings greater usability and fun to users. It can calculate distance based upon the time-of-flight of a light signal, and has functions including depth sensing, skeletal tracking and real-time motion capture.

The TOF 3D camera can turn HONOR View20 into a motion-controlled gaming console, and allow you to play 3D motion games like never before. In addition, it can also let 3D characters dance following your gestures on your phone, and you can share these funny dancing videos with your friends."

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BusinessKorea: As memory prices go down, CIS business becomes more important in Korean companies:

• Samsung has selected image sensors as its next-generation growth engine.
• Samsung establishes a new business team to strengthen its sales of sensors for autonomous vehicles.
• Samsung signed a contract with Tesla to supply image sensors for vehicles. Although the immediate sales impact is not significant, it will make it easier for Samsung to expand with other companies in automotive space.
• Samsung CIS activity has been re-organized so that the process development is now done by the foundry section of the Device Solution Division (DS), while the sensor business team focuses on product planning and sales.
• Samsung is converting some of its 11-line DRAM production in Hwaseong plant into image sensor lines.
• LG and SK Hynix invested in LiDAR startup Aeye
• SK Hynix aims to achieve 1 trillion won (US$900 million) in image sensor sales.
• SK Hynix focuses on mid-end products and increase its market share in China.
• SK Hynix leverages its DRAM strength in image sensor marketing by offering a deal on CIS purchase to a company that buys large amount of DRAM products.

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Taiwan-based Artilux presented its Ge-on-Si paper "High-Performance Germanium-on-Silicon Lock-in Pixels for Indirect Time-of-Flight Applications" 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.-J. Chen, Y.-F. Lyu, and S.-L. Chen.

The paper appears to be a process and device development report with statistics on process variations and various optimizations of the device parameters. The conclusion is: "Novel GOS lock-in pixel is investigated at 940nm and 1550nm wavelengths and shown to be a strong contender against conventional Si lock-in pixel. The measured statistical data further demonstrate the technology yields good within wafer and wafer-to-wafer uniformities that may be ready for mass production in the near future."

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Digitimes: Etron and its subsidiary eYs3D Microelectronics are set to launch AI-on-edge 3D sensing solutions based on Etron stereo processors. Their "3D natural light deep vision platform technology that can allow one smartphone to unlock 5-6 smartphones via recognizing faces of smartphone users under their consent, and can also connect smart devices to monitor air conditioners, TVs and other smart household electrical appliances."

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Journal of Physics publishes an open-access paper "Tracking and Disabling Smartphone Camera for Privacy" by Qurban Memon, Khawla Al Shanqiti, AlYazia Al Falasi, Amna Al Jaberi, and Yasmeen Amer from UAE University.

"With people's easy access to various forms of recent technologies, privacy has decreased immensely. One of the major privacy breaches nowadays is taking pictures and videos using smart phones without seeking permission of those whom it concerns. This work aims to target privacy in the current mobile environment. The main contribution of this work is to block the smart phone camera without damaging the smart phone or harming people around it. The approach is divided into stages: body area detection and then camera detection in the frame. The detection stage follows pointing of laser(s) controlled by a microcontroller. Tests are conducted on built system and results show performance error less than 1%. For Safety, the beams are devised to be harmless to the people, environment and the targeted smart phones."

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Not everything 3D and AI is automatically successful. Techcrunch, Engadget, and Information report that Lighthouse home security camera company is shutting down. The startup was founded in 2015 and raised $20m. The final product, while working, has been shipped late and costed too much to be successful.

The company CEO Alex Teichman writes: "I am incredibly proud of the groundbreaking work the Lighthouse team accomplished - delivering useful and accessible intelligence for our homes via advanced AI and 3D sensing. Unfortunately, we did not achieve the commercial success we were looking for and will be shutting down operations in the near future."