The on-board application processing feature sets pmd's ToF technology apart from peer solutions, as it helps ToF sensors capture depth image without the use of a separate application processing unit. "By enabling intelligent processing of ToF images on a single chip, pmd is able to deliver an extremely efficient and high-resolution ToF system, in which the illuminator and the image sensor can be placed as close as possible," said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Karthik Vishal Lakshmanan. "This gives ToF chips an extremely small form factor for easy deployment in smartphones and tablets."
Furthermore, the resolution of pmd's ToF solution is said to be highly scalable. The imager can enable one pixel or a few pixels, up to its full capacity of 100K pixels. The ToF system can be easily tuned to any resolution in between through software control.
It will be used later this year in smartphones and tablets, from 2017 the technology will see immense application in augmented reality and virtual reality systems, and from 2018 for in-vehicle warning systems as well as vehicle navigation systems.
Significantly, as this ToF technology does not require a vast external application processor, it consumes much less power than competing solutions. This makes pmd's ToF solution well suited for low-power applications.
Owing to its technological achievements in the ToF sensors market and its ability to cultivate application opportunities, pmdtechnologies ag is said to fully earn Frost & Sullivan's 2016 European New Technology Innovation Award for 3-D ToF sensor technology.
Update: EleTimes publishes Infineon article on automotive use of its REAL3 ToF sensors, based on PMD technology.
