Scalable image sensors speed ADAS design
Scable CMOS image sensors are launched by ON Semiconductor at CES 2018 (Venetian 3302). The sensors are claimed to offer the industry’s highest resolution at 8.3Mpixel for ADAS and autonomous driving.
According to ON Semiconductor, the sensor family offers car makers and tier one suppliers a choice of robust imaging devices based on a common platform and feature set. The AR0820AT, AR0220AT and AR0138ATsensors have resolutions scaling from 8.3 to 1.2Mpixel with what ON Semiconductor claims is industry leading, low-light performance from 4.2-micron pixels. This is used in low-light scenarios such as night-time emergency braking for pedestrians and cyclists, added to safety tests defined by Euro NCAP.
Additional features include functional safety up to ASIL-C, high-dynamic range (HDR), an industry-first cybersecurity option, and second-generation wafer stacking technology that reduces package size. Individual products in this platform are currently under evaluation by many technology partners, including Mobileye and NVIDIA for use with its Drive AI computing platform for autonomous vehicles.
The AR0820AT, AR0220AT and AR0138AT scalable image sensors provide a range of resolutions suited to new-generation ADAS and autonomous driving systems. Vehicle manufacturers require different resolutions to address segmentation in their product lines, where specific safety features are standard, but additional cameras or higher resolution cameras enable more advanced safety and luxury capabilities as customer options.
The sensors are released as the industry moves from Level 2 systems for emergency autonomous braking, adaptive cruise control and lane change assistance towards fully autonomous driving. The family’s cybersecurity technology helps ensure reliable and secure operation when multiple cameras around the vehicle are connected to a centralised system where data and commands must travel by wires between the sensor and the processor.
For advanced imaging capabilities, software and algorithm testing is typically the longest task in the development program. With ON Semiconductor’s family of scalable image sensors, customers can start early development with one sensor to adapt their algorithms to the pixel performance and system features, and then extend to additional resolutions with further testing. This shortens project time-to-market and reduces overall development costs across a family of camera system implementations.
Visit ON Semiconductor at CES 2018 (9 to 12 January) at The Sands Convention Center/Venetian (Murano 3302) in Las Vegas.
