[China Instrument Network Instrument Development] Recently, Sony announced the launch of its new high-speed visual sensor IMX382, which can detect and track objects at a rate of 1000 frames per second. Sony expects to begin shipping samples in October 2017.
The visual sensor is a stacked configuration with a backlit pixel array and a signal processing circuit layer. The circuit layer is equipped with an image processing circuit and a programmable column parallel processor for high-speed target detection and tracking. Based on back-illuminated pixel arrays, this configuration enables high-sensitivity imaging with a detection and tracking speed of 1000 frames per second. The sensor uses information such as color and brightness obtained from the pixels to detect the object, then extracts the centroid, moment and motion vector of the object, and finally outputs the information on the vision sensor in each frame.
The vision sensor can detect and track targets at 1000 fps, enabling imaging on a single chip. This not only expands the scope of application, but also provides new values ​​that are difficult to obtain with traditional systems.
With systems previously equipped with 30 fps image sensors, it is not always possible to capture fast-moving objects or phenomena. At 1,000 fps, the new product is about 33 times faster than conventional chips. It can also capture fast-moving objects and detect objects from image information while using high-speed processing to extract information such as centroids, moments, and motion vectors. Because the processing results can be output frame by frame from the sensor, the time of feedback to the system is faster than the conventional method. Delays in the detection of production line abnormalities or failures at the factory and elsewhere may produce fatal results. However, this visual sensor can instantaneously capture these anomalies or faults, quickly issuing commands to stop the system.
Traditional industrial robots generally work by using the programmed motion coordinates of the program. Using the high-speed tracking function of the IMX382, real-time feedback to the robot can be achieved, and the robot can operate autonomously according to the motion and state of the object. This allows the robot to learn more efficiently and thus increase productivity.
In a conventional system, image processing for detecting and tracking a target must be performed later with other devices such as a computer, and the IMX 382, ​​which integrates functions such as transmitting image data, detecting a target, and tracking image processing, on a single chip, has changed this point. . This sensor not only makes late-stage devices more compact and smaller, reduces overall system energy consumption, but also expands the development potential of new systems by eliminating certain physical constraints.
(Original title: Sony released a high-speed vision sensor to detect and track objects at 1000 fps)