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BusinessWire: Ambarella announces the S2Lm-based battery-powered IP camera reference design for small, high-quality, battery-powered Full HD security cameras for both professional and consumer security applications. The reference design is based on Ambarella’s new S2Lm ultra low-power HD camera SoC, which can start recording 1080p30 video in less than 500ms from wake up, and provides up to six months of battery life. A Linux SDK is included for networking and customer applications including cloud streaming and analytics.

“Battery-powered IP cameras support new use cases that are relevant to a large segment of the security camera market,” said Chris Day, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Ambarella. “With no wires to worry about, S2Lm-based cameras can be installed in places where getting to a power outlet may be difficult. In addition, these cameras can be moved around for short term monitoring, without the need to reinstall the camera after every move.”

IP Camera design based on the Ambarella S2Lm

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Forza Silicon's patent application US20150090863 "Stacked Photodiodes for Extended Dynamic Range and Low Light Color Discrimination" by Barmak Mansoorian, Daniel Van Blerkom proposes two (or more) PDs stacked one on top of the other to enhance the pixel DR, and, to some extent, its low light color separation:

"The novel image sensors of the invention, and methods of using them, are based on various stacked photodiode pixel designs. In one aspect, the stacked photodiode pixels of the invention provide a means of extending dynamic range. The designs comprise, in an exemplary embodiment, an upper and a lower photodiode. In the event of a high photon flux wherein the upper photodiode becomes saturated, the attenuated light received by the lower photodiode may be used to determine the photon flux incident upon the pixel, extending the dynamic range of the system beyond what is capable with a single photodiode.

In another aspect, the stacked image sensors and associated methods of the invention provide a system for color discrimination in low light conditions. In combination with the signal received by the upper photodiode, the attenuated light signal received by the lower photodiode may be used to determine color, based on the predicted attenuation profile of the device, which is wavelength dependent."

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Tel Aviv University spin-off Unispectral proposing a sequential color imaging targets medical and remote analysis applications. Unispectral patented an MEMS optical component suitable for mass production and compatible with standard smartphone camera designs. The combination of this optical component and newly designed software is said to offer superior imaging performance and hyperspectral imaging capabilities. "The optical element acts as a tunable filter and the software — an image fusion library — would support this new component and extract all the relevant information from the image," said Prof. David Mendlovic, one of the Unispectral founders. According to Mendlovic, Unispectral is currently in advanced discussions with major smartphone makers, automotive companies, and wearable device makers to move the technology forward.

Foxnews publishes a video report on Unispectral technology and its applications:

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Marketwired: Omron announces the Human Vision Components (HVC) module. The HVC integrates Omron’s image sensing technology (OKAO Vision) along with a camera, processor, and external interface onto a single PCB, sized at 60x40 mm. Each HVC offers 10 functions, including face detection, face recognition, age estimation, gender estimation, facial pose estimation, gaze estimation, blink detection, facial expression estimation, hand detection and human body detection.


The company's Youtube video demos the system and gives application examples:



Techcrunch reports that Omron OKAO technology is used in Amazon Firephone to create 3D display effects.

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Sony SmartEyeglass uses 3MP camera for stills, although its video stream is limited to QVGA resolution and jpeg compression, probably, for power consumption reasons:

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Photron publishes a nice Youtube video on military applications of its high speed cameras:

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BBC reports that Intel has revealed a version of its 3D depth camera that is small and thin enough to fit into a 6-inch screen smartphone. The prototype was unveiled by the company CEO Brian Krzanich at an event in Shenzhen, China, although he did not demonstrate it working. The RealSense sensor can be used to recognise hand and head movements and makes it possible to change the focus of photos after they have been taken.


The official Intel PR says "Krzanich discussed how Intel RealSense cameras can provide intuitive, vision-based capabilities for solving complex problems and delivering exciting new usages and capabilities across a variety of form factors. To that end, he showed for the first time a 6-inch smartphone prototype with a new, longer-range Intel RealSense camera built into the device."

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Sony announces its plans to increase its production capacity for stacked CMOS image sensors in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016 ("FY15"). This investment is intended primarily to augment production facilities used in the mastering processes and layering and futher downstream processes for stacked CMOS image sensors at Sony Semiconductor's Nagasaki Technology Center ("Nagasaki TEC") and Yamagata Technology Center ("Yamagata TEC"). The mastering process refers to the manufacture of photodiodes and wiring processes for stacked CMOS image sensors. The layering process refers to the layering of semiconductor chips containing back-illuminated structure pixels on top of semiconductor chips containing the circuit for signal processing.

