ToF 3D Image Sensors
ToF 3D Image Sensors Unterkategorien
Sensing the world in 3D with REAL3™ 3D image sensor
REAL3™ is Infineon's 3D imager family consisting of highly integrated time-of-flight (ToF) sensors. These single-chip imagers are sunlight-robust, highly scalable and ready for integration into a wide range of consumer, automotive and industrial applications.
Infineon’s REAL3™ time-of-flight image sensors enable electronic devices to acquire a real 3D map of the scene in front of the device. The surroundings, objects and people are transformed into the digital space in real time. Algorithms use that data to measure distances and sizes, to track motions and to convert the shape of objects into 3D models. Our products are designed to be integrated into the smallest 3D ToF camera modules, accurately measuring depth in the short and longer range at the lowest power consumption.
Get more Information about REAL3™
How does ToF work?
Time of flight (ToF) technology projects a single modulated, infrared light source onto an object, user or scene of interest. The reflected light is captured by the ToF imager, which measures depth, amplitude and phase difference per pixel. The result is a highly reliable image of the distance or depth plus a gray-scale picture of the entire scene.
REAL3™ Benefits
Time of flight (ToF) supports real-time sensing thanks to rapid data acquisition. In addition, it minimizes power consumption as ToF depth data processing is less compute-intensive than other depth-sensing technologies like structured light or stereovision. This reduces the application processor power drain.
Other REAL3™ highlights include simple and robust ToF camera module designs. The outstanding imager performance and proven sunlight robustness due to the patented Suppression of Background Illumination (SBI) circuitry in every pixel reduces the active light required to a minimum. So camera modules only need two key components: the imager and a flash illuminator. No mechanical baseline is required. This results in very compact camera modules with high integration flexibility to support demanding applications. Our REAL3™ technology also enables fast, lean calibration for easy and robust mass production.
REAL3™ ToF benefits at a glance:
| Benefit | REAL3™ Image Sensor based on Time-of-Flight |
|---|---|
| Robust and accurate depth data |
|
| Full operation in bright sunlight and darkness |
|
| System design flexibility; small form factor |
|
| Low depth map calculation efforts; low CPU usage |
|
| Ease of calibration |
|
| Robustness over lifetime |
|
| Usability in a mobile device |
|
| Usability in automotive |
|
3D ToF reference camera modules
To help you evaluate REAL3™ time-of-flight technology, we have developed various 3D reference cameras. The CamBoard pico family is designed by our development partner pmdtechnologies. These reference cameras come with a powerful SDK providing a high-quality depth map for evaluation and application software development. They feature flexible working ranges and frame rates, and support Windows, Android and MacOS. For further details and to order one of these reference cameras, please visit http://pmdtec.com/picofamily/
Infineon co-developed the 3D image sensor family REAL3 with pmdtechnologies AG from Siegen, Germany. Both companies are jointly providing the technical support for camera module makers. The contribution of pmdtechnologies to the REAL3 chip family is the ToF pixel matrix. Infineon contributes all functional blocks for the system-on-chip (SoC) integration and developed the ToF optimized CMOS manufacturing process.
REAL3™ for Consumer Applications
The monocular camera architecture and the compact REAL3 single-chip design enable smallest form factor camera modules and a robust integration into mobile devices. There is no need for a mechanical baseline or any risk of de-calibration in the field. The high performance of the REAL3 imager with its unique Suppression of Background Illumination (SBI) circuitry ensures robust operation in strong sunlight with a minimum of power – all mandatory requirements of battery driven applications.
REAL3 is the first 3D depth sensing technology integrated into commercially available Tango enabled smartphones, Google’s technology to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.
Focus applications and use-cases
- Mobile phones and tablets
- Front facing cameras: secure face recognition
- World facing cameras: environmental monitoring, augmented reality, 3D scanning and reconstruction
- Head mounted devices, virtual reality, hand- and gesture tracking
- Smart home cameras, surveillance
- Drones, collision avoidance
REAL3™ for Automotive Applications
On the way to highly automated driving it is important to know what is happening inside the car, in special when the car interior of the future becomes much more flexible than today. The solution is a Time-of-Flight camera providing the most robust and reliable 3D data of the cabin and its passengers, even under strong sunlight conditions.
A dedicated automotive REAL3 imager variant is in development. It comprises all volume-proven product benefits of the consumer variants by fulfilling automotive requirements: packaged imager, wide temperature range of -40°C to 105°C and AEC-Q100 qualification.
Focus applications and use-cases
- In-cabin sensing: new HMI and passive safety concepts
- Body pose tracking & gesture control
- Presence & object detection
- Passenger classification
- Driver state monitoring
- Personalized and situational adapted safety systems
- Exterior sensing, short range (<10 meter)
REAL3™ for Industrial Applications
3D depth data is beneficial for numerous applications from factory automation and robotics to people counting and any kind of specialized depth sensing product idea. Due to the high diversity of such applications and their requirements they are supported through established ToF camera module makers and camera design-house partners only.
Please contact us and clearly describe your application requirements - we are happy to introduce you to the right partner.
Focus applications and use-cases
- Factory automation
- Service and entertainment robots
- Cleaning robots and lawn mover
- Automated Guided Vehicles (AVG)
- Automated warehouse and logistic systems
- Area surveillance and people counting
