RAL, FBK, Harvest on Imaging Trends

Image Sensors 2012 continues the series of interviews of the presenters. Mostly the same questions are asked and answered.

Albert Theuwissen, Harvest Imaging:

Q: Are there any disruptive technologies on the horizon that you feel will have a big impact in the coming years?

A: Maybe there are, but I am not in a position to talk about it because I am working with some people on these type of technologies!

Renato Turchetta, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL):

Q: Can you outline the emerging technologies in this field? [imagers for non-visible parts of spectrum]

A: I have been working for a long time in medical imaging. In large area applications, like mammography or chest radiography, TFT technology has been the major player for many years now. CMOS technology is starting to emerge and it could become the major player in the next few years.

David Stoppa of Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK):

Q: What are the main barriers to more widespread uptake of [Time-of-Flight] technology and what are the main focuses and technical challenges?

A: It has been recently demonstrated that other 3D imaging technologies (Kinect) having a similar level of system complexity entered mass markets at incredibly low cost. In the past, Time-of-Flight cameras were intended for industrial control applications where a reliable measurement system was needed and system cost was not the main concern. Nowadays, ToF technology holds all the key features to enter consumer electronics markets although some important challenges are still open, above all the reduction of the system power consumption in order to successfully implement 3D on portable devices.