Panasonic’s latest Grid-Eye has another angle for machine learning
The latest member of Panasonic Industry’s Grid-Eye sensor family has a 90 degree lens, delivering a wider field of view for tracking and monitoring applications.
It also reduces the number of sensors required to cover a given area to enable people counting and tracking applications, said Panasonic. The 64-pixel sensor appeals to privacy-conscious designers wanting to maximise use of space. Chetan Joshi, product manager at Panasonic Industry, said “Knowing where people are is the key to design a smart space. Today, different industries want to understand and optimise how their buildings are being used, especially the businesses in retail, hospitality and healthcare. Similarly, the lighting industry is increasingly moving towards providing personalised ambient lighting experiences”. He added that the pandemic has highlighted the importance of the management of regularly used, confined spaces, such as offices or public washroom facilities. Designers have always sought a balance between scalability and cost-effectiveness, Joshi said the Grid-Eye 90 sensor delivers on both. It joins the 60 degree version, an inexpensive infrared matrix sensor, typically used as an alternative to camera or wireless radar sensors in a smart kitchen, for example or to assess areas of a room to determine where to install smart air conditioning systems.
The 90 degree variant of Grid-Eye has a wide-angle lens which allows Grid-Eye to have a wider field of view (FoV) than the existing 36 and 60 degree models. System designers can capture the IR signature of a larger area, which means fewer sensors are required to cover a given area, reducing capital expenditure in people tracking / counting devices in indoor environments.
Panasonic Industry Europe is part of the Panasonic Group and provides automotive and industrial products and services in Europe.
The company’s portfolio covers key electronic components, devices and modules up to complete solutions and production equipment for manufacturing lines across a broad range of industries.
The Panasonic Group was founded in 1918 and develops technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, industry, communications and energy sectors worldwide.
