New image sensor evaluation kits to spark innovation with miniature cameras in consumer applications

Raspberry Pi and Arduino based NanEyeC evaluation kits support  implementation of eye tracking, presence detection and object recognition in  products such as virtual reality headsets, smart lighting and Home and Building  Automation

Premstaetten, Austria (December 19, 2019) -- ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide supplier of high-performance sensor solutions, today releases the NanoVision and NanoBerry evaluation kits, which provide a ready-made platform for the development of innovative solutions based on the ams NanEyeC miniature image sensor. The NanEyeC camera is a full-featured image sensor supplied as a tiny 1mm x 1mm surface-mount module. This small form factor can produce an amazing 100kpixel resolution up to 58 frames/s. As the NanEyeC offers a rare combination of small size, high image quality and high frame rate, it can be used for video applications in which the camera must be invisible to the end user, or be accommodated in an extremely small space. For instance, it is ideal for eye tracking in the increasingly popular virtual reality headsets. It can also be applied in user presence detection, to support automatic power on/off controls in Home and Building Automation (HABA) applications such as air conditioning, home robotics, appliances and smart lighting.

NanoVision board for lower-frame rate applications like presence detection

The new NanoVision demo kit for the NanEyeC is based on an Arduino development platform. It includes all necessary drivers to interface the sensor’s Single-Ended Interface Mode (SEIM) output to an Arm® Cortex®-M7 microcontroller. It also supports image processing including functions like color reconstruction and white-point balancing. Using the NanoVision support package, engineers can accelerate the development of low frame-rate applications like presence detection within the familiar Arduino hardware development environment.

NanoBerry board for more demanding operations like eye tracking or stereo vision systems

The NanoBerry evaluation kit uses a NanEyeC image sensor add-on board to the Raspberry Pi port and includes firmware to interface to the Raspberry Pi host processor. Engineers using the NanoBerry board can take advantage of the high performance Arm Cortex-A53-based processor to perform more demanding operations such as object detection, object tracking and computer vision functions provided by the OpenCV library.  The NanoBerry kit is a well equiped platform suitable for high frame-rate and low-latency applications such as eye tracking. Integration into the NanEye PC viewer enables full evaluation of the NanEyeC with access to all registers and raw image data.

The NanoVision board is available now to customers on request. 

ams is demonstrating the NanoBerry kit at The Venetian Tower, Suite 30-236 at the CES exhibition (Las Vegas, NV, 7-10 January 2020). The kit will be available to customers in Q1 2020.   For more technical information about the NanEyeC image sensor, go to  https://ams.com/cmos-micro-camera-module

About ams

ams is a global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced sensor solutions. Our mission is to shape the world with sensor solutions by providing a seamless interface between humans and technology. 

ams’ high-performance sensor solutions drive applications requiring small form factor, low power, highest sensitivity and multi-sensor integration. Products include sensor solutions, sensor ICs, interfaces and related software for consumer, communications, industrial, medical, and automotive markets. 

With headquarters in Austria, ams employs about 9,000 people globally and serves more than 8,000 customers worldwide. ams is listed on the SIX Swiss stock exchange (ticker symbol: AMS). More information about ams can be found at www.ams.com

ams is a registered trademark of ams AG. In addition many of our products and services are registered or filed trademarks of ams Group. All other company or product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information provided in this press release is accurate at time of publication and is subject to change without advance notice.