3D vision is booming, and Zhongke integrates domestically produced chips to solve the "bottleneck" problem

Currently in the field of high-precision 3D imaging, many domestic companies have been "suffering from chips for a long time"!

Companies in the 3D vision industry have been facing and enduring problems such as long supply cycles and uncontrollable supply chains of foreign chips, such as the DLP chip modules of Texas Instruments and the GPU chip modules of NVIDIA. After a century of arduous efforts, Zhongke Fusion has developed the MEMS micro-vibration mirror projection chip and 3D+AI VDPU intelligent visual data processing chip required for high-precision 3D imaging and intelligent data processing. Based on these two core chips, it has developed high-precision MEMS laser projection modules and product-level laser micro-vibration mirror 3D intelligent camera Turnkey module solutions, effectively solving these two huge problems that have plagued Chinese companies.

Zhongke Fusion was founded in 2018 and incubated in the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The company has two core chips with fully independent intellectual property rights, namely MEMS micro-vibration mirror projection chip and 3D+AI VDPU intelligent visual data processing chip. Zhongke Fusion enters the 3D imaging and measurement market with high-precision MEMS laser projection modules, providing a one-stop product-level laser micro-vibration mirror 3D smart camera Turnkey module solution, which can be used in smart manufacturing, smart logistics, industrial measurement, medical beauty and pan-consumer electronics.

In the current machine vision industry chain, most companies are entering the industry from the perspectives of 3D camera hardware integration and machine vision application algorithm optimization. However, Zhongke Fusion has chosen to enter the 3D machine vision industry from the most technically demanding, most challenging, and most basic and core MEMS micro-vibration mirror projection chips, 3D+AI VDPU intelligent visual data processing chips, and 3D visual imaging reconstruction & point cloud processing algorithms. It has developed high-precision MEMS laser projection modules and laser micro-vibration mirror 3D intelligent industrial camera Turnkey modules, solving the problem of key components and modules being strangled by foreign countries. It also supplies high-quality core chips, MEMS laser projection modules, 3D intelligent industrial camera Turnkey modules and core productivity to industry customers on a large scale, empowering machine vision manufacturers, completely lowering the threshold of 3D vision hardware, and promoting and ensuring the faster and healthier independent development of China's 3D machine vision industry.

The laser micro-vibration mirror 3D smart camera Turnkey module independently developed by Zhongke Fusion has the characteristics of high precision of MEMS optics, high performance and low power consumption of data processing, high precision of 3D point cloud reconstruction and industrial-grade high reliability.

MEMS micro-mirror projection chip

3D+AI VDPU intelligent visual data processing chip

High-precision MEMS laser projection module

Laser micro-vibration mirror 3D intelligent industrial camera Turnkey module

It is reported that Zhongke Fusion will bring the latest chips and full range of modules to participate in the 24th Shenzhen Industrial Exhibition ITES2023 (March 29-April 1, 2023, Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center (Bao'an) Hall 12, Booth 12-Q33) and Shenzhen International Sensor and Application Technology Exhibition (March 29-31, 2023, Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center (Futian) Hall 8, Booth 8C11).

At that time, China Science and Technology Fusion will release high-precision 3D vision sensor core technology, high-precision MEMS laser projection module and product-level laser micro-vibration mirror 3D smart industrial camera Turnkey module (PRO series) for intelligent manufacturing and smart logistics!

3D structured light technology uses optical methods to perform three-dimensional measurement and imaging. The process is roughly as follows: first, an active light source with a specific pattern is projected onto the object to be measured, and then a camera or sensor is used to capture the three-dimensional light pattern formed on the object to be measured. Finally, through optical measurement and computational processing, a 3D point cloud is output, thereby generating data that can be used by the machine to perform various calculations.

Regarding the progress of chips , Zhongke Fusion's MEMS micro-vibration mirror projection chip completed the mass production of 1.5mm small target micro-vibration mirrors a few years ago, and successfully mass-produced the second-generation 4.5mm large target micro-vibration mirrors last year. This chip, based on electromagnetically driven MEMS micro-vibration mirror technology, has achieved greater driving force, stronger projection power, longer working distance, and larger imaging field of view. In terms of process level, it has established a "national leading and world-class" position.

