Samsung's latest spin on ISOCELL shifts camera tech from smartphones into autonomous vehicles
(2021/07/13)
- Reference: 1626201004
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/07/13/samsung_isocell_autonomous_vehicles/
- Source link:
Samsung's ISOCELL imaging sensor line-up is making a shift into the automotive industry as the company pledges to expand into autonomous vehicles and in-cabin camera systems.
ISOCELL was launched [1]in 2013 as the hot new thing for smartphones and tablets: a camera sensor with "isolated cells," offering a claimed boost in colour fidelity in low-light conditions, a higher dynamic range, and a thinner package.
Since then the company has been refining the ISOCELL line-up with [2]slimmer models , [3]high-resolution models , and as of last month a version with [4]the smallest pixels around . Always, though, with an eye on the smartphone and tablet markets.
[5]
Its latest ISOCELL, however, is the first to target the automotive industry – and heralds a planned expansion of the company's vehicular sensor range.
[6]
[7]
"The new ISOCELL Auto 4AC combines Samsung's innovative and market-proven image sensor technologies with a unique CornerPixel solution for advanced HDR [High Dynamic Range] and LFM [LED Flicker Mitigation capabilities, offering exceptional viewing experiences regardless of lighting conditions" claimed Duckhyun Chang, exec veep for Samsung's sensor business.
[8]Samsung brags that its latest imaging sensor has the ittiest-bittiest cam pixels in the world
[9]Samsung shows off next-generation big-pixel camera sensor tech, coming to an Android phone near you
[10]Samsung shaves 0.1μm off pixels to make new ISOCELL sensor lineup 15% slimmer
[11]Samsung's new image sensor promises better snaps in smaller devices
"Starting with the ISOCELL Auto 4AC, we plan to expand our automotive sensor line-up to areas such as camera monitor systems (CMS), autonomous driving, and in-cabin monitoring."
Samsung claims the automotive-specific ISOCELL Auto 4C offers "a safer driving experience" than rival sensors currently used in surround-view or rear-view installations, thanks to an enhanced field of view. The key new feature, though, is CornerCell: placing two photodiodes in a single pixel area, one 3µm for low-light conditions and one 1µm for brighter environments.
The two photodiodes work side-by-side, capturing images in two exposures simultaneously to offer 120dB high dynamic range without the ghosting and blurring common to single-sensor HDR processing. It's also at the heart of the company's LED flicker reduction system, with the smaller photodiodes automatically adjusting their exposure time to eliminate LED flicker above 90Hz.
[12]
The new ISOCELL Auto 4AC is being sold as a 1/3.7-inch 1.2-megapixel sensor with onboard image signal processor (ISP), offering a 1280x960 resolution. Pricing has not been disclosed – and neither have details of the next prong in the company's planned assault on the autonomous driving market. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2013/09/24/samsungs_new_image_sensor_promises_better_snaps_in_smaller_devices/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/15/samsung_isocell/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/23/samsung_isocell_gn2/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/10/samsung_isocell_jn1/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YO4M-i9@CqmZmGauWBOooQAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/10/samsung_isocell_jn1/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/23/samsung_isocell_gn2/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/15/samsung_isocell/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2013/09/24/samsungs_new_image_sensor_promises_better_snaps_in_smaller_devices/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YO4M-i9@CqmZmGauWBOooQAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
ISOCELL was launched [1]in 2013 as the hot new thing for smartphones and tablets: a camera sensor with "isolated cells," offering a claimed boost in colour fidelity in low-light conditions, a higher dynamic range, and a thinner package.
Since then the company has been refining the ISOCELL line-up with [2]slimmer models , [3]high-resolution models , and as of last month a version with [4]the smallest pixels around . Always, though, with an eye on the smartphone and tablet markets.
[5]
Its latest ISOCELL, however, is the first to target the automotive industry – and heralds a planned expansion of the company's vehicular sensor range.
[6]
[7]
"The new ISOCELL Auto 4AC combines Samsung's innovative and market-proven image sensor technologies with a unique CornerPixel solution for advanced HDR [High Dynamic Range] and LFM [LED Flicker Mitigation capabilities, offering exceptional viewing experiences regardless of lighting conditions" claimed Duckhyun Chang, exec veep for Samsung's sensor business.
[8]Samsung brags that its latest imaging sensor has the ittiest-bittiest cam pixels in the world
[9]Samsung shows off next-generation big-pixel camera sensor tech, coming to an Android phone near you
[10]Samsung shaves 0.1μm off pixels to make new ISOCELL sensor lineup 15% slimmer
[11]Samsung's new image sensor promises better snaps in smaller devices
"Starting with the ISOCELL Auto 4AC, we plan to expand our automotive sensor line-up to areas such as camera monitor systems (CMS), autonomous driving, and in-cabin monitoring."
Samsung claims the automotive-specific ISOCELL Auto 4C offers "a safer driving experience" than rival sensors currently used in surround-view or rear-view installations, thanks to an enhanced field of view. The key new feature, though, is CornerCell: placing two photodiodes in a single pixel area, one 3µm for low-light conditions and one 1µm for brighter environments.
The two photodiodes work side-by-side, capturing images in two exposures simultaneously to offer 120dB high dynamic range without the ghosting and blurring common to single-sensor HDR processing. It's also at the heart of the company's LED flicker reduction system, with the smaller photodiodes automatically adjusting their exposure time to eliminate LED flicker above 90Hz.
[12]
The new ISOCELL Auto 4AC is being sold as a 1/3.7-inch 1.2-megapixel sensor with onboard image signal processor (ISP), offering a 1280x960 resolution. Pricing has not been disclosed – and neither have details of the next prong in the company's planned assault on the autonomous driving market. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2013/09/24/samsungs_new_image_sensor_promises_better_snaps_in_smaller_devices/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/15/samsung_isocell/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/23/samsung_isocell_gn2/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/10/samsung_isocell_jn1/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YO4M-i9@CqmZmGauWBOooQAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YO4M-i9@CqmZmGauWBOooQAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YO4M-i9@CqmZmGauWBOooQAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/10/samsung_isocell_jn1/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/23/samsung_isocell_gn2/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/15/samsung_isocell/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2013/09/24/samsungs_new_image_sensor_promises_better_snaps_in_smaller_devices/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YO4M-i9@CqmZmGauWBOooQAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/