New onsemi Sensor Family Offers Security via Computer Vision
October 16, 2023
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In Smart Home or office, smart cameras are the leading way that owners and operators protect the physical plant, and the success of these systems hinge on the quality of the vision. That trend is likely to continue, and the computer vision market is very likely to grow, according to the recent Status of the CMOS Image Sensor Industry report by Yole Intelligence.
For that trend to continue, however, manufacturers need to provide better image quality, higher reliability, and longer battery life. Without those tech improvements, adoption of dedicated devices could slow or even stall.
In a recent announcement, onsemi introduced its new Hyperlux LP image sensor family, which the company said is designed for industrial and commercial cameras specifically, and can be embedded for use in smart doorbells, security cameras, AR/VR/XR headsets, and machine vision. They have an extremely small form factor at 1.4 µm pixel while reportedly delivering high-end image quality. The company also said that the sensors are tuned for low power consumption and maximized performance, even in non-optimal lighting.
The sensor family is composed of the 5-megapixel AR0544, the 8-megapixel AR0830 and the 20-megapixel AR2020. According to the announcement, the product family features a stacked architecture design to reduce hardware footprint, with the smallest of the sensors approaching the size of a grain of rice.
“By leveraging our superior analog design and pixel architecture, our sensors elevate the two most important elements people consider when buying a device, picture quality and battery life,” said Ross Jatou, senior vice president and general manager, Intelligent Sensing Group, onsemi. “Our new image sensor family delivers performance that matters with a significantly increased battery life and exquisite, highly detailed images.”
These image sensors, onsemi said, make it so cameras to deliver clearer images and more accurate object detection even in harsh weather and lighting conditions, and the low battery consumption enables cameras to be placed in any location even those that are hard to reach or access.
Hyperlux reportedly offers several features that optimize performance and resolution including:
- Wake on Motion: Enables the sensors to spend most hours of operation in a low-power mode that draws a fraction of the power of full-performance mode. Movement
triggers the change of state in an instant. - Smart Sight: The sensors can deliver more than one region of interest (ROI) to give a context view of the scene at reduced bandwidth and a separate ROI in original detail.
- Near-Infrared (NIR) Performance: Delivers superior image quality due to the silicon design and pixel architecture, with minimal supplemental lighting.
- Low Power: Reduces thermal noise which negatively impacts image quality and eliminates the need for heat sinks.
Hyperlux will be available in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Ken Briodagh is a writer and editor with two decades of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers, he would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars. In previous lives, he’s been a short order cook, telemarketer, medical supply technician, mover of the bodies at a funeral home, pirate, poet, partial alliterist, parent, partner and pretender to various thrones. Most of his exploits are either exaggerated or blatantly false.
