It’s well known that automobiles and smartphones have several sensors to improve today’s capabilities over those of previous generations. However, they are not the only products that impact consumers’ lives to do so. For example, automated teller machines (ATMs) have a surprising number and different types of sensors to perform a variety of functions. Even […]
Image sensing
High-rez line-scan imaging modules deliver 900 dpi
Teledyne DALSA is pleased to introduce AxCIS, a new family of high-speed and high-resolution fully integrated line scan imaging modules. These easy-to-use Contact Image Sensors (CIS) combine sensors, lenses, and lights all in one, offering a lower-cost inspection system for many demanding machine vision applications. AxCIS is powered by Teledyne’s new quad linear CMOS image […]
Advanced global-shutter image sensor for affordable, reliable driver-monitoring safety systems
STMicroelectronics is enhancing vehicle safety with its latest global-shutter image sensors for driver monitoring systems (DMSs). DMSs continually watch the driver’s head movements to recognize signs of drowsiness and distraction, enabling systems in the vehicle to generate warnings that can preserve the safety of occupants. Traffic agencies estimate that about 95% of road traffic accidents […]
How does SLAM help autonomous vehicles?
SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) is used in autonomous vehicles of all types to build a map and simultaneously locate the vehicle in that map. SLAM algorithms allow the vehicle to analyze and map out unknown environments. With this map information, the vehicle can implement path planning and obstacle avoidance. Visual SLAM uses cameras and/or […]
How do time-of-flight sensors work?
Using the time-of-flight (ToF) principle, a ToF sensor measures the distance between the sensor and an object. The sensor emits a signal that is reflected off an object and then detects the time for a round trip to occur. Typically, either light or sound waves can provide the transmitted signal. In either case, the distance […]
ToF sensor maps 3D surfaces
STMicroelectronics has announced a new family of high-resolution Time-of-Flight sensors that bring advanced 3D depth imaging to smartphones and other devices. The 3D family debuts with the VD55H1. This sensor maps three-dimensional surfaces by measuring the distance to over half a million points. Objects can be detected up to five meters from the sensor, and even further […]
Robot solution for automating the lettuce harvest
Lettuce is a valuable crop in Europe and the USA. But labor shortages make it difficult to harvest this valuable field vegetable, as sourcing sufficient seasonal labor to meet harvesting commitments is one of the sector’s biggest challenges. Moreover, with wage inflation rising faster than producer prices, margins are very tight. In England, agricultural technology […]
How can you sense ripening fruit?
A diet high in fruit (and vegetables) can reduce the risk of developing heart disease, cancer, inflammation and diabetes. But the fruit needs to be fresh for a sustainable, healthy diet. Several techniques are being used to detect ripening fruit. One company, smartGAS in Germany, has two different sensors to detect the ethylene (C2H4) that […]
How can you see through walls?
It depends on what you want to “see” and how much you want to pay. To locate a stud, the old school technique of tapping a tool on the wall for acoustic differences used hearing rather than sight and it was free. Initially, battery-operated stud finders used magnets to find screws and nails and provided […]
Special architecture lets CMOS image sensors double saturation signal level, widen dynamic range, reduce noise
Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (“Sony”) has succeeded in developing the world’s first*1 stacked CMOS image sensor technology with 2-Layer Transistor Pixel. Whereas conventional CMOS image sensors’ photodiodes and pixel transistors occupy the same substrate, Sony’s new technology separates photodiodes and pixel transistors on different substrate layers. This new architecture approximately doubles*2 saturation signal level*3 relative to conventional […]
