OmniVision and GEO Semi Launch Automotive Industry's First Viewing Camera Solution with 140dB HDR and LED Flicker Mitigation

By Tiera Oliver

Associate Editor

Embedded Computing Design

September 08, 2020

News

Joint Solution Provides Camera Designers the Ability to Process Images Captured by Two OmniVision Sensors with Full HDR and LFM, Using a Single GEO Camera Video Processor.

OmniVision and GEO Semiconductor announced a joint solution to provide quality images for rear-view cameras (RVCs), surround-view systems (SVS), and e-mirrors. Per the company, this solution includes OmniVision’s OX03C10, which is the world’s only automotive image sensor that combines a large 3.0 micron pixel, high dynamic range (HDR) of 140dB for minimized motion artifacts, and the highest LED flicker mitigation (LFM) performance.

The OX03C10 image sensor takes advantage of the GEO GW5 CVP family’s ability to process 140dB HDR images with full LFM at 60 frames per second (fps). Conversely, the GW5 family’s advanced local tone mapping enables it to make optimal use of the OX03C10’s HDR and LFM image captures.

According to the company, this sensor’s integration of OmniVision’s HALE (HDR and LFM engine) combination algorithm provides the highest HDR and LFM performance simultaneously, while its Deep Well dual conversion gain technology reduces motion artifacts. Additionally, OmniVision’s split-pixel LFM technology with four captures provides ideal performance over the entire automotive temperature range.

Per the company, the OX03C10 is also the first viewing image sensor with HDR and LFM that can deliver 1920x1280p resolution at a frame rate of 60 fps, enabling suitable design flexibility and ideal camera-view switching for drivers. With the lowest power consumption of any 2.5MP LFM image sensor—25% lower than the nearest competitor,  along with the industry’s smallest package size, enabling the placement of cameras that continuously run at 60 fps in even the tightest spaces, the OX03C10 is ideal for automotive imaging.

OmniVision’s PureCelPlus-S stacked architecture enables pixel performance advantages in the OX03C10 over non-stacked technology, in addition to a smaller die and lower power consumption. For example, 3D stacking allowed OmniVision to boost pixel and dark current performance, resulting in a 20% improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio over the prior generation of its 2.5MP automotive viewing sensors, per the company.

The GW5 CVP family integrates an HDR image signal processor (ISP) that supports the simultaneous 140dB HDR and LFM output of the OX03C10, providing ideal image detail in scenes with both bright and dark areas. Additionally, the GW5 includes GEO’s 5th-generation eWARP geometric processor to dewarp fisheye lenses exceeding a 180 degree wide field of view. Per the company, the GW5 reduces system complexity and cost by requiring no external DDR memory and supporting dual sensor input that can process the captures from two OX03C10 sensors simultaneously.

OmniVision’s OX03C10 image sensor is available for sampling, and GEO’s GW5 CVP family is in mass production. Both companies’ devices provide advanced ASIL functional safety and AEC-Q100 Grade 2 certification for automotive applications.

A virtual demo and live Q&A for this joint solution will be available at the AutoSens virtual demo sessions, on September 15th at 3:10pm (BST) and October 14th at 1:25pm (BST). Register here: https://auto-sens.com/registration/

For more information, visit: www.geosemi.com or www.ovt.com.

Tiera Oliver, Associate Editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content edits, product news, and constructing stories. She also assists with newsletter updates as well as contributing and editing content for ECD podcasts and the ECD YouTube channel. Before working at ECD, Tiera graduated from Northern Arizona University where she received her B.S. in journalism and political science and worked as a news reporter for the university’s student led newspaper, The Lumberjack.

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