Sunday, January 7, 2018
Sony Panasonic Bet on ToF Sensors
Sony Panasonic Bet on ToF Sensors
Bloomberg quotes Satoshi Yoshihara, GM of Sony image sensors division saying on 3D image sensing: "This has the scale to become the next pillar of our business."
"The most immediate impact from TOF sensors, which will be fabricated at Sony�s factories in Kyushu, will probably be seen in augmented-reality gadgets.
�Sony has everything technology-wise to address the market,� said Pierre Cambou, an imaging analyst at Yole. �They shouldn�t have a problem gaining a large share in 3D.�
When Sony decided to gamble on time-of-flight sensors three years ago, it faced a choice between building or buying the technology. In 2015, Sony decided to acquire Softkinetic Systems, a small developer of TOF sensors.
�When our engineers and their engineers talked about collaborating, we realized we could come up with an amazing sensor,� Yoshihara said of the merger. �In terms of both (chip) performance and size, we can achieve another breakthrough.�
Alexis Breton, a spokesman for STMicro, declined to comment, pointing to recent data showing that it�s shipped more than 300 million TOF chips. STMicro�s revenue from the division that mostly includes the sensors was $295 million last year."
Panasonic too presents a number of 3D ToF cameras:
Basler uses Panasonic ToF sensors in its 3D cameras. The companys ToF products marketing manager Jana Bartels explains the camera features:
