Infineon REAL3™ ToF image sensor helps Zhuimi’s new sweeping robot

Infineon’s REAL3™ ToF image sensor helps Zhuimi’s new robot vacuum cleaner W10 Pro achieve intelligent navigation and excellent obstacle avoidance

[Munich, Germany, November 15, 2022] Dreame, a leading Chinese smart home cleaning equipment company, has launched a new sweeping robot, Dreame Bot W10 Pro. The camera of this smart sweeping robot is equipped with the REAL3™ ToF (time of flight) image sensor developed by Infineon Technologies AG in cooperation with pmd and O-Film Technology (OMS). ToF image sensors can bring intelligent navigation, 3D map creation and excellent obstacle avoidance capabilities to service robots, sweeping robots and mopping robots.

“Dreime’s high-end robot vacuum cleaners are equipped with Infineon’s advanced 3D ToF sensor technology in their cameras. This image sensor combined with Dreame’s advanced environmental perception technology enables the robot vacuum cleaner to successfully identify and avoid obstacles,” said Christian Herzum , Vice President of 3D Sensing at Infineon Technologies. “Infineon’s advanced 3D vision engineering technology helps service robots perform deep learning in their daily cleaning tasks and identify household items that may interfere with floor cleaning, such as wires, shoes, slippers and socks.”

The new robot vacuum cleaner launched by Dreame is equipped with a 38,000-pixel camera. Infineon's 3D ToF image sensor provides more distance information for each pixel in the camera. Compared with traditional solutions such as single-pixel ToF sensors, the accuracy and precision of its 3D sensing have been significantly improved. This high resolution supports 3D cameras with a large field of view (FoV), allowing the robot to detect small objects and measure the height of furniture with high resolution. As a result, the robot can move under sofas, chairs, tables or other objects without getting stuck, reducing the number of maintenance required.

Because pmd's patented SBI (background illumination suppression) technology is integrated into each pixel of the camera, this robot vacuum cleaner is suitable for all lighting conditions. Even in dimly lit environments, the ToF imaging image sensor can generate powerful 3D depth data to image the room. Even under interference from factors such as strong sunlight, dim light or materials with different reflectivity, the repeatability and accuracy of the measurement will not be affected.

Availability

The REAL3 3D ToF image sensor is available now. Customers can order the product in bare die for chip-on-board packaging. Special devices with dimensions of less than 4.42 x 5.02 mm² increase the flexibility of service robots and reduce the size of module designs. The REAL3 3D ToF image sensor can be easily integrated into compact modules, helping customers design ultra-thin vacuum robots that can easily reach the small spaces under most furniture to complete cleaning.