Teledyne DALSA Opens Possibility Hub

Teledyne DALSA unveiles Possibility Hub - a content engine for sharing stories and knowledge about imaging technology and its ability to empower human achievement. Continued advances in digital image sensor technology and data processing are driving new and ever more ambitious applications for imaging technology. The Possibility Hub will spotlight these innovations not only in traditional industrial applications, but in the physical and health sciences, arts and entertainment, as well as oceanographic, geographic, and interplanetary exploration.

One of the articles on the Hub "Five CMOS Camera Developments to Watch in 2014" by Eric Fox. The developments are:

• CMOS Sensors Will Go Big. Real Big. (in resolution and size)
• CCD + CMOS: The Best of Both Worlds? (TDI implemented in CMOS)
• Accelerating Speeds and Feeds
• Better Low-Light Performance
• More Will Be Happening On-Camera (HDR, ROI, various corrections)

Omnivision Announces 5MP 1.12um Pixel Purecel Sensor

PR Newswire: OmniVision announces OV5670, the 5MP, 1/5-inch 1.12um PureCel image sensor for both front- and rear-facing cameras in smartphones and tablets. "The OV5670 is uniquely positioned in that it brings tremendous value and performance to camera applications on both sides of a mobile device. Its compact form factor and small optical format allow manufacturers to easily upgrade camera resolutions from 2-megapixel to 5-megapixel for main cameras in feature phones, and for front- and rear-facing cameras in smartphones and tablets," said Archie de Guzman, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. "The popularity of mobile software applications focusing on video-conferencing has fueled consumer demand for higher-resolution front-facing camera solutions that also meet the space constraints of today's mobile devices. OV5670 provides an ideal solution."

The OV5670 PureCel image sensor capture full resolution 5MP images at 30fps, quad HD video at 30fps, cropped 1080p HD at 60fps, or 720p HD at 60fps. When recording 720p HD video with binning, the sensor achieves sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio that is comparable to popular 1.75um pixel-based sensors. Additionally, the sensor's 1.12um pixel achieves similar full-well capacity as OmniVision's previous generation 1.4um pixel.

When the OV5670 is recording full resolution video, it uses approximately 35 percent less power than OmniVision's previous generation 5MP sensor. The sensor's ultra low power mode further reduces power consumption, thus minimizing battery drain. The OV5670 fits into 6 x 6 x 3.5 mm camera module. It is currently in volume production.

ON Semi Foundry Announces Image Sensor IP Blocks Availability

Business Wire: ON Semiconductor announces the availability of new qualified IP on its proprietary ONC18 180nm process. The new IP blocks were developed by various external vendors including Senseeker Engineering Inc., and range from small-pitch column-parallel ADC and cryogenic-compatible LVDS drivers to very-small footprint OTP memory:

Intellectual Ventures Wins Lawsuit Against Canon

Intellectual Ventures reports that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware rendered a verdict finding two Intellectual Ventures’ (IV) image sensor patents valid and infringed by digital camera products of Canon Inc. and Canon USA. Law360.com adds that "the jury held that Canon’s EOS 1DS Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II and Vixia Camcorders infringe at least one claim of U.S. Patent Number 6,023,081, which Canon failed to invalidate for obviousness."

The US 6,023,081 patent "Semiconductor image sensor" by Clifford Drowley, Jennifer Patterson, Shrinath Ramaswami, and Mark Swenson was originally filed by Motorola in 1997 and granted in 2000.

Omnivision Proposes a Compact Way to Enhance DR in 4T Pixel

Omnivision's patent application US20140103189 "Compact In-Pixel High Dynamic Range Imaging" by Gang Chen, Duli Mao, Hsin-Chih Tai, and Howard Rhodes proposes quite a minor modification in 4T pixel which dynamically changes its conversion gain based on the signal level. The proposal is to add few Vth-adjust implants under the RST gate, so that various gate areas go to inversion mode depending on the floating diffusion voltage:

DALSA CEO Retires

Teledyne DALSA announces that its CEO, Brian Doody, has decided to retire from the company to pursue other personal and family activities. Brian started with DALSA as its fourth employee in 1985 and rose through the ranks to become CEO in 2007.

Upon Brian's retirement, Rex Geveden, EVP Digital Imaging and Engineered Systems Segments, Teledyne Technologies Inc., will relocate to the Waterloo area and assume responsibility for the Teledyne DALSA business, as well as maintain his other segment responsibilities within Teledyne.

PMD ToF Camera in Direct Sunlight

PMD posted a Youtube video demoing its CamBoard pico XS in direct sunlight. "The tiny CamBoard pico XS can perform in direct sunlight -- no matter if the sun is shining directly into the lens or fully illuminating the scene. Due to the patented SBI circuitry (suppression of background illumination) pmd Time-of-Flight chips, and respectively pmd-based 3D camera systems, are very robust against ambient light."

Woodside Capital on Embedded Camera Market

Woodside Capital Partners publishes a 85-page-big report on embedded camera market "Embedded Camera Status: At The Edge of Depth", dated by Apr. 2014. The report essentially says that integration of the depth information into the cameras is the next big step in imaging: "The industry has acquired a thirst for depth detection in the cameras, and the generation of a point cloud of a scene, this has the potential to increase volumes shipped by nearly 2X by the latter part of this decade."

Few interesting graphs form the report:

The automotive camera section talks about the slow product launch cycle and market entry barriers:

Thanks to DM for the link!

ON Semi Closes Truesense Acquisition

On Semi announces the completion of its acquisition of Truesense Imaging. ON Semi paid approximately $95M in cash off its balance sheet, after adjustments for cash and working capital amounts, to purchase Truesense Imaging. Based on audited results, Truesense Imaging’s revenue for 2013 was approximately $79 million with gross and operating margins of approximately 44% and 23%, respectively.
Chris McNiffe, CEO and president of Truesense, has been retained by the ON Semiconductor team to help manage and grow our image sensor business. The Truesense product development and business teams will be incorporated in ON Semi’s Application Products Group (APG) as part of the company’s Image Sensor Business Unit, reporting to Vince Hopkin, VP of ON Semiconductor’s MDFI Division. The Truesense’s factory operations will report up through ON Semiconductor’s corporate manufacturing organization.

The former Truesense Imaging owner, Platinum Equity too announces the completion of the deal. "We are proud of this investment and of all the hard work that went into making it successful," said Platinum Equity’s Jason Leach, who led the initial Truesense acquisition from Kodak. "The business is fundamentally strong and is well positioned to succeed under new ownership."

Mobile Photography Future

Embedded.com publishes an article "Mobile photography's developing image" by Michael McDonald, saying that resolution is not a differentiation factor anymore. Instead, the future camera phones will have computational photography features, such as HDR, super-resolution, 3D, imaging and more.