How will the Latest Image Sensors Impact the Future of Machine Vision?

What is an image sensor?
An image sensor is a device that allows the camera to convert photons (light) into electrical signals. They are composed of millions of pixels on a single chip. The image sensor measures light intensity – but light's angle, spectrum, and other characteristics are also extracted. ¹

For simple applications like photography, the intensity information of three-color bands (RGB) is adequate. However, for advanced sensing applications, such as autonomous vehicles, biomedical imaging, and robotics, extracting more information from the incident light could help machines to make better decisions. ²

Size matters
The bigger, the better when it comes to image sensors. Because the sensor is the part of the camera capturing the image, it is critical to the quality of the resulting image. Sensor size and megapixel count are very closely connected. A larger camera sensor will give you better image quality because it gathers more light and delivers a higher megapixel count than a smaller sensor.

Improving image sensors for machine vision
In the future, it is predicted that more cameras will be built for machines than people. This will be further accelerated by the rapid progress in machine learning and artificial intelligence. In addition, it is predicted that machine vision applications will substantially benefit from the multimodal measurement of light fields by advanced imaging sensors.

Some of the latest advances in image sensing have significantly impacted 3D imaging, event-based sensing, and nonvisible image sensing. According to  innovations-report.com , the latest developments could enable autonomous vehicles to see around corners instead of just a straight line, biomedical imaging to detect abnormalities at different tissue depths, and telescopes to see through interstellar dust. ³

Optics play a major role in the performance of any imaging system. For optimal performance, it is critical to choose a lens that can accommodate the latest sensor technology.  Computar's MPT 1.4" 45 Megapixel Series is engineered to optimize the capabilities of the latest industrial CMOS sensors. To learn more, go to https://computar.com/mpt .

Sources:
1. https://automate.org

2. https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0090138

3. https://www.innovations-report.com/physics-and-astronomy/improving-image-sensors-for-machine-vision/

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