Panasonic ToF DImager Product Line

Panasonic-affiliated web site Pidtechinsights posted an nice explanation of the differences in DImager product lineup:

Currently, three different D-IMagers are available—Models 3104, 3105 and 3106. All three have some common characteristics, but they differ in some key regards:

• Lighting Requirements. The original D-IMager, Model 3104, serves in lighting conditions up to 20,000 lux. So does the Model 3105, though it has a higher sensitivity than than 3104. Model 3106 addresses high illumination applications—up to approximately 100,000 lux. To date, the 3106 is the only commercially available IR ToF sensor that can be used with such high illumination levels.
• Pixel Format. All D-IMagers have a nominal pixel format of 160 x120. They have a minimum measurement range of 1.2 meters. Maximum measurement range is 9 meters for Models 3104 and 3106. Model 3105 has a maximum range of 5 meters.
• Frame Rate. All three models offer frame rates of 15, 20, 25 and 30 fps.
• Field of View. The further the target is away from the camera the greater field of view (FoV) angle and the lower the resolution. In most applications, FoV above 60 degrees can easily be balanced with the resolution needed for gesture or movement tracking applications.

Panasonic Color Splitter Video

Diginfo.tv published a nice Youtube video on Panasonic color splitting technology:

Toshiba Develops 4.7mm-thin 13MP Camera Module

VR-Zone quotes Japanese language IT Media saying that Toshiba unveiled on March 28, 2013 a new 4.7mm-thin 1/3.07-inch camera module aimed to smartphones and tablet computers. It is designated as the TCM9930MD, and Toshiba claims that it is currently the world's thinnest 13MP camera module.

Samples of the camera module will be available at around May 2013. Mass production of the modules is projected to start in December 2013.

Tech-on adds that the TCM9930MD lens consists of four plastic elements, and a dedicated signal processing circuit is used to compensate for the lens distortion and restore MTF in the peripheral area of an image.

Also, Toshiba used a flip chip instead of a wire bonding to further reduce the thickness of the module.

Update: PR Newsire: Achieving today's high-resolution requires a larger optical size for corresponding lenses which results in a thicker camera module and a bulkier mobile device. The conventional method for lowering the camera module height is to modify the optical lens design which becomes problematic due to resolution drop around the corners of the image area. The TCM9930MD, however, resolves this drop in resolution with the use of the image pre-processing LSI (companion) chip that provides distortion correction and performs image resolution reconstruction (Resolution reconstruction is a super-reconstruction technology developed by Toshiba Corp. R&D center). Additionally, the TCM9930MD achieves its low profile by using a flip-chip structure for the image sensor. Toshiba opted to use flip-chip packaging because it allows for a large number of interconnects, with shorter distances than wire, which greatly reduces assembling area and package height.

Toshiba to Launch 1080p60 Video Sensor with 1.12um BSI Pixels

Business Wire: Toshiba announced 1/7.3-inch 1080p60 sensor based on 1.12um BSI pixel and integrating a color noise reduction (CNR) circuit. Samples will be available at the end of April with mass production scheduled to start in September 2013.

The new T4K71 sensor is said to achieve a SNR equal to Toshiba's existing 1.4um pixel product. It enables chip and camera module miniaturization and will contribute to achieving thinner smartphones and tablets.

The T4K71 was mentioned in the former Toshiba PR, so this one mostly re-iterates and expands on the previous info.

Update: PR Newswire: Sample pricing for the T4K71 CMOS image sensor is $8.00. Samples will be available by the end of April 2013, with mass production scheduled to begin in September 2013.

PMD Shows New Middleware Alliances

New PMD videos and Techcrunch article show new alliances with Germany-based gesture recognition middleware companies Gestigon and Metrilus:

Kasalis Talks about its Alignment Technology

Laser Focus published Kasalis‘ article on its camera module alignment process and technology.

Tessera DOC to Focus on Lens Barrel Manufacturing

Business Wire: Tessera announces that it is refocusing its DigitalOptics Corporation (“DOC”) business strategy:

• DOC will accelerate the use of partner manufacturers for the production of camera modules and will focus its own manufacturing on the lens barrel assembly, which is a higher-margin component for which DOC has unique proprietary technology. This approach will cut DOC’s expected capital spending in 2013 by roughly half – to a range of between $5 million and $7 million, as compared to the Company’s previous estimate of $10 million to $15 million.
• DOC is consolidating its manufacturing capabilities into its Taiwan facility and expects to cease all operations at its leased facility in Zhuhai, China. DOC will transfer a portion of the manufacturing equipment located there to Taiwan.
• DOC will terminate its current lens manufacturing program and instead will focus on designing lenses that its partners can produce for use in DOC’s proprietary assembly technology.
• The Company expects to take a total charge of between $17 million and $23 million, which includes restructuring, impairment of assets and other related exit costs, with the majority taken in the first quarter of 2013 and the remainder in the second quarter of 2013.

The Company has determined that it is no longer necessary for DOC to be a vertically integrated camera module supplier. DOC will instead focus its strategy on the differentiated MEMS-related technologies, where it has proprietary assembly technology and expertise, and will partner with third-party manufacturers to produce other components of the full camera module. DOC will continue to productize the mems|cam technology throughout the rest of the year, and expects to ship small production volumes of its technology in 2013.

The refocused DOC strategy and restructuring resulted from a business strategy review directed by a committee of independent directors, led by Richard S. Hill, former chairman and CEO of Novellus Systems. The Committee worked with management to evaluate the Company’s overall business opportunity, strategy and operating model. The Committee and the Board of Directors will continue to monitor the DOC business closely to ensure that its strategy and business model are appropriate for the market opportunity.

Thanks to SF for the link!

Panasonic SmartFSI Promotional Video

Panasonic published a YouTube video explaining its SmartFSI technology:

TowerJazz Offers CIS Foundry Services at Nishiwaki Fab

BusinessWire: "TowerJazz is the leading specialty foundry serving the majority of Europe for specialty CMOS image sensors and a substantial portion of the US and Asia Pacific. As such, we support our customers’ roadmaps by developing solutions tailored to their needs. Also, we offer production capabilities in three geographical regions which helps mitigate any production risk,” said Dr. Avi Strum, VP and GM, CMOS Image Sensor Business Unit and VP of Sales for Europe. “We expect that high-end photography customers will find the outstanding low levels of defective pixels offered in our facility in Nishiwaki, Japan very attractive for DSLR products.”

Other new Towerjazz offerings include pixels with improved sensitivity and resolution in NIR which for automotive driver assistance sensors and 3D gesture control applications. In addition, the foundry now offers small global shutter pixels on 0.11um CIS hybrid process that includes a thin optical stack solution for improved angular response.

Fujitsu Measures Pulse from Face Video Stream

Tech-on: Fujitsu Labs pesented an interesting application to measure pulse by using video of a human face in real time.

The new technology detects pulse based on color elements of video by exploiting the fact that hemoglobin in blood absorbs green light and detecting color change on a facial surface caused by blood flow. An influence of facial and body movements (such as talking on the phone) is automatically removed.

"At the fastest rate, it can measure pulse in five seconds," said Yoshinori Yaginuma, director, Human Solutions Laboratory, Human Centric Computing Laboratories, Fujitsu Laboratories. "The maximum margin of error is about ±3 heart beats per minute."

"The required resolution is VGA or so," he said. "Twenty frames per second are enough. So, a camera of a personal computer, tablet computer or smartphone is sufficient."

The company is considering using the technology for simple health checkup at home, monitoring elderly people, automatic health problem detection in offices and detection of sick people and suspicious individuals in airports or at gates at event sites.