CONSUMER EVENT IMAGING


Bringing super-high-speed and low-light photography to smartphones


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vent-based imaging will soon exist in smartphones, thanks to


a new collaboration between Vision firm Prophesee and semiconductor giant Qualcomm. The partnership, established


in February, will see Prosphesee’s neuromorphic Metavision sensors optimised for use with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon mobile platforms. The move will enable OEMs


to integrate event-based vision in mobile devices, improving camera performance in capturing both dynamic and low-light scenes. A development kit offering


compatibility between the Snapdragon platform and Metavision sensors is expected this year. Event-based vision sensors, also known as neuromorphic or dynamic vision sensors, do not capture image data the same way as conventional


Event-based imaging improves the capture of dynamic scenes


sensor technology, instead using a system that mimics the function of a biological retina. Rather than each pixel monitoring a scene at a fixed rate, they instead operate independently and asynchronously at extreme speeds, only recording changes within the scene (i.e. fluctuations in brightness)


as they occur. This prevents the sensor having to capture redundant data if a scene remains unchanged, and means its acquisition speed always matches the scene dynamics. This new vision category


enables significant reductions of power, latency and data processing requirements,


achieving an exceptional trade- off between acquisition speed and power consumption – up to three orders of magnitude better than conventional imaging technologies. Event- based sensors are improving efficiency in applications across industrial automation and monitoring, mobility, medicine and AR/VR. l


FRONTIERS PHOTONICS


SMARTPHONE LENSES


Zoom module delivers DSLR features to smartphones


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G Innotek launched a telephoto zoom camera module at CES 2023, to


bring DSLR-type capabilities to smartphones. The Optical Telephoto Zoom Camera Module, which is mounted on the rear side of the smartphone, integrates telescopic camera functions of professional cameras. Unlike competitor camera phones that use a combination of optical and digital zoom, the new module will function like a real DSLR camera that magnifies by moving the lens elements physically. This negates the need for a second of two fixed telephoto lenses in current high-end smartphone cameras.


An external camera also gives


smartphone manufacturers more space inside the phone and enhances battery life, which LG Innotek says is driving an increased demand from customers. The lens offers zooming to magnifications between 4x and 9x in a single module, which has not yet been achieved without using multiple devices. An innovative zoom actuator, the component that moves the lens to change the focal distance, helps make this possible. To obtain the high-definition quality, the zoom actuator must move the lens quickly and accurately to set the focus, and LG’s actuator can move the lens with micrometre precision.


LG Innotek’s Optical Telephoto Zoom Camera Module The actuator’s thickness


was also minimised to remove the ‘camera bump’, while the optical image stabiliser reduces blurring when shaking, an important element in zoom cameras, where shaking shows up more clearly in the images.


LG Innotek is partnering


with Qualcomm Technologies on software that will enhance image tuning for the optics, including auto-focus, auto- exposure, auto-white balance, lens shading correction and more. l


Photonics Frontiers 2023 43


Prophesee


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