Zhongke Fusion's first-generation 3D+AI VDPU intelligent visual data processing chip has been mass-produced and widely used in the company's own laser micro-vibration mirror 3D intelligent medical and aesthetic camera Turnkey module solutions. The latest second-generation 3D+AI VDPU intelligent visual data processing chip has been launched, using an independent, controllable and highly mature 40nm production process. Its ecological openness has evolved from the first generation that only supported the company's own 3D imaging algorithm to the current generation that can support the respective 3D imaging algorithms of many companies in related industries. It has better algorithm compatibility and covers more application scenarios.

Compared with the benchmark chip products currently imported from the United States, Zhongke Fusion's MEMS micro-vibration mirror projection chip can reduce power consumption by 10 times and chip volume by 20 times; and the other 3D+AI VDPU intelligent visual data processing chip can reduce power consumption by 30 times and volume by 10 times. Based on these two chips, the company has polished a set of MEMS laser projection modules and 3D smart camera Turnkey modules characterized by "high integration, high reliability, high precision, high performance, and low power consumption (four highs and one low)".

In terms of technical difficulty , the MEMS micro-vibration mirror projection chip will generate tens of thousands of vibrations per second, which requires hundreds of billions of times in its entire life cycle, and each optical scan must be very precise, placing extremely high demands on reliability and accuracy.

In terms of chip capabilities , the algorithm underlying code and hardware operators of Zhongke Fusion's 3D+AI VDPU intelligent visual data processing chip are all independently developed. It integrates multiple computing acceleration engines, which can perform real-time closed-loop processing of data to better ensure the accuracy of optical imaging. It also supports a variety of general peripherals, including cameras, Gigabit Ethernet, USB2.0/3.0, etc. It can also be developed and used as an embedded system, and has very good promotion prospects in terms of industry applicability.

In terms of optics and algorithms , Zhongke Fusion can achieve high-density imaging of tens of millions of point clouds and high-precision imaging of more than ten microns. It has the characteristics of high precision, high resolution, and good robustness, and has established an extremely high technical threshold.

Regarding application scenarios, according to Dr. Wang Xuguang, CEO of Zhongke Fusion, the company's products are mainly used in scenarios that require high-precision images, such as smart manufacturing scenarios, smart logistics scenarios, industrial measurement scenarios, medical and beauty scenarios, and consumer 3D modeling scenarios.

In terms of business model , Zhongke Fusion provides complete intelligent 3D vision solutions to industry-leading customers in the fields of industry, medical care, consumer electronics, etc., and creatively proposes product-level 3D intelligent camera Turnkey modules to empower machine vision manufacturers, lower the threshold of 3D vision hardware, and promote the development of the entire industry at a faster pace. Zhongke Fusion's product-level 3D intelligent camera Turnkey module solution has reached the international level in the subdivided field in terms of performance, and has been recognized by a large number of domestic and international industry-leading customers.

Regarding the capital market , it is reported that Zhongke Fusion has launched its Series B financing plan this year, giving priority to strategic investments in leading industries.

Regarding the background of the core team , the founder, Dr. Wang Xuguang, graduated from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of Tsinghua University in 1999, and then went to the United States for further studies, and obtained a doctorate degree from UT Austin. While working at AMD/Spansion and Seagate in the United States, Dr. Wang Xuguang engaged in research on chip materials and processes. Later, he was called back to China by the "Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences" in 2010, and continued to engage in and be responsible for the development of SSD controllers. He has complete R&D and product development experience in chip processes, devices, circuit design, algorithms and systems. Co-founder and CTO Dr. Liu Xin obtained a doctorate degree from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and served as the director of the Intelligent Chip Department at the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) of the Singapore Science and Technology Agency (A*STAR). He presided over a chip R&D plan of more than 30 million US dollars and was successfully responsible for the tape-out of more than a dozen chips. Later, he was also called back to China by the "Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences" to continue to engage in low-power circuit design and edge computing processor chip research.