OmniVision introduces ASIC ISP to support autonomous driving cameras
At AutoSens Detroit 2021, OmniVision will demonstrate its OAX4000 ASIC. This companion image signal processor (ISP) can be used for next-generation automotive single- and multicamera architectures, enabling OEMs to future-proof designs, says the company.
It can be used for automotive applications such as surround-view systems, e-mirrors, interior and autonomous driving cameras. The ASIC is capable of processing data streams from up to four cameras at 3MP or one at 8MP. It supports multiple colour filter array (CFA) patterns and provides the option to output stream for both machine vision and human viewing pipelines independently. The imaging pipeline has been upgraded to provide superior image quality, including a tone-mapping algorithm.
The OAX4000 ISP is compact to fit into a variety of camera architectures and has the processing capacity for a wide variety of camera use cases, said Andy Hanvey, director of automotive marketing at OmniVision.
“The mid- and long-term automotive vision processing market is expected to grow at double digits well into the next decade, however the market for vision processing in automotive is not a one-size-fits all,” observed Tom Hackenberg, principal analyst for Computing and Software in the Semiconductor, Memory and Computing division at Yole Développement (Yole). “The strategies for developing vision processing for advanced driver assistance serving the mass consumer market, shipping and transit, mobility-as-a-service or tomorrow’s autonomous vehicles are all on diverse paths. It can range from smart camera modules to a multitude of basic cameras attached to a single domain controller. It may require integrating other sensors to imaging. What is clear is that there are many paths to vision processing and image processing will need to be rich in features and adaptable to all of these scenarios.”
The OAX4000 is a companion ISP for the OmniVision HDR sensors, designed to provide a complete multi-camera viewing application with fully processed YUV output. It is capable of processing up to four camera modules with 140dB HDR, and is claimed to have leading LED flicker mitigation (LFM) performance as well as high 8Mpixel resolution. It supports multiple CFA patterns, including Bayer, RCCB, RGB-IR and RYYCy. Power consumption is 30 per cent lower than the previous generation.
The OAX4000 reduces the number of electronic control modules required from two to one, reducing design complexity and space, and improving overall reliability.
The OAX4000 complies with ASIL B advanced safety standards. It is available now for sampling and mass production.
OmniVision will present the OAX4000 ISP at AutoSens Detroit, a virtual conference (12 to 13 May, 2021).
OmniVision Technologies develops digital imaging solutions. Its award-winning CMOS imaging technology is used in many of today’s consumer and commercial applications, including mobile phones, security and surveillance, automotive, tablets, notebooks, webcams and entertainment devices, medical and AR, VR, drones and robotics imaging systems.
