Prophesee raises €20 Million

Link: https://www.prophesee.ai/2026/06/15/prophesee-launches-mantara-event-based-drone-detection/

Prophesee raises €20 million and launches Mantara, the first fully integrated drone detection system built on event-based vision and AI 

PARIS, June 15, 2026 – As Eurosatory and Vivatech open their doors this week in Paris, Prophesee – inventor and world leader in event-based perception – announces the launch of Mantara®: the first integrated system built natively event-based for drone detection and tracking. Mantara runs on Hearth®, a new software platform with built-in AI processing.

Field-validated in June 2026, Mantara is powered by Hearth, the platform succeeding OpenEB and the Metavision SDK. These announcements coincide with a €20 million capital raise led by French fund Critical Path Ventures, with participation from existing shareholders. Prophesee is now held by a substantial majority of French shareholders.

Mantara is a camera whose performance rests on integrated sensors that do not capture images but motion and events. Each pixel responds independently, in microseconds, the instant movement occurs. Fast, erratic targets that blur or vanish between frames on a conventional camera remain perfectly visible and fully characterizable by Mantara: in low light, in backlit conditions, against cluttered backgrounds. Low latency is the heart of its edge: in the time a conventional system takes to capture, transfer, and process a single frame, Mantara has already detected a drone, characterized it, and triggered a response or initiated tracking.

This capability is rooted in a bio-mimetic design inspired by the human visual system. The eye does not record the world in full. Instead, it captures sparse, essential signals, and the brain reconstructs and interprets what matters. If Mantara is the eye, Hearth is the brain.

Hearth is built with cybersecurity requirements, GDPR compliance, and AI governance standards baked in. It enables sensor fusion and will ensure backward compatibility across successive generations of Prophesee sensors. Applications built on Metavision and OpenEB will migrate to Hearth seamlessly.

Recent conflicts have put drones at the center of modern warfare, and the threat is moving fast beyond the battlefield: airports, power plants, critical infrastructure, public gatherings. Drones fly low, change direction sharply, and increasingly carry a near-zero signature: minimal electromagnetic emissions, little acoustic output, little thermal trace. They arrive faster, and in greater numbers, with coordinated swarms capable of overwhelming defenses built to track a single target.

Mantara emits nothing. It cannot be detected or jammed. And it learns: Hearth delivers regular updates that allow every deployed unit to adapt to shifts in threat behavior. Ukraine has made this clear: tactics evolve far faster than traditional development cycles can follow.
 

Civil and Military Missions

Mantara serves both civil and defense use cases. Airports, stadiums, energy and industrial sites, prisons, and ports can integrate it into existing security infrastructure for continuous, automated airspace monitoring. Governments and defense organizations have access to the same system for force protection and counter-UAS operations.

For civil operators, Mantara also offers a compelling privacy advantage: because the sensors detect motion events rather than recording images, Mantara can track moving objects without ever producing footage that could identify individuals. This is a decisive asset for deployment over public spaces and for GDPR compliance.

Hearth: the Reference Platform for the Event-based Ecosystem

Mantara is part of a broader strategic shift encompassing Prophesee’s entire product line.

Hearth will give the event-based ecosystem a trusted reference environment for building scalable, production-grade modules and applications. It will manage sensor updates, backward compatibility, and unlock capabilities that were previously out of reach for developers and integrators working with Prophesee’s patented technology.

As part of this transition, Prophesee announces the end of life of OpenEB, its open-source framework, and of the standalone Metavision SDK. Hearth is the path forward for the developer community. Prophesee will support the migration.

Prophesee’s partners and customers have built a wide range of applications – from eye trackers and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) to ultra-fast cameras for smartphones, ping-pong playing robots, industrial inspection systems, and drone and satellite tracking and targeting solutions. Event-based vision is reaching an inflection point. The market is maturing rapidly and demanding solutions that are robust, secure, and production-ready. With around a hundred patents and multiple sensors to its name, Prophesee has industrialized event-based technology and now intends to structure the broader application ecosystem by making Hearth widely available.

