Today Sony has announced the world's first image sensors with artificial intelligence (AI) on board.
The two versions, IMX500 and IMX501 are both 12.3-megapixel "intelligent vision" sensors. What they "see" can be analyzed and processed directly on their logic chip, without having to rely on cloud services.
Sony notes that the AI capabilities of its new image sensors make it possible to deliver a diverse range of new functionality for applications, such as real-time object tracking with high-speed AI processing. The sensors' processing capabilities are explained by Sony in the following way:
"When a video is recorded using a conventional image sensor, it is necessary to send data for each individual output image frame for AI processing, resulting in increased data transmission and making it difficult to deliver real-time performance. The new sensor products from Sony perform ISP processing and high-speed AI processing on the logic chip, completing the entire process in a single video frame. This design makes it possible to deliver high-precision, real-time tracking of objects while recording video."
Aside from the potential uses from putting this technology into future smartphones that have previously used Sony camera sensors, such as the iPhone, Sony explains that their new product has a wide variety of use cases in other scenarios.
"When installed on the shelf of a store it can be used to detect stock shortages; when on the ceiling it can be used for heat mapping store visitors (detecting locations where many people gather), and the like. Furthermore, the AI model in a given camera can be rewritten from one used to detect heat maps to one for identifying consumer behavior, and so on," Sony explains.
We're yet to see which smartphone brands may choose to take advantage of this new technology, and what interesting new functionality it may provide for us - the consumer, aside from faster image processing.
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Rado, a tech enthusiast with a love for mobile devices, brings his passion for Android and iPadOS to PhoneArena. His tech journey began with MP3 players and has evolved to include tinkering with Android tablets and iPads, even running Linux and Windows 95 on them. Beyond tech, Rado is a published author, music producer, and PC game developer. His professional work on iPads, from producing songs to editing videos, showcases his belief in their capabilities. Rado looks forward to the future of mobile tech, particularly in augmented reality and multi-screen smartphones.
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