TowerJazz and Newsight Imaging are producing Newsight’s CMOS image sensor (CIS) chips and camera modules, customized for very high-volume LiDAR and machine vision markets. The devices combine sensors, digital algorithms, and pixel array on the same chip. Newsight’s CIS chips are used in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles (AVs) as well as in drones and robotics.
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a detection system which works on the principle of radar, but uses light from a laser, is considered a must have for autonomous driving due to its high resolution at long distances, and market growth is expected to be exponential once L4/L5 autonomous vehicles become mainstream. IHS estimates the automotive LiDAR semiconductor market will reach $1.8 billion by 2026, with 37% CAGR (2018-2026). By utilizing TowerJazz’s advanced 180nm technology, featuring a wide range of customizable pixel architectures and technologies, Newsight is well-positioned to address the vast opportunities in the automotive market as well as in the security, defense, medical, industrial, and consumer markets.
The NSI3000 sensor family, currently in mass production, offers extremely high sensitivity pixels, enabling the replacement of expensive CCD (charge-coupled device) sensors in many applications and is designed for programmable high frame rate speeds, allowing better analysis and reaction to events. In addition, Newsight’s NSI5000, currently in development with TowerJazz, is an integrated LiDAR solution for long-range applications and includes a top DSP controller that enables complex calculations for depth and machine vision. The NSI5000 is used in 3D pulsed based LiDARs for automotive applications and is based on Newsight’s enhanced time-of-flight (eTOF), which bridges the gap between short-distance indirect time-of-flight (iTOF) and the long distance automotive requirement, by extending the dynamic range while retaining high accuracy.