Built with a Network of European Industrial Partners

Mantara benefits from Prophesee’s partnership with IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH, a leading industrial camera manufacturer. Building on the commercial success of the IDS uEye EVS camera line – based on Prophesee sensors – the two companies expanded their partnership in March 2026 with an agreement signed at Embedded World in Nuremberg to co-develop next-generation industrial vision systems.

Prophesee and Exosens have entered an MoU, paving the way for a long-term partnership to extend bio-mimetic technology beyond the visible spectrum, combining Prophesee’s event-based vision with Exosens’ detection and imaging technologies.

A €20 Million Raise to Anchor Prophesee in France

Prophesee announces a €20 million capital raise led by Critical Path Ventures, a new investor. The team has been reinforced with talent from Google, Microsoft, BCG, Thales, and companies working in drone, robotics, and quantum technologies, as well as from the armed forces. The funds will support the commercial scale-up of Mantara, the development of embedded intelligence within sensors, and the launch of Hearth. 

UV SPAD review article

"Ultraviolet Photon Detection in CMOS Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes: A Review" by Wang et al. in IEEE Sensors Journal (vol 26 no 12 June 2026)

DOI: 10.1109/JSEN.2026.3690120 

Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) imaging is enabling a growing range of applications in industrial inspection, biomedicine, and aerospace. Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), known for their exceptional sensitivity and fast timing resolution, have achieved remarkable success in visible and near-infrared (NIR) applications, e.g., in light detection and ranging (LiDAR). However, there remains a significant gap
in the development and deployment of UV SPAD detectors. This review presents the latest progress, challenges, and application potential of SPAD technologies in deep-UV (DUV) and near-UV (NUV) ranges. It reviews the challenges in UV detection and the currently reported NUV SPADs, including wide bandgap semiconductors (WBSs), avalanche photodiodes (APDs), silicon-based SPADs with front-side illumination (FSI) and back-side illumination (BSI), and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). By linking UV
imaging with single-photon detection, this review aims to support future silicon-based complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) high-speed, large-format UV SPAD arrays, and their integration into next-generation imaging systems. 

 

 

 

HESAI color lidar

Press release (April 2026): https://www.hesaitech.com/hesai-unveils-picasso-6d-full-color-spad-soc-next-gen-etx-and-innovations-in-spatial-intelligence-and-physical-ai/

Hesai Unveils Picasso 6D Full-Color SPAD-SoC, Next-Gen ETX, and Innovations in Spatial Intelligence and Physical AI

Hesai Technology (Nasdaq: HSAI; HKEX: 2525), a global leader in intelligent technology and 3D perception, hosted its 2026 Technology Open Day on April 17, showcasing its latest generation of lidar technologies spanning full-color perception, ultra-high-resolution imaging, and spatial intelligence applications.

A key highlight was Picasso, the world’s first 6D full-color ultra-sensitive lidar SPAD-SoC, enabling native fusion of spatial and color perception at the ASIC level. Built on this platform, Hesai’s ETX lidar series has been upgraded to support up to 4320 channels and is expected to enter mass production in the second half of 2026. The company also previewed Kosmo, a new spatial intelligence AI hardware product, and outlined a new direction in robotic actuation modules for physical AI systems. 

At the core of today’s announcement is Picasso, Hesai’s fifth-generation 6D full-color ultra-sensitive lidar ASIC platform, designed to enable vehicles to see both geometry and color natively on a single chip.

Unlike conventional lidar systems that capture only geometric information such as XYZ, Picasso integrates RGB sensing and time-of-flight (ToF) ranging at the chip-level, enabling the direct generation of colorized point clouds without the need for complex sensor fusion. This 6D full-color capability delivers precise spatial and temporal alignment, resulting in richer environmental understanding and significantly enhancing the perception capabilities of next-generation autonomous systems. 

With photon detection efficiency (PDE) exceeding 40%, Picasso delivers industry-leading sensitivity, enabling stronger long-range performance, better detection of small objects, and improved performance in low-light environments within the same power envelope.

Rather than simply combining camera imagery with lidar point clouds, Picasso enables true ASIC-level fusion, with each point inherently carrying color information. This allows autonomous systems to move from spatial perception to real-time understanding of the driving environment, improving performance in different scenarios such as traffic signals, lane markings, and construction zones. 

