OmniVision Technologies, a supplier of CMOS CameraChip image sensors, unveiled near infrared (NIR) capability, an proprietary enhancement, to its portfolio of single-chip automotive CMOS image sensors. With integrated NIR capability, OmniVision’s automotive sensors can operate in dual mode, allowing them to function equally well in both day and night vision applications, and thus eliminate the need for two separate solutions. The night vision capability is made possible by the development and implementation of a number of process-level enhancements that expand the sensor’s spectral light sensitivity up to 1050 nanometers, the equivalent of NIR sensitivity.

This enhanced sensitivity enables OmniVision sensors to perform object detection in complete darkness with the support of only a few very low-power light emitting diodes (LEDs) and allows automotive cameras to see both beyond and outside the range of a vehicle’s headlights. The dual mode night vision capability offered by OmniVision’s sensors is especially useful in driver assistance and safety applications, such as pedestrian, object and sign detection, as well as rear view or backup camera applications. A growing number of automotive security applications are also using image sensors, one example being ‘black box’ anti-theft camera systems that record video when activated by motion detection around or inside the vehicle. These sensors provide excellent night vision using just a single, low-power LED, which has a negligible effect on vehicle battery life, so the system will remain active even when the vehicle is not operated for lengthy periods of time.