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Leap Motion reports that its 3D camera Meadowhawk module is used to create a gesture interface in Mercedes-Benz concept shown at CES 2015. Leap Motion technology also featured in a demo by Hyundai, as well as a standalone demo that Leap Motion team brought to the showcase. Designed to work in extreme lighting and higher temperature conditions, Meadowhawk uses specialized 720p high-frame rate image sensors and 16 high-powered infrared LEDs (only 6 are seen on the picture below). The module is designed to be embedded by OEMs:

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Sony patent application US20150002709 "Solid state imaging device and electronic apparatus" by Atsushi Masagaki proposes to use the area for one of the shared PDs for a compact placement of the SF, RST and SEL transistors. The CFA color arrangement also needs to be changed accordingly:

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Taiwanese smartphone brand InFocus launches M530 handset, marking the debut of Cambridge Mechatronics' SMA OIS actuators to the consumer market. This follows over three years of development at Cambridge Mechatronics facilities, resulting in over 20 patents covering the design of smart metal micro actuators, precision control algorithms and drive electronics. The 13MP OIS camera is supplied by Foxconn and includes an SMA OIS actuator produced by CML's manufacturing partner Hutchinson Technology (HTI). HTI and Foxconn are said to be in full mass production of SMA OIS actuators and cameras respectively in their manufacturing facilities in the US and China.

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PR Newswire: OmniVision announces that it has partnered with CEA-Leti spin-off Wavelens to bring to market an MEMS AF technology instead of the dated VCM used in consumer devices today. OmniVision couples its 23.8MP OV23850 sensor with Wavelens' AF solution for flagship smartphones. Wavelens' MEMS motor principle of operation has been presented here some time ago.

Grenoble, France-based Wavelens intends to implement autofocus, image stabilization, and zoom with its MEMS actuators. So far, only AF motors are shown at the company's web site:

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Northwestern University's Center for Quantum Devices (Evanston, IL) publishes a Youtube video on its superlattice MWIR imaging works:



An expanded pdf paper "Advances in mid-infrared detection and imaging: a key issues review" by Manijeh Razeghi and Binh-Minh Nguyen can be downloaded here.

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Marketwired: FLIR announces an enhanced resolution 2nd generation Lepton thermal camera core and attachments for Android or iOS devices, including iPhone 6 and iPad. FLIR's MSX technology, providing enhanced thermal images with sharp detail from visible camera for easy interpretation. The new attachment will be available globally mid-year at FLIR.com and major retail outlets.

FLIR CEO Andy Teich says in a Youtube video that the new Lepton core features 4x higher resolution than the old camera. Electronista says that the new Lepton has 180x120 resolution. The older generation Lepton used to have 80 x 60 pixel array.

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Intel publishes a Youtube video showing yet another use case for its RealSense camera:

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Optics.org, i-Micronews: American Infrared Solutions, Hudson, NH, USA, (AIRS) has announced it is to expand both its staff and laboratories at its headquarters. The company said it is increasing its sensor fabrication and high vacuum dewar processing capacity by 150% in response to growing customer demand. ”Demand had grown rapidly for AIRS high performance SWIR, MWIR and LWIR sensors in both hyperspectral and ISR missions and we are responding with increased throughput and capability. We continue to rapidly develop capabilities necessary to support a wide range of cooled infrared imaging and sensing applications,” said Dan Manitakos, President of AIRS.

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WSJ: Dell Venue 8 7000 Android tablet is the first product on the US market featuring Intel R200 RealSense 3D depth camera:

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Business Wire: Ambarella introduces H1 camera SoC for sports and quadcopter cameras (flying cameras). H1 supports 4K H.264 video encoding at 60fps and 4K H.265/HEVC standard at up to 30fps. H1 features a new generation of ISP with HDR processing, EIS, and a hardware de-warping engine supporting 360-degree panoramic cameras. In addition to 4K Ultra HD encoding, it also supports 1440p (QHD) video at 120 frames per second and 1080p video at 240 frames per second, for smooth slow-motion playback.

“The adoption of 4K Ultra HD video has been accelerating across consumer electronics markets,” said Fermi Wang, President and CEO of Ambarella. “The Ambarella H1 will enable a new generation of sports and flying cameras with high frame rate Ultra HD video, bringing professional-quality film making to the consumer.”

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AAC Technologies and Pelican Imaging announce that AAC Technologies is the chosen lens supplier for Pelican’s latest array camera module. The array camera, manufactured by Jabil, Inc., is slated for inclusion in an upcoming reference design that allows very accurate near-field and far-field depth acquisition. Pelican’s unique, flexible array camera solution provides depth when used as a standalone camera, or when used as a depth sensor in conjunction with a traditional camera.

Jack Duan, COO at AAC Technologies, noted, “We foresee strong demand for high-quality array lenses in the next wave of mobile devices. AAC Technologies is quite pleased to be partnering with Pelican Imaging on their latest array camera module as this offers AAC a great opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation in mobile imaging.”