With investments such as the one announced in February and this supplementary investment, Sony plans to increase total production capacity for image sensors from the current level of approximately 60,000 12-inch wafers per month to the level of approximately 87,000 wafers per month by the end of September 2016. The total additional investment amount is projected to be approximately 45 billion yen, comprising approximately 24 billion yen of investments in Nagasaki TEC and approximately 21 billion yen of investments in Yamagata TEC.

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Toshiba Corporate R&D announces "a super high quality image processing technology that achieves image quality comparable to that of larger image sensors." The number of pixels in image sensors has been increasing year by year. However, the size of image sensors has not changed and this leads to increase of noise in the image because the amount of light received per pixel decreases as the pixel count increases. The long time exposure reduces image noise, but the image quality suffers due to camera shake. Conventionally, electronic image stabilization technology has been used to prevent image quality deterioration. In electronic image stabilization, several copies of the image are overlaid to compensate for the noise and a large amount of parallel memory is required to hold the multiple image copies. As a consequence, the noise reduction effect is limited by the number of image copies that can be kept in memory.

Toshiba has developed the processing technology significantly reducing noise and preventing camera shake without requiring a large amount of memory. This technology is said to generate a very sharp image with less noise by overlaying many continuously recorded images. The image is sequentially generated using the memory capacity required for just a single image. This new technology is said to effectively and precisely detect everything from tiny vibrations to large camera shake. Random noise is said to be canceled out by overlaying multiple images, and object edges are kept clear and crisp through the same process. The increase in the number of captured images makes it possible to obtain very high image quality using very little memory for storage. In particular, the technology is said to enable the users to produce extremely clear images at low light conditions.

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Octa Finance reports that Lensvector just filed form D reporting that it has raised $14.61 million financing. The Lensvector site newsline has an article in Chinese that describes its LCD AF technology:

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Sony announces IMX377, a 12MP, 1.55um pixel CMOS sensor for DSC and camcorder applications. The sensor features 35fps speed at full resolution or 60fps in 4K2K mode.

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EETimes publishes Yole Developpement's table on CIS vendors market shares in 2012 and 2014:

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PRNewswire: AltaSens introduces collaborative products that incorporate its Super-35 4K sensor and a new mini 4K camera module. The AL-CM460 Camera Module delivers full video processing control of UHD 4K video at 60 fps while simultaneously saving to SD card and outputting via Fiber Optic, 4 x 3G-SDI, or HDMI 2.0. The Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lens mount allows the capture of high-end cinematic imagery with affordable lenses, while the short flange focal distance means most cinema lenses can be adapted for use. Multiple down-converted formats also offer superior quality video for applications using HD footage. The AL-CM460 is driven by AL41410C 4K CMOS sensor, with 5.2 um pixel pitch and appears to be a reduced size version of the module announced a year ago.

"Owing to the fruits of extensive collaboration with our parent, JVC Kenwood, and our camera partner, Bradley Engineering, we are thrilled to debut our excellent 4K Image sensor simultaneously with leading edge UHD camera solutions to the broadcast community," explained Lester Kozlowski, the company's founder and CEO.

Ilya Koshkin, VP of Business Development at AltaSens added, "The unmatched versatility of our 4K Camera Module makes it an ideal solution for nearly any application where crystal clear "Beyond HD" video quality and flexible system design are a priority."

AltaSens' AL-CM460 4K Camera Module

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PRNewswire: OmniVision and VIA Technologies announce a partnership to develop a battery-powered HD video monitoring solution that enables OEMs to dramatically reduce time-to-market for wireless multi-node monitoring systems in homes and small businesses.

"This partnership between OmniVision and VIA Technologies exemplifies both companies' desire to meet the rapidly growing demand for turnkey solutions that can give OEMs the ability to quickly and cost-effectively bring innovative smart devices to market," said Paul Gallagher, senior director of marketing at OmniVision. "By offering 'instant-on' crisp HD video and streaming capabilities in an extremely power-efficient, battery operated package, OmniVision's OV9712 and OV788 video signal processor together provide excellent capabilities for the advanced solution now under development."

