Sony to discontinue CCD production
A number of camera manufacturers have released statements announcing that Sony will discontinue production of CCD sensors in March 2017. Operations will cease on the company’s CCD 200mm wafer line at the Kagoshima Technology Centre in Japan. As the magazine goes to press, there has yet to
be any official confirmation from Sony, but IDS, Allied Vision, Point Grey, Framos and Stemmer Imaging have all released statements about the news. Sony has been a major supplier
of CCD sensors for 30 years. Te news, once confirmed, would be further evidence of the trend of CMOS technology taking over from CCD sensors – the CMOS market is expected to reach $13 billion by 2018. Mark Williamson, director of
enough lead time to ensure the supply for long- term projects or to switch to CMOS technology.’ Details of exact last-time buy (LTB) or last-
corporate market development at Stemmer Imaging, commented on the rise of CMOS in a statement: ‘In 2010, 22 per cent of cameras we [Stemmer Imaging] sold were based on CMOS sensors. Tis has risen to 58 per cent in 2014 with 32 per cent of cameras using Sony CCDs and the remainder other high-end CCDs. With nearly all new camera designs using CMOS the prediction is that in a further four years the natural shiſt would make the CMOS market share approximately 80 per cent.’ Sony has released its first global shutter
CMOS sensors, the Pregius sensors, which offer impressive quantum efficiency, dynamic range and dark noise, and, because they are global shutter, are ideal for machine vision. A statement on IDSs website reads: ‘Te early information by Sony gives users of CCD cameras
The prediction is that in a further four years… CMOS market share [would be] approximately 80 per cent
time ship (LTS) dates for the affected CCDs have not been released publicly by Sony, Michael Gibbons, director of sales and marketing at Point Grey, said in a statement. He said: ‘Our first priority is to continue to support our customers with long product lifetimes, and we will take all reasonable measures to keep those commitments. Point Grey will be approaching customers this year and into 2016 for forecasts that will enable us to continue supplying Sony CCD- based cameras until 2026.’ Axel Krepil, head of sales for
the imaging sensor division of Framos, commented that the March 2017 date relates to the wafer production only, and that
assembly of the final CCD housing will continue until March 2020. He said that last orders for CCD sensors could be as early as the end of this year, although this is subject to discussion. Krepil added that the advice from Framos is to
start the transition to CMOS sensors as soon as possible, a feeling echoed by Stemmer Imaging’s Williamson who said that ‘camera manufacturers will need to commit to quantities much earlier [than 2020]’. Michael Cyros, chief commercial officer at
Allied Vision, commented: ‘Sony’s decision is a logical step… to provide further capacity for CMOS growth.’
For reaction to the news, see Pierre Cambou’s article on page 12.
Burn wounds assessed by thermal imaging
A clinical research study at the VU University Medical Centre of Amsterdam in The Netherlands is using thermal imaging as a diagnostic tool to assess burn wounds. Thermography enables real-time evaluation of burns during the healing process. VUmc is collaborating with the Dutch Burn Centre in Beverwijk for the project, which uses a Xenics thermal camera, the Gobi-
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640. The observations made by the camera are mainly based on perfusion, meaning the blood flowing through the peripheral vessels towards damaged skin tissue, and showing the presence of an intact or damaged microvasculature, depending on the temperature measured. Image resolution, Dr Rudolf
Verdaasdonk, a professor at VU, explained, is the foremost
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consideration when using thermal cameras in this clinical context. Spatial resolution should reach 1mm on the skin, while temperature resolution is also key to discriminate between differences in blood temperature specific to superficial or deep dermal burn wounds. The Gobi-640 has spatial resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and a threshold of 0.05°C.
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