OmniVision Technologies has introduced two new vehicle-scale image sensor platforms

     OmniVision Technologies has announced two new vehicle-scale image sensor platforms - the 8-megapixel forward-facing camera OX08A and OX08B. The OX08A HD camera offers the best high Dynamic range (HDR) in the industry. The HALE (HDR and LFM engine) synthesis algorithm integrated on the chip and the pin-compatible OX08B set a new benchmark for LED flicker suppression (LFM) performance. Excellent clarity and dynamic range, as well as integrated ASIL-C functional safety, are critical for forward-looking vehicular applications such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Level 3+ autonomous driving, as the ability to accurately detect distant bodies and objects in various lighting conditions is directly related to driving safety.

     OmniVision Technologies developed these two high-end HDR sensors in part to meet the needs of applications in extremely dark or bright environments, such as driving out of a tunnel at sunset. In addition, with the increasing popularity of leds in road traffic, such as lighting, traffic indicators, road signs and bus stop lights, sensors equipped with LFM solutions have become indispensable tools for collecting information ahead of automotive applications.

     Pierre Cambou, chief analyst at Yole, said: "YoleDeveloppement's recent technology and market study," Imaging for Automotive 2019, "confirms the accelerating growth of the market for human vision and ADAS applications, with a CAGR of 13.7% between 2018 and 2024. "Howe Technologies' new automotive CIS platform includes key functions such as HDR and LFM and is enabled by a stacked semiconductor approach. The introduction of this exciting technology in the automotive product family enables on-chip integration, which reduces BOM costs, while delivering a high level of performance and functionality in a very compact package, which really keeps pace with current market expectations.

     "Both of these new image sensors use Howe's unique DCG technology to achieve a dynamic range of 82dB at first exposure, while competing products generally do not exceed 60dB. Unlike DCG, the staggered HDR scheme used by competing products relies on additional channels, which can create motion artifacts and reduce dynamic range, especially in low-light environments. Celine Baron, Automotive Product Marketing Manager at Howwe Technologies, said: "In addition, Howe's 3D stack technology enabled us to integrate our unique HALE algorithm into the OX08B, delivering industry-leading 140dB HDR, unique LFM performance and up to 8 megapixel resolution, ensuring excellent front-view image acquisition quality in any external lighting condition."

     With its advanced 4-in-1 technology, OmniVision Technologies delivers industry-leading LFM and low light performance with a 1/1.8 "optical gauge, 2.1 micron pixel sensor. In addition, PureCel The Plus-S stack architecture ensures better performance per pixel by increasing the maximum trap capacity, resulting in better HDR performance.

     The platform also offers sensor fusion, enabling signals from the same camera to be used for ADAS and automated driving machine vision functions while also being used by dashcam forward video and display systems. In addition, the ROI function also improves the image clarity of moving objects in a fixed area of the camera's field of view. To ensure the security of images used in machine vision applications, Howe Technology integrates ultra-low power network security with industry-standard encryption technology, which consumes less than 10% of the overall power consumption of the sensor.