Pelican Imaging and Jabil Circuit, Inc., announce that the companies are collaborating to produce a high-resolution array camera module for inclusion in a reference design that allows accurate depth acquisition. The new Jabil camera module, based on Pelican’s array camera architecture, is expected to be broadly available in Q2 2015.

Irvin Stein, Business Unit Director of Jabil’s Embedded Camera Group, noted “We believe that array cameras are a key segment of the embedded camera market and will experience significant growth…we’re looking forward to fulfilling the demand for this from Jabil’s customers worldwide.”

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PR Newswire: OmniVision announces that the world's first 100% wireless HD security camera developed by NETGEAR will be using OmniVision's video recording and processing chipset. "By using OmniVision's OV9712 image sensor and OV788 video processor, the Arlo camera delivers crystal clear HD image quality, power efficiency and superior 'instant on' video recording. OmniVision's leadership in advanced digital imaging solutions makes them a natural fit for NETGEAR's smart home innovations," said Erich Volkert, senior director of product management for NETGEAR.

PR Newswire: OmniVision and Ring, producer of the battery-operated, wireless, video doorbell, announce that OmniVision's low-power consumption OV9712 image sensor and OV788 video processor are used for HD video recording and streaming in the new Ring Video Doorbell. The OV788's ultra-low power consumption also helps extend Ring's battery life to up to 14 months. "Through OmniVision's three-year partnership with Ring, we've witnessed how Ring has taken bold steps to create the revolutionary device you see today," said Sam Huang, VP of design engineering at OmniVision. "We greatly value our relationship with Ring, and pride ourselves in being the 'eyes' for products that truly redefine their categories."

PR Newswire: OmniVision announces that it is collaborating with Inuitive Ltd. to develop a reference design for building 3D imaging modules for consumer electronics. OmniVision's family of computer vision-optimized sensors and Inuitive's NU3000 ASIC, a 3D imaging and computer vision processor, are capable of bringing a host of advanced features for a wide range of consumer devices, including smartphones, tablets, notebooks, smart TVs, and wearable devices.

"We are proud to partner with OmniVision to develop a new line of 3D cameras that enable advanced features such as augmented reality, 3D scanning, post processing photography, natural user interface and more," said Shlomo Gadot, co-founder & CEO at Inuitive. "In our view, the levels of performance and flexibility that these solutions offer make them among the most competitive on the market for OEMs looking to integrate 3D capabilities with their products." The new line of 3D cameras will utilize OmniVision's OV7251 global shutter image sensor or the quad high definition OV4688 image sensor.

Inuitive Camera

Inuitive ASIC

PR Newswire: OmniVision announces the immediate availability of an OpenCL optimized imaging algorithm library ideally suited for ARM Mali GPUs. The library includes advanced imaging features such as 3D noise suppression, chroma noise reduction, de-fringe and de-haze and is targeted at smartphones, tablets and notebooks.

"Through our close collaboration with ARM, we have developed imaging solutions that make effective use of the heterogeneous architecture of next generation application processors containing GPU Compute capable GPUs such as the ARM Mali GPU family," said Johnson Shan, VP of Software Algorithm Engineering at OmniVision. "The new algorithm library dramatically reduces execution time and power consumption, resulting in an enhanced user experience and extended battery life."

Update: PR Newswire: OmniVision announces that its OV7251 global shutter image sensor has been selected by Mantis Vision as one of the sensors intended for its next-generation 3D camera reference design, as part of its MV4D technology platform for mobile devices. OmniVision's OV7251, a VGA image sensor with global shutter capabilities, will facilitate accurate 3D imaging and content creation for the MV4D technology platform.

"By developing our 3D mobile camera using OmniVision's OV7251 sensor, Mantis Vision's MV4D technology platform has taken a leap forward in meeting the demands of our partners with daylight operability, sub-mm data accuracies, and slim form-factor compatibility," said Gur Arie Bittan, CTO of Mantis Vision. "With OmniVision's support, we expect the new camera reference design to be available for mobile OEM's in mid-2015."

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Business Wire: – ON Semiconductor (Aptina) has successfully characterized and demonstrated its first fully-functional stacked CMOS sensor featuring a smaller die footprint, higher pixel performance and better power consumption compared to traditional monolithic non-stacked designs. The technology has been successfully implemented and characterized on a test chip with 1.1µm pixels and will be introduced in a product later this year.

“3D stacking technology is an exciting breakthrough that enhances our ability to optimize ON Semiconductor’s future sensors,” said Sandor Barna, VP of Technology for ON Semiconductor’s Image Sensor Group. “This technology provides manufacturing and design flexibility to ensure continued performance leadership across our entire sensor product portfolio.”

Business Wire: On Semiconductor (Aptina) announces 13MP/30fps AR1335 sensor based on advanced 1.1µm pixel featuring a dramatic increase in QE and linear full well capacity. On Semi's CFA processing is sait to have increased the sensitivity by nearly 20% compared to the previous generation. The sensor delivers 4K video and Cinema formats at 30fps and 1080P at 60fps. The high 32-degree CRA supports low z-height applications for smartphones.