The introduction of Picasso marks a major step in lidar development, moving beyond incremental improvements in resolution toward a new generation of full-color perception. This breakthrough is supported by Hesai’s long-term vertical integration strategy and in-house development across core lidar technologies. Following the launch of Fermi C500, a RISC-V-based high-performance lidar controller SoC that integrates MCU, FPGA functions, and ADC into a single chip, the company has established full-stack in-house ASIC development capabilities. This technology foundation has already translated into large-scale commercialization, with Hesai’s upgraded ATX lidar achieving full-scale mass production and securing over 6 million units in orders from leading OEMs.

 

ETX is expected to enter mass production in the second half of 2026, with planned deployment across multiple flagship vehicle models, supporting the large-scale adoption of L3 autonomous driving systems. 

Sony TSMC partnership

Link: https://www.sony-semicon.com/en/news/2026/2026050801.html

Sony Semiconductor Solutions and TSMC Enter Preliminary Agreement for Next-Generation Image Sensor Strategic Partnership 

Atsugi, Japan — Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (“Sony”) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (“TSMC”) (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today announced the signing of a non-binding memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) to form a strategic partnership for the development and manufacturing of next-generation image sensors.

Under the proposed partnership, Sony and TSMC intend to establish a joint venture (“JV”), with Sony being the majority and controlling shareholder,to set up development and production lines in Sony’s newly constructed fab in Koshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture. Through the JV, both companies expect to leverage Sony's expertise in sensor design alongside TSMC’s strengths in process technology and manufacturing excellence as part of a broader collaboration aimed at enhancing image sensor performance.

With the MOU signed, Sony and TSMC are discussing potential investments by the JV. These investments, along with new capital investment by Sony in its existing plant in Nagasaki, are being considered on the premise that they would be implemented in phases based on market demand, and that they would receive support from the Japanese government.

This partnership also seeks to explore and address emerging opportunities in physical AI applications, such as automotive and robotics, paving the way for future innovations and expanded technological advancements. The establishment of the JV remains subject to the execution of a definitive legally binding agreement regarding the partnership and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. 

“Building on the trust cultivated through our long-standing collaboration with TSMC, I am delighted that we have reached an agreement to advance our partnership to a new stage,” said Shinji Sashida, President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation.“This JV is a significant initiative that brings together the strengths of both companies and aims to drive further advancement in technology and business within the next-generation image sensor field. Building on this JV, Sony intends to further strengthen its business operations with a focus on creating high added value. Rooted in the Sony Spirit that has guided us since our founding, we intend to continue to take on the challenge of creating new markets through unprecedented ideas and distinctive technologies.”

“Sony has been our long-time partner in the CMOS image sensor business. We are excited to elevate our collaboration to the next level, which represents a key step forward in driving future sensing technology in the AI era,” said TSMC Senior Vice President and Deputy Co-COO, Dr. Kevin Zhang. “This partnership underscores our shared commitment and mutual vision of leveraging cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to deliver leading sensing technology and products. We look forward to working closely together to achieve impactful results and create lasting value for all stakeholders.” 

Soliciting volunteer blog maintainers

Image Sensors Blog is soliciting 1-2 volunteers to help me maintain our weekly posting schedule. We have a large readership spanning industry and academia. This is a great opportunity esp. for an early-career academic (graduate student/postdoc) to provide valuable service to the image sensors community. Please email me (see contact listed in the "Blog Authors" sidebar) with a short introduction and how you see yourself contributing to the blog.

Many thanks to Dave Gilblom who is now retiring from his role as one of the blog maintainers. Thanks, Dave, for the countless hours of hard work poring over image sensor documentation, and for spearheading the Job Postings and Conference List features on the blog! 

