Omnivision Announces HDR Sensors with LED Flicker Mitigation, Surround View ISP

PRNewswire: OmniVision introduces the 1.3MP OX1A10 and 1.7MP OX2A10 for side- and rear-view camera monitoring systems (CMS), respectively. Built on 4.2um BSI split pixel technology for HDR, the new sensors offer LED flicker–reduction.

"In regular HDR cameras, the short exposure time causes the image sensor to miss the LED 'on' pulse, giving the appearance of 'flicker' in the video stream on a display. Merely increasing the exposure time of normal pixel technology to capture the LED pulse does not solve the problem, but rather causes saturation and loss of dynamic range," said Marius Evensen, product marketing manager at OmniVision. "We designed the OX1A10 and OX2A10 image sensors with LED flicker–reduction technology to specifically mitigate this problem and enable mass adoption of e-mirrors in the automotive market. These sensors join our growing portfolio of automotive specific digital imaging solutions targeted at both machine and vision display systems."

The OX1A10 and OX2A10 achieve 110dB HDR while guaranteeing LED pulse capture. The OX1A10 supports 1280 × 1080 resolution in a 1:1.2 aspect ratio for side-view cameras. Targeting rear-view cameras, the OX2A10 supports 1840 × 940 resolution in a 2:1 aspect ratio. The sensors' on-chip combination algorithm reduces the output data rate for easier data transition and back-end processing.

The OX1A10 and OX2A10 are currently in volume production.

PRNewswire: OmniVision announces the OV493, a companion chip with surround-video image-processing capabilities for automotive applications. Each OV493 can process two video streams simultaneously, and two ISP companion chips can process four camera inputs for surround-view applications.

"As advanced automotive driver-assistance features, such as 360-degree surround-view systems, become more popular, automotive manufacturers seek imaging solutions that are suitable for multiple vehicle platforms and can meet stringent industry standards," said Andy Hanvey, senior automotive marketing manager at OmniVision. "The OV493 gives Tier-1 OEMs an opportunity to reduce system cost, maintain high performance, and design distributed architectures for multiple driver-assistance systems."