Explore Machine Vision Applications with onsemi CMOS Sensors

The march of the machines is relentless, and increasingly, they'll need vision capabilities for a growing array of innovative applications. Enabling machines to see and interpret visual information from the physical world requires image sensors, system components, and processing algorithms to capture, analyze, and act on images in real time.

There are critical trade-offs in creating machine vision applications, so designers need access to robust product sets that enable them to address multiple use cases and performance tiers. onsemi offers a broad portfolio of vision products from high-performance, global shutter CMOS image sensors to cost-effective, rolling shutter sensors, as well as integrated on-board image system processing solutions (Figure 1).

Figure 1: onsemi provides a broad range of CMOS sensors to meet the diverse needs of various applications. (Image source: onsemi)

A global shutter sensor captures all pixels simultaneously, effectively freezing a moment in time. A global shutter sensor with a high frame rate enables machine vision systems to operate accurately and reliably in fast, unpredictable, or high-precision environments. But higher frame rates come with increased power draw, bandwidth, and thermal output.

Rolling shutter sensors read images on a line-by-line basis and are more power-efficient and cost-effective. But they are intended for static or slow-moving applications like document scanning or low-cost smart devices, where speed and precision are less critical than size, power, and budget.

Growing demand for vision applications.

The rapid expansion of demand for machine vision applications is driven by increasing automation, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), and the growing need for quality control across various industries. Compound annual growth forecasts range from 8% to 13%, with 2025 market value estimates ranging from $16 billion to $23 billion.

What's important to product designers is that machine vision is bursting out from its industrial heritage to become a core attribute in consumer electronics, healthcare, and a broad range of business segments, including agriculture and logistics.

Designers face an opportunity to incorporate machine vision into consumer smart home products, robotics, automobiles, and medical devices that can see, interpret, and respond to what is going on in the physical world.

The success of such applications will depend largely on the ability to balance trade-offs in optics, power, processing, and connectivity. With its robust lineup of vision products, onsemi provides designers with the options needed to balance speed, image quality, integration, and cost considerations.

Global shutter options

For clean, blur-free imaging of fast-moving scenes, designers can utilize the ARX383CSSM00SMKA0-CR, one of a series of 0.3 megapixel global shutter sensors with VGA resolution, which provides up to 120 frames per second (fps) at full resolution. It produces clear, low-noise images in both low-light and bright scenes with the ability to capture both continuous video and single frames, making it a versatile option for a range of applications.

The AR0235CSSM00SMKA0-CR is a 2 megapixel global shutter sensor designed for high-speed vision systems. It, and other AR0235 variants, are optimized for accurate and fast capture of moving scenes at 120 fps with full resolution, ensuring they can eliminate motion blur even in fast-moving environments. This makes them well-suited for scanning and industrial inspection applications.

A lower-cost global shutter option is the AR0145CSSM28SMKA0-CR, part of a series of 1 megapixel CMOS sensors with a 60 fps frame rate. It utilizes a MIPI-only interface and provides a cost-efficient component for embedded vision modules, compact scanners, and robotics, where higher resolution is not necessary.

Rolling shutter sensors

In the rolling shutter category, onsemi provides a series that includes the 2 megapixel AR0246NPSC10SMKA1-CR, featuring reliable, mid-resolution imaging with an active-pixel array of 1920 H x 1080 V. Designed for low-power, cost-efficient vision systems, it balances image quality and affordability for applications such as embedded cameras and smart surveillance, supporting both continuous video and single-frame capture.

For applications that require accurate and fast capture of moving scenes with low operational power, designers might opt for the 5 megapixel AR0544CSSC11SMKA1-CP2 rolling shutter sensor. This compact, high-performance sensor provides high-resolution images up to 60 fps and 30 fps in line-interleaved high dynamic range (LI-HDR) mode.

Then there's the NOIP1SE2000A-LTI, a 2 megapixel sensor with an integrated onboard image signal processor (ISP). This enables the sensor to directly handle essential functions, such as auto-exposure, color correction, and even basic compression. This can be a significant advantage for applications where latency and power efficiency are critical factors and performance cannot be compromised, such as drones, wearable AR/VR systems, or smart cameras.

These products represent just a small cross-section of a CMOS sensor product line that numbers in the hundreds. Additionally, onsemi offers complementary products, including serializer/deserializer chipsets, power management ICs, evaluation kits and development boards, embedded algorithms, and tuning tools, to provide designers with a complete ecosystem for building end-to-end vision systems.

Conclusion

With its full ecosystem of CMOS sensors, support components, and tools, onsemi enables designers to overcome the technical challenges of optics, power, processing, and connectivity. The breadth and flexibility of onsemi’s product lineup ensures that designers can select solutions suited to their unique needs, paving the way for advancements across markets such as smart homes, robotics, healthcare, and automotive technologies.