Harvest Imaging Forum 2026 Nov 5-6, Registrations Open

Advanced Packaging and Multi-Dimensional Systems Integration for Image Sensors

November 5 & 6, 2026
Antwerp, Belgium

Abstract
Packaging technology for image sensors is an underappreciated issue in the systems integration process, greatly affecting performance, scalability, physical area, and cost. The multi-dimensional package as well as the underlying technology can greatly affect the overall electrical, optical, mechanical, and thermal characteristics of the integrated system. These systems have become multi-dimensional in nature, composed of several interacting layers and multiple sensors with the imagers vertically integrated within the overall system. Now that image sensors are driven more than ever to extreme performance capabilities, novel packaging options and technologies have become increasingly important. An important trend to support large scale sensors integrated into systems are the widely applied stacking and chiplet technologies in which several layers of active silicon are placed above each other. In this way, highly compact, high performance imaging systems are becoming possible. Packaging of systems including image sensors has become much more than placing a single silicon die into a package and attaching some wires.

The landscape of image sensor applications is widening at an accelerating rate, requiring new and different packaging solutions. This forum will review this key issue as well as include a series of highly related topics. This year’s Harvest Imaging Forum is focusing on the existing field of multi-dimensional packaging technology for image sensors. Related topics such as on-chip interconnect, power delivery, synchronization, network communication, thermal behavior, and heterogeneous integration will also be discussed. The focus will be on both current and near term capabilities. These next generation technologies are now becoming available, allowing the development and integration of large scale systems composed of multiple layers and chiplets to produce large scale systems operating at increasingly higher levels of performance. 

https://harvestimaging.com/forum_registration_2026.php 

ST low-power global shutter CIS

[ST Press Release from April 2026.]

STMicroelectronics brings always-on vision to next-generation personal electronics with new ultralow-power image sensors

VD55G4 and VD65G4 extend the ST BrightSense portfolio with compact, ultralow-power, microcontroller-compatible sensors for wearables, AR/VR, and smart devices

These new global-shutter image sensors can consume up to 10x less, in operating mode at around 800×700 resolution and 10 frames per second

Geneva, Switzerland — April 28, 2026 — STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, introduces a new generation of ultralow-power global-shutter image sensors that deliver high-quality, always-on vision to compact devices operating on batteries or harvested energy. The VD55G4 (monochrome) and VD65G4 (RGB color) sensors, part of the ST BrightSense portfolio, are now available to early adopters, enabling customers to start designing their next generation of smart, ultralow-power vision devices today.
Designed for the next wave of personal electronics and smart devices, the new sensors serve applications including wearables, AR/VR and XR headsets, smart home appliances and medical devices. They are engineered to deliver rich visual context and AI-ready data under tight constraints on power, size, and cost. The sensors combine an ultralow-power detect-and-wake architecture with a very small global-shutter optical format and interfaces optimized for low-power microcontrollers and cost-effective systems on chips (SoCs).

“Always‑on vision is becoming essential for the next generation of personal electronics, from smart glasses and AR/VR headsets to intelligent home appliances and medical devices. With VD55G4 and VD65G4, we are bringing this capability to smaller, lighter products that must run for a long time on a tiny battery. These new sensors help our customers create more intuitive and responsive experiences, extend battery life, and bring embedded vision and edge AI into everyday devices,” said Alexandre Balmefrezol, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Imaging Sub-Group at STMicroelectronics.

From wearables and AR/VR to smart appliances
VD55G4 and VD65G4 bring always‑on vision to products that must stay small, light, and extremely power‑efficient. Building on the ST BrightSense family, they add a color option, faster response for interactive use cases, and simple connectivity to low‑power microcontrollers, making it easier to add vision to space‑ and cost‑constrained designs.

In wearables, the sensors enable all‑day, always‑aware features such as glance detection, presence sensing, and contextual alerts, while fitting into very compact designs and working directly with microcontroller‑based platforms.

For AR/VR and XR headsets, they combine low power and high‑quality capture to support accurate tracking and spatial awareness, helping extend battery life without compromising comfort.

In smart home appliances, IoT devices, and medical products, the sensors allow more intelligence to run locally on the device itself, reducing cloud dependence and standby power. Their tiny size and energy efficiency also make them well suited to solar‑ or energy‑harvesting‑powered vision nodes.

