Can one sensor handle fast motion, low light, IR scenes, and tiny devices at once? A new 5 MP design claims it can — here is more.
Many industrial and security systems are limited by current image sensors. They need to capture motion without blur, maintain detail, work in low light, support both visible and IR scenes, and fit in compact embedded hardware. STMicroelectronics has released 5 megapixel BrightSense sensors VD1943 VB1943 VD5943 and VB5943 to address these needs in factory automation robotic vision biometric access traffic systems and smart retail devices for checkout and inventory.
These sensors remove the trade-off between motion and clarity. Developers can switch between global shutter for motion capture and rolling shutter for low noise still capture using the same device. This allows one hardware design to serve tasks such as conveyor tracking and ID checking without camera replacement across products.
Hardware cost and size are also addressed. The sensors use 2.25 micrometer pixels 3D stacking and a 5.76 by 4.46 millimeter die with a 73 percent pixel to die ratio for use in embedded modules. RGB IR variants remove the need for extra optical parts which helps in surveillance retail and access control equipment that need both RGB and IR data.
Available outputs include 5 megapixel RGB NIR 4 by 4 5 megapixel RGB Bayer 1.27 megapixel NIR subsampling and 5 megapixel NIR smart upscale with independent exposure and instant switching between modes. Devices can adapt to different lighting or targets without extra sensors or compute.
Low light and mixed light scenes are handled with backside illumination and CDTI for sensitivity and on chip single frame HDR for scenes with bright and dark areas in a single exposure. This supports edge AI and machine vision deployments without cloud processing or multi frame capture.
“Our new image sensors with hybrid global and rolling shutter modes allow our customers to optimize image capture, ensuring motion-artifact-free video capture and low-noise, high-detail imaging at the same time, making it ideal for high-speed automated manufacturing processes and object tracking. This architecture is unique on the market today and provides unmatched flexibility, performance, and integration. We continue to broaden our portfolio of solutions for a wide range of industrial applications and want to bring the best of optical sensing technologies to both existing and new applications,” said Alexandre Balmefrezol, Executive Vice President and General Manager of STMicroelectronics’s Imaging Sub-Group.