Utilizing the OV9712 sensor with OmniPixel3-HS high sensitivity pixels, the solution will operate in conjunction with OmniVision's ultra-low power OV788 video signal processor. That processor will provide video compression, 720p HD video streaming, and AES-256 encryption over any Wi-Fi network, thus allowing users to quickly stream high quality video content using the video monitoring solution.

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Caltech presents its paper "Nanophotonic coherent imager" by Firooz Aflatouni, Behrooz Abiri, Angad Rekhi, and Ali Hajimiri published in Optics Express. The 4 x 4 pixel imager is utilizes a coherent LIDAR principle and is said to be able to resolve 15um depth difference at 0.5m distance.

"By having an array of tiny LIDARs on our coherent imager, we can simultaneously image different parts of an object or a scene without the need for any mechanical movements within the imager. By coupling, confining, and processing the reflected light in small pipes on a silicon chip, we were able to scale each LIDAR element down to just a couple of hundred microns in size—small enough that we can form an array of 16 of these coherent detectors on an active area of 300 microns by 300 microns," says Ali Hajimiri. In the future, Hajimiri says, that the current array of 16 pixels could also be easily scaled up to hundreds of thousands.


Thanks to TKL for the pointer!

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Sony posts Youtube videos comparing a phase detection AF with a contrast one:

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Pelican Imaging patent application US20150091900 "Systems and Methods for Depth-Assisted Perspective Distortion Correction" by Samuel Yang, Manohar Srikanth, Dan Lelescu, and Kartik Venkataraman proposes a solution to the common selfie problem:

"Close range portraiture photographs, such as self-portraits, are often perceived as having apparent perspective distortions at typical image viewing distances, even if the optics produce a geometrically accurate perspective projection of the scene. A mismatch in the field of view of the camera and that of the viewing display configuration can result in the perceived distortion, which in portraiture photographs, tends to magnify the size of the nose and chin, among other features. These distortions are especially common with photographs taken with mobile device cameras due to the wide angular field of view typical of such cameras and close range nature of many self-portraits and candid portraits."

Pelican proposes to use the depth information to post-process the image and fix the distortions:

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Electronics360: IHS teardown of GoPro Hero revealed On Semi (Aptina) 8MP sensor inside, although the camera is speced at 5MP. The 1/3.2-inch sensor is based on 1.4um pixel.

The camera module is estimated to cost about a quarter of the total cost of $47.11:

GoPro Hero cost contributors

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Japanese ITE (Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers) Transactions on Media Technology and Applications announces a forthcoming Special Section on “Advanced Image Sensor Technology” to be published in April 2016. The objective of the special section is focus on the advances in image sensor technologies. The original research papers are invited. The topics include the following:

• CMOS image sensors, CCD image sensors, and related technologies
• Application specific image sensors
• Novel architecture, operation and materials for imaging devices
• Invisible imaging devices (IR, UV, X-ray, high-energy particles, ions, etc.)
• Machine vision
• Others

Papers must be submitted by August 31, 2015.

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ADSReports presents a report on China image sensor market:

"The new report recognizes the following companies as the key players in the Mobile Image Sensor Market in China: Aptina Imaging Corp., OmniVision Technologies Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sony Semiconductor Corp.

Other Prominent Vendors in the market are: Canon, GalaxyCore, LG Innotek, Panasonic Corporation, Sharp, Sharpvision, SiliconFile, Sunny Optical Technology, STMicroelectronics and Toshiba.

Further, the report states that one of the main challenges that are hindering the growth of this market is the high cost of production because of the high cost of raw materials. The cost of producing image sensors is increasing yearly because of the R&D expenditure incurred by vendors and also because of the marketing costs."

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PR Newswire: As has been reported earlier, a settlement between Lead Plaintiffs and OmniVision, Shaw Hong, Anson Chan, and Aurelio "Ray" Cisneros (the "Individual Defendants" and collectively, with OmniVision, the "Defendants") in the amount of $12,500,000 has been proposed by the Settling Parties. A hearing will be held before the United States District Judge on June 5, 2015.

Meanwhile, SeekingAlpha speculates about the chances that Omnivision buyout deal goes through:

"Officers and directors, as a group, own less than 5% of the company, and don't appear to be personally incentivized toward a sale. (CEO Shaw Hong, for instance, would earn profit about $2.7 million off a sale at $30, relative to current prices. His annual compensation has averaged $3.9 million over the last three years.)