“The AR1335 image sensor comes from an intersection of engineering innovation and customer focus,” said Shung Chieh, VP of Consumer Imaging for ON Semiconductor’s Image Sensor Group. “Technology improvements, coupled with smart design and optimized production processes, result in a cost effective solution for smartphone manufactures who wish to deliver a full, rich camera experience in their devices.”

The AR1335 is in mass production in die format and has been designed into several smartphone models with availability in leading phones expected by Q2 2015.

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ULIS publishes a Youtube video showing various applications for its IR cameras:

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Pelican Imaging' Youtube video says that depth is a future of imaging:

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Softkinetic publishes a vice Youtube video on 3D camera use cases in everyday life:

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MIT has published a PhD thesis "Decoupling Algorithms from the Organization of Computation for High Performance Image Processing" by Jonathan Ragan-Kelley devoted mainly to Halide language and compiler. The thesis applies Halide for optimization of trade-offs between parallelism, locality, and the total amount of computation. One of the basic statements is that moving data in a processing system consumes the major power:

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Delft University publishes IEDM 2014 review paper "Toward 1Gfps: Evolution of Ultra-high-speed Image Sensors -ISIS, BSI, Multi-Collection Gates, and 3D-stacking" by T. G. Etoh, V. T. S. Dao, K. Shimonomura, E. Charbon, C. Zhang, Y. Kamakura, and T. Matsuoka. The new paper is an extended and updated version of the previously published open-access review.

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Gestigon, a provider of 3D depth map-based software for skeleton tracking and gesture control for consumer and automotive markets, is going to present its automotive gesture control concepts at CES next week. The company's Youtube video shows some of the ideas:

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Omnivision patent application US20140374862 "CMOS image sensor with integrated silicon color filters" by Chiaying Liu, Keh-chiang Ku, Dyson Hsinchih Tai, and Wuzhang Yang presents a silicon color filter 170, 172 combined with SiO2 microlens 155:

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The post has been removed on request.

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Trillion Sensors Summit held on Nov. 12-13, 2014 in San Diego, publishes Rambus presentation "Lensless Computational Image Sensors as a Foundation for New Opportunities in Biotech" by David Stork. Few slides out of 32:


CEA-Leti too presented its lens-free biomedical imaging, although little details on the operating principle were given.

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BBC reports that a member of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) hacker network, Jan Krissler, has been able to replicate the fingerprint of German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen using pictures taken with a "standard photo camera". Krissler had no physical print from Ms von der Leyen. He only had obtained a close-up photo of Ms von der Leyen's thumb and had also used other pictures taken at different angles during a press event that the minister had spoken at in October.

A Youtube video (in German) presents the idea:

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CBInsights tracking VC investments registers reduced interest in mobile imaging opportunities. Whereas in Q2 2012 mobile video and photo were the major investment areas, they have disappeared from the Q3 2014 chart:

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Bruker publishes a IMEC's Peter De Wolf presentation of the Scanning Surface Resistance Microscope (SSRM) useful for TCAD tools calibration, among many other things:

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Shizuoka University, Japan published a PhD Thesis "A Study on Noise Reduction in CMOS Image Sensors using High-Gain Front-end Readout Circuits" by Mohd Amrallah bin Mustafa, dated by Aug. 2013. The thesis goes through a quick overview of the major noise sources, including RTN:


Then, thesis goes through the ways to reduce the noise, like correlated multiple sampling (CMS), high gain ADC combined with PGA, and Histogram-based RTN Suppression and Averaging (HRS):


Then, a pixel with two amplifiers is proposed, where a selection circuit chooses the least noisy amplifier out of the two:

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Toshiba Teli's presentation at Vision Show 2014 reveals details of the new Sony Pregius image sensors with 3.45um global shutter pixels:


Thanks to CM for the pointer!

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Intel has shown its front and rear RealSense cameras in its IDF 2014 presentation:


As another Intel presentation from April 2014 tells, the company invests quite a lot into 3D vision development:

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In continuation to the previous post, JS commented that nanoLambda has a similar to Hamamatsu small size spectrometer. NanoLambda's presentation at last year's Trillion Sensors Summit gives some background about the company, its product and applications:


Update: There is a newer nanoLambda presentation from Nov. 2014 build mostly around the emerging consumer applications. The presentation also shows the small spectrometers competition:

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Hamamatsu announces C12666MA, a new compact and cost-effective spectrometer for consumer applications:


The company says: "There is a trade-off relation between the spectrometer size and performance characteristics. As the size becomes smaller, the resolution deteriorates and the performance also declines. Our microspectrometer employs a method that diffracts the light after internally reflecting it one time, and is designed to exhibit the highest possible performance that achieves both satisfactory size and performance characteristics in this type of spectrometer."

"a further step forward was needed in both size and price in order to have them accepted for widespread use in the consumer electronics market... Small spectrometers can be built into compact devices. For example, we can expect to see new applications linked to smartphones or medical devices used at home."


The only company I've heard of working on consumer spectrometer products is Consumer Physics, completed its Kickstarter campaign in May 2014:

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