Melexis publishes an article on its history in automotive ToF imaging, starting from cooperation with Free University of Brussels (VUB), continuing with VUB spin-off Softkinetic that was acquired by Sony and renamed to Sony Depthsensing Solutions.
So far, Melexis has shipped 1M automotive ToF sensors:
"At Melexis, we are proud of having designed the first automotive qualified ToF sensor IC with our first generation MLX75023. This proves our capability to not only design but also produce the new technology in line with stringent automotive quality standards. It is therefore with great pleasure that we are the first to have reached in 2019 the impressive milestone of having more than 1 million ToF image sensor ICs on the road."
Melexis also announces a QVGA ToF sensor MLX75027 and publishes "ToF Basics" tutorial.
Does someone understand why Sony would license their ToF IP to a competitor like Melexis? not sure how this makes sense?!?
ReplyDeleteMelexis is not a true competitor of Sony in the sense that they don't make image sensors themselves. They do have good contacts with the automotive industry, so maybe this is a way for Sony to get into that market.
Deletenot a competitor of Sony? Aren't they selling to the same end customers and applications? Also, a way for Sony to get into that market? Isnt Sony already heavily into the auto market?
Deleteor am I missing something here?
Keep in mind that the core TOF sensor was developed by Softkinetic, now Sony Depthsensing Solutions. This was not a large company (like Sony) before being acquired by Sony. Hence, I think for them it might have been a way to sell their product to a large market. Maybe they still operate somewhat autonomous, maybe they had a deal from before Sony got involved, I don't know. But for a smaller company, I think it can make sense to team up with a bigger player, like Melexis, that is not specialized in your product (Melexis makes a lot of sensors, but they don't have a lot of image sensors for sale) that has access to a large market (like the automotive market).
DeleteTechnology was licensed by SoftKinetic to Melexis before their acquisition by Sony in 2015. If you look at the timeline Melexis was already on the market when Sony purchased.
ReplyDeleteI think the question is valid. Sony did take over the license agreement Melexis had with Softkinetic. Melexis has their own processing though - mostly at XFab if I'm not wrong. Sony makes advertisement that they want to bring their ToF technology into automotive. So indeed interesting to see if Sony will in the future fabricate for Melexis or stop the collaboration entirely and try to take over their market share. I guess we'll see
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