In addition, it's not at all clear that such a buyout could get done. The federal government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) would likely be involved, and at least one expert sees the combination of foreign ownership and the inclusion of state-owned Shanghai Pudong Science as being a potential roadblock. An agreement now or in the near future could see the approval process run into the 2016 elections, when, as Derek Scissors told Barron's, "the general economic mood is anti-foreign and certainly anti-China."

Micro Market Monitor: The South American image sensor market, mainly driven by the increasing demand for cameras in smartphones and tablets, along with the increasing application of image sensors in the South American medical diagnostic and image sensor market was estimated to be $622.3 million in 2014 and is projected to reach $1,053.6 million by 2019 at a CAGR of 11.1% from 2014 to 2019.

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IMVEurope publishes thoughts by Yole Developpment analyst Pierre Cambou on Sony CCD end of life decision. One quote:

"It is always sad for technologists to watch the creative destruction of technology shifts. I believe this major transition will renew the innovation drive of the industry. Let’s buckle up for a new technology cycle. I am convinced we are not to be disappointed. CCD image sensors are dead, long live CMOS image sensors!"

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PR Newswire: Synopsys announces its new DesignWare EV Family of vision processors. The EV52 and EV54 vision processors are fully programmable and configurable vision processor IP cores that deliver over 1000 GOPS/Watt power efficiency, said to be 5X better efficiency than other available vision processors. The cores can operate at up to 1 GHz in a typical 28nm process. The DesignWare EV52 and EV54 Processors are scheduled to be available in May 2015.

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Business Wire: Toshiba starts mass production of the previously announced 1/3-inch 1080p60 TCM3232PB sensor at the end of April. The PR stated the sensor HDR mode provides 108dB DR, while the flyer talks about 100dB:

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Mikeselectricstuff posts a Youtube video of SEM imageinery of FLIR Lepton thermal sensor, the last stage of its teardown. See the previous stages here and here.

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Engadget, Business Insider, Newsweek: The same group Science for the Masses that has shown the human vision extension to IR, now publishes another experiment showing night vision improvement with eyedrops. The group used Chlorin e6 cancer treatment substance mixed with insulin for their experiment. They claim that the eyedrops significantly enhance night time vision at distances up to 50 meters for a time of few hours.

The experimenter, Gabriel Licina describes his feelings "It’s subtle. It’s not like ‘oh my gosh I have super vision!’ It’s more like dark became dim, everything was a little brighter. Not a crazy noticeable light, burning and doom, but more a subtle, ‘oh I can see a thing!"

The adverse effects of the proposed solution have not been studied.

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SPIE has published a video of its Prizm Award ceremony for Seek Thermal & Raytheon consumer-grade thermal camera, a competitor of FLIR One:



One can see a teardown of Seek Thermal camera and its comparison with FLIR One in mikeselectricstuff videos: Part 1 and Part 2, as well as the analysis of its thermal gradient artifacts.

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Point Grey confirms that Sony will discontinue operations of their CCD 200mm wafer line at Kagoshima Technology Center in Japan by the end of March 2017. This line is responsible for production of all Sony CCD image sensors used in Point Grey cameras. Point Grey did not confirm exact last-time buy (LTB) or last-time ship (LTS) dates for the affected CCDs, commenting that recently publicized dates of August 2015 and March 2020, respectively, should not be considered final. “Point Grey has been actively discussing details about the closure directly with Sony,” said Michael Gibbons, Director of Sales and Marketing at Point Grey. “This is a very dynamic situation and final details, including official last-time buy and ship dates, have not yet been released publicly by Sony. We caution our customers against making quick decisions based on preliminary information circulating the Internet.”

Point Grey continues to see high and growing demand worldwide for both CCD and CMOS sensor technology, and believes that CCD technology will continue to play an important part in the imaging world for many years to come. “Our goal is to provide customers with three options,” said Gibbons. “First is to continue to buy their existing Sony CCD-based cameras for the natural lifespan of the systems they’re designed into. If customers are happy with these products there is no need to change. For those customers who still prefer CCD technology but want to explore alternatives to Sony, we are actively adding new CCDs from suppliers such as Sharp into our camera lineup. And finally, for those customers interested in the benefits of CMOS technology, we will continue to lead the charge in integrating image sensors from companies like Sony and On Semi into our products.”

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