Gaikai Automotive 2018-08-17 06:47:45
Panasonic pushes new sensor that can detect small objects in the dark and at a distance
Gaikai Automotive News, according to foreign media reports, Japan's Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Corp) has developed a depth image sensor (range image sensor), which can take images of objects 250 meters away and 10 centimeters in the dark.
In order to measure the distance, the sensor uses the ToF (Time of Flight) method, which emits infrared light and calculates the distance to the object based on the return time of the reflected light. To improve accuracy in detecting objects in remote locations where reflected light is weak, Panasonic uses highly sensitive light-receiving equipment.
The sensor has 260,000 (688 x 384) pixels, making object recognition by image analysis easier. Panasonic anticipates that the sensor will be used to monitor conditions around vehicles as well as for surveillance cameras.
Panasonic believes that the sensor complements existing sensors in the field of autonomous driving because the new sensor (1) has a longer detection range (laser detection and ranging system) than LiDAR (laser radar), which allows depth images to be acquired, and (2) unlike CMOS image sensors, the sensor can capture images in complete darkness.
To capture depth images, the new sensor utilizes a principle similar to that of a flash-type LIDAR. In other words, near-infrared pulses (wavelength: 940 nm, output power: 1,200 W, pulse width: 10 ns) are applied to the entire imaging area. Reflected light is received by a series of optical receiving elements, and the time of flight of each pixel is measured.
As for the light-receiving device, Panasonic has integrated an avalanche photodiode (APD), which has high sensitivity because the sensitivity of the diode can be increased very easily. The avalanche photodiode has a multiplication function, in which a single incoming photon can generate a large number of electrons. However, because of its multiplication function, it has a large pixel area.
Panasonic expects to begin delivering samples of the sensor in fiscal 2019 and to begin mass production in fiscal 2021.
