OmniVision and GEO Semi Launch Automotive Industry’s First Viewing Camera Solution to Simultaneously Provide 140dB HDR and Highest LED Flicker Mitigation

OmniVision Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, and GEO Semiconductor Inc., the market leader in automotive camera video processors (CVPs), announced a joint solution that is optimized to provide the industry’s highest quality images for rear-view cameras (RVCs), surround-view systems (SVS) and e-mirrors. This solution includes OmniVision’s OX03C10, which is the world’s only automotive image sensor that combines a large 3.0 micron pixel, high dynamic range (HDR) of 140dB for minimized motion artifacts, and the highest LED flicker mitigation (LFM) performance. This image sensor takes full advantage of the GEO GW5 CVP family’s ability to process 140dB HDR images with full LFM at 60 frames per second (fps). Conversely, the GW5 family’s advanced local tone mapping enables it to make optimal use of the OX03C10’s industry-leading HDR and LFM image captures, providing a more pleasing image for drivers.

“GEO is a longtime partner and brings industry-leading image signal processing performance, including the ability to process 140dB captures, along with the in-depth knowledge of customer pain points that comes from being an approved vendor with a proven product”

“We have partnered with OmniVision for more than five years because of its leading pixel technologies and strong track record in working with automotive tier-ones around the globe,” said John Casey, VP and GM for automotive at GEO. “This latest joint solution provides an exciting opportunity, leveraging the GW5’s ability to process the captures from two image sensors simultaneously, while providing the automotive industry’s highest HDR and LFM at 60 fps using OmniVision’s new OX03C10. This allows SVS camera designers to get the highest possible image quality without the added system bill-of-materials cost, complexity and power consumption of two CVPs.”

“GEO is a longtime partner and brings industry-leading image signal processing performance, including the ability to process 140dB captures, along with the in-depth knowledge of customer pain points that comes from being an approved vendor with a proven product,” said Andy Hanvey, director of automotive marketing at OmniVision. “With the recent launch of our OX03C10 image sensor, we recognized that GEO and OmniVision could once again collaborate and make it easier for automotive designers to create the highest quality viewing cameras, across all lighting conditions, and in the presence of flickering LEDs from headlights, road signs and traffic signals.”

This sensor’s integration of OmniVision’s industry-leading HALE (HDR and LFM engine) combination algorithm uniquely provides the highest HDR and LFM performance simultaneously, while its Deep Well™ dual conversion gain technology significantly reduces motion artifacts. Additionally, OmniVision’s split-pixel LFM technology with four captures provides the best performance over the entire automotive temperature range. The OX03C10 is also the first viewing image sensor with HDR and LFM that can deliver 1920x1280p resolution at a frame rate of 60 fps, enabling greater design flexibility and faster camera-view switching for drivers. With the lowest power consumption of any 2.5MP LFM image sensor—25% lower than the nearest competitor—along with the industry’s smallest package size, enabling the placement of cameras that continuously run at 60 fps in even the tightest spaces, the OX03C10 takes a market leading position in automotive imaging applications.

OmniVision’s PureCel®Plus-S stacked architecture enables pixel performance advantages in the OX03C10 over non-stacked technology, in addition to a smaller die and lower power consumption. For example, 3D stacking allowed OmniVision to boost pixel and dark current performance, resulting in a 20% improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio over the prior generation of its 2.5MP automotive viewing sensors.

The GW5 CVP family integrates an innovative HDR image signal processor (ISP) that supports the simultaneous 140dB HDR and industry’s highest LFM output of the OX03C10, providing great image detail in scenes with both bright and dark areas. Additionally, the GW5 includes GEO’s 5th-generation eWARP® geometric processor to dewarp fisheye lenses exceeding a 180 degree wide field of view. The GW5 reduces system complexity and cost by requiring no external DDR memory and supporting dual sensor input that can process the captures from two OX03C10 sensors simultaneously.

OmniVision’s OX03C10 image sensor is available for sampling, and GEO’s GW5 CVP family is in mass production. Both companies’ devices provide advanced ASIL functional safety and AEC-Q100 Grade 2 certification for automotive applications. For more information on this pre-tuned solution, contact your OmniVision sales representative at www.ovt.com/contact-sales, or your GEO sales representative at www.geosemi.com/contact.

A virtual demo and live Q&A for this joint solution will be available at the AutoSens virtual demo sessions, on September 15th at 3:10pm (BST) and October 14th at 1:25pm (BST). Register here: https://auto-sens.com/registration/

About GEO

GEO Semiconductor Inc. is a private fabless semiconductor company developing camera video processors for automotive viewing and ADAS cameras. GEO’s value proposition is to provide automotive Tier-1s with the best products, tools, and support to guarantee exceptional image quality and system performance. GEO is headquartered in San Jose, CA with global representation in the U.S., Canada, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The company is led by world-class imaging and video professionals with extensive experience in research, implementation and optimization of image signal processing, geometric processing and computer vision processing for embedded platforms. Learn more at www.geosemi.com.

About OmniVision

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. is a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions. Its award-winning CMOS imaging technology enables superior image quality in many of today’s consumer and commercial applications, including mobile phones; security and surveillance; automotive; tablets, notebooks, webcams and entertainment devices; medical; and AR, VR, drones and robotics imaging systems. Find out more at www.ovt.com.

OmniVision®, Deep Well™, PureCel®, and the OmniVision logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of OmniVision Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.