Ultralow‑power design that consumes up to 10x less
Thanks to an optimized sensor architecture and dedicated always‑on mode, VD55G4 and VD65G4 can consume up to 10 times less power than conventional global‑shutter sensors. They can watch for changes in a scene and wake up the main processor only when needed, shifting from continuous streaming to event‑driven operation. This enables all‑day, always‑on experiences, longer battery life, and practical vision systems powered by small batteries or energy harvesting.

Their very small footprint and integrated image processing simplify design and reduce system cost, while supporting responsive, AI‑ready vision features in a wide range of edge devices. 

Ex-Samsung CTO founds image sensor startup

Link: https://it.chosun.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2023092160385 

"Lee Je-seok, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Sensor Business Team, also resigned recently after 32 years at the company. Lee is considered a "living witness" of Samsung’s image sensor brand, ISOCELL, and is credited with leading the development of the world's first 100-megapixel and 200-megapixel sensors, as well as securing a spot in Apple’s supply chain.

Following his resignation, Lee is reportedly preparing to launch an image sensor startup. On social media, he posted an image signaling a "stealth mode" startup with global experts, stating he would "redefine the future of imaging in January 2027." Industry observers are closely watching as a key designer of Samsung's proprietary technology could emerge as a potential competitor."

Conference List - December 2026

18th International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST2026) - 7-9 December 2026 - Sydney, Australia - Website

International Technical Exhibition on Image Technology and Equipment (ITE) - 2-4 December 2026 - Yokohama, Japan - Website

IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting - 12-16 December 2026 - San Francisco, CA, USA - Website

If you know about additional local conferences, please add them as comments.

Return to Conference List index

Canon MS-510 low light camera

Press release: https://www.usa.canon.com/newsroom/2026/20260415-camera

Canon U.S.A. Sets New Standard in Low-Light Imaging with the Launch of the MS-510 Multi-Purpose Camera at NAB 2026

Featuring a new Canon 1-inch SPAD sensor, the MS-510 delivers impressive low-light and long-range performance for ultra-low-light environments 

MELVILLE, N.Y., April 15, 2026 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced the release of the MS-510, an innovative multi-purpose camera engineered to meet the rigorous demands of ultra-low-light full-color video shooting. Building on the success of the MS-500, the new MS-510 is designed to deliver high-fidelity captures of everything from nocturnal wildlife and natural nightscapes to high-security areas such as seaports, public infrastructure facilities, and national borders where "seeing the unseen" is a mission-critical requirement.

In response to increasing demands for excellent performance in near-total darkness, the MS-510 features a new Canon 1-inch Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) sensor with the world’s highest number of pixels at approximately 3.2 million with improved Near-Infrared (NIR) sensitivity.

By leveraging this technology, the camera achieves a minimum subject illumination of 0.0006 lux, a significant improvement over the 0.001 lux of its predecessor. This allows for bright, full-color imaging in ultra-low-light environments where traditional cameras can fail. Furthermore, the MS-510 boasts improved NIR capabilities, providing a tactical advantage for night-mode operations and long-distance detection.

The MS-510 is not just a camera; it is a sophisticated tool for critical infrastructure monitoring and law enforcement. Key features include:

•  Broadcast-Grade Optics: Equipped with the broadcast industry standard B4 mount, the MS-510 has a built in magnifying optical system offering compatibility with Canon’s extensive lineup of 2/3-inch ultra-telephoto broadcast zoom lenses, enabling crystal-clear identification over vast distances.
•  Advanced Image Processing: Integrated Haze Compensation automatically reduces the interference of mist and haze while adjusting contrast, and Smart Shade Control corrects for highlights and shadows to maintain image integrity in challenging lighting conditions.
•  Customizable Imaging Profiles: Users can create up to 20 customized image quality settings or utilize Custom Picture Presets to prioritize wide dynamic range or maximum noise reduction depending on the environment.

Designed to fit into existing security ecosystems, the MS-510 shares common protocols with the MS-500, including NU, Pelco-D®, ONVIF®, and WebView. It offers versatile output options, including 3G/HD-SDI for high-quality video feeds and a LAN terminal for IP-based camera control and distribution.