Infineon Technologies Launches World's First High-Resolution 3D Image Sensor for Automotive Applications Compliant with ISO26262

[June 14, 2022, Munich, Germany] 3D depth sensors play a vital role in automotive cockpit monitoring systems , helping to create innovative automotive smart cockpits, supporting seamless access to new services, and improving passive safety. They are essential for meeting regulatory requirements and NCAP safety rating requirements, as well as realizing the vision of autonomous driving. In view of this, Infineon Technologies AG has cooperated with pmd, which specializes in 3D ToF (time of flight) systems , to develop the second-generation automotive REAL3™ image sensor, which complies with the ISO26262 standard and has a higher resolution.

REAL3™ IRS2877A

Christian Herzum, Vice President of 3D Sensing at Infineon Technologies, said: “Infineon has always been a leader in the field of 3D sensors for mobile consumer terminals. With this advantage, we have expanded the application range of 3D sensors to the automotive field and provided high-resolution image sensors for the automotive industry. This product can realize the same functions in the car as mobile consumer terminals, while always meeting automotive-grade standards and even improving passive safety. For example, reliable and secure facial recognition allows seamless access to any service that requires identity authentication, such as payment, battery charging or access to private data.”

In addition, this 3D image sensor also enables the in-vehicle camera to meet the various requirements of driver status monitoring and accurately determine whether the driver has dangerous driving behaviors such as distraction and fatigue. In this way, only one ToF camera is needed to create a driver status monitoring system that can safely perform 3D facial recognition.

REAL3™ IRS2877A application

“We have been working hard to improve the robustness of the 3D image sensors developed based on Pai's ToF technology to ensure that they are not affected by external factors such as sunlight and other interfering light sources. As a result, the new image sensors can provide excellent performance even in the most adverse conditions,” said Bernd Buxbaum, CEO of Pai's ToF technology.

The sensor is packaged in a 9 x 9 mm² plastic BGA (ball grid array) package and achieves a VGA system resolution of 640 x 480 pixels using a tiny photosensitive area of ​​only 4 mm. Thanks to this, in-vehicle cameras in automotive applications can now be made as compact as smartphone cameras. The REAL3 sensor has a high resolution, making it suitable for wide-field camera applications such as front occupant all-round monitoring systems. The resulting 3D body model can accurately estimate the size and weight of the occupants, and obtain highly accurate occupant and seat position data, providing key information for the deployment and restraint systems of smart airbags. This single-chip solution is not only compact, but also meets the AEC-Q100 Grade 2 standard and is the first solution developed in accordance with the ISO26262 (ASIL-B) standard.

In addition to safety-critical applications, 3D data can also be used to implement body comfort features, such as gesture control, or interior lighting systems that can intuitively sense the movements of passengers and automatically adjust the lights. In addition, the image sensor can also be used in environmental perception scenarios in cars like Flash LiDAR. In terms of safety, it is also an ideal choice for mobile robots, drones and other similar autonomous control applications. Because in these application scenarios, reliability and safety are necessary to protect operators.

Infineon Technologies and Paiand Launch Depth Sensor Technology

The ToF technology used in depth sensors lays the foundation for a wide range of applications. It provides highly reliable distance information while also providing a 2D grayscale image of the entire scene in a variety of environments and lighting conditions (night, day, and under rapidly changing lighting conditions).

Availability

Infineon Technologies is now providing development samples of the new 3D image sensor chip (IRS2877A) to customers . The IRS2877A has already been put into mass production; the IRS2877AS, which complies with the ISO26262 standard, will start mass production at the end of 2022.