Rumors are that we again will see 2 hours of Grant Petty mumbling, as usualy cameras will be off for 30% of the livestream, next 70% they will be in linear raw mode, audio guy will forget to put lavalier.

Yes, and I almost forgot, Grant Petty spent last 2 weeks on best Australian beaches to looks like black community representative (remember, BLM!) and we can see tip of this on the poster.

On June 8th, Panasonic released the software "LUMIX Tether for streaming (Beta)" for PC. Supported OS is Windows 10. It is a beta software under development, so there is no guarantee of operation or user support, but it can be downloaded for free from the website.

The software that improved the existing tether shooting software "LUMIX Tether" (Ver.1.7) for live streaming distribution. Until now, the live view image and control panel were displayed on the PC screen for remote shooting operations, but by turning on "LIVE VIEW mode", the control panel and AF frame are hidden and another live streaming is performed. It is said that it can be used to capture and distribute PC screens with the software for PC.

Compatible cameras are LUMIX S1R/S1/S1H and G9 PRO/GH5/GH5S.

https://panasonic.jp/dc/contents/with_lumix.html

Compatibility with new vlogger mini tripod - DMW-SHGR1.

New firmware versions

• LUMIX GH5 - Ver.2.7
• LUMIX GH5S - Ver.1.6
• LUMIX G9 PRO - Ver.2.2
• LUMIX G99 - Ver.1.2
• LUMIX G8 - Ver.1.5

Due to continued losses in the Imaging Division, Olympus Imaging Business is due to be sold to JIP Inc, in order to separate the imaging division. Olympus cameras and lenses will continue to be manufactured.

From Olympus: June 24, 2020 - Signing of Memorandum of Understanding for Divestiture of Imaging Business

Olympus Corporation ("Olympus") and Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. ("JIP") hereby announce that, today, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding to carveout Olympus’s Imaging business to a new company (“NewCo”) and subsequently transfer its shares to a fund managed, operated or otherwise handled by JIP (the "Transaction").

After the due diligence and further discussions and negotiations, the parties are aiming to sign a legally-binding definitive agreement for the Transaction (the "Definitive Agreement") by September 30, 2020. We will promptly make further announcement if any matters relating to the Transaction that needs further announcement occur.

1. Background and Purpose of the Transaction

Olympus's Imaging business began with the manufacture and sale of a camera using the photographic lens Zuiko in 1936. Through innovative technology and unique product development capabilities, Olympus has developed and launched various products, aiming to contribute to make people’s lives more fulfilling. Those products include: Olympus Pen, the innovative half-sized camera; Zuiko Pearlcorder, the world's first micro-cassette tape recorder; and Olympus OM-D series, the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera.

Olympus has implemented measures to cope with the extremely severe digital camera market, due to, amongst others, rapid market shrink caused by the evolution of smartphones; Olympus has improved the cost structure by restructuring the manufacturing bases and focusing on high-value-added interchangeable lenses, aiming to rectify the earning structure to those that may continue generating profit even as sales dwindles. Despite all such efforts, Olympus’s Imaging business recorded operating losses for 3 consecutive fiscal years up to the term ended in March 2020.

Under such circumstances, Olympus considers that, by carving-out the Imaging business and by operating the business with JIP, the Imaging business’s corporate structure may become more compact, efficient and agile and it is the most appropriate way to realize its self-sustainable and continuous growth and to bring values to the users of our products as well as our employees working in the Imaging business. Olympus therefore has decided to sign the memorandum of understanding for the Transaction.

JIP has strong track records in supporting strategic carve-outs that realize growth potential and encourage autonomous growth. By adding support from JIP, the NewCo, as the successor of reputable brands such as “OM-D” and “ZUIKO,” will utilize the innovative technology and unique product development capabilities which have been developed within Olympus, and will realize continuous growth of the business by bringing better products and services to the users and customers and by making itself a productive and rewarding work place for its employees.

Imaging Business after the Transaction

NewCo will succeed and maintain the research and development functions and manufacturing functions globally as reformed under the contemplated structuring reforms to continue to offer high-quality, highly reliable products; and also continue to provide supports to the imaging solution products that have been distributed by Olympus.

Outline of the Transaction

The specifics of the Transaction shall be decided in the Definitive Agreement after careful examination and consultation between the parties. The parties currently consider the outline of the Transaction shall be as follows.

The parties will proceed with the actions and procedures for Transactions in full compliance with applicable laws including consultation obligations and other requirements under local employment laws.

1. Structure: (i) Olympus’s Imaging business will be transferred to the NewCo by way of company split or otherwise, and then, (ii) shares in the NewCo will be transferred to a new company to be established by JIP.
2. Signing of Definitive Agreement: Scheduled to be signed by September 30, 2020
3. Closing: Olympus and JIP strive to close the Transaction by December 31, 2020.
4. Structuring Reform

Prior to the closing of the Transaction, Olympus plans to implement structuring reforms to the Imaging business aiming to change the business structure of Imaging business to be more profitable and sustainable.

We are currently investigating costs and other impacts of the structuring reform. If any future event which requires disclosure arises, Olympus will announce it promptly.

Atomos and Z CAM release 5.8K and 4K ProRes RAW recording and camera control for E2 series cinema cameras

Atomos and Z CAM have today enabled 12-bit 5.8K Apple ProRes RAW over HDMI recording on the Ninja V HDR monitor-recorder in combination with the Flagship series Z CAM E2-F6, E2-F8 and E2-S6 large sensor cinema cameras, as well as 4K ProRes RAW recording from the Micro 4/3 E2, E2-M4 and E2 C models.

Atomos have also released new camera control functions for all Z CAM models that allow key functions to be set from the Ninja V via the monitor’s touchscreen. The Ninja V connects via USB-C and allows two-way communication for a range of controls such as record start/stop, iris, shutter speed, ISO and eND. The Control feature works whether recording internally in the camera, or externally to the Ninja V. The camera constantly updates the Ninja V with the value of each setting, which is in turn displayed clearly on the monitor. As a result you can now record ProRes RAW from the camera and still be able to control main camera functions at the same time on the Ninja V screen. To use the feature will require an appropriate interface cable - either the existing Atomos Serial to USB cable with a USB-A to USB-C type adapter, or a new dedicated Atomos control cable that will be available in Summer 2020 as an optional accessory.

The Ninja V can record 5.8K ProRes RAW at up to 29.97p and up to 4K (UHD) up to 59.94p from all three Flagship models: the E2-S6, E2-F6 and E2-F8. The E2 and new E2-M4 will output RAW at up to DCI 4Kp59.94 for recording in ProRes RAW. The E2C can output RAW at DCI 4K 29.97p to the Ninja V. The frame rates available for RAW over HDMI recording vary depending on the camera model.

Support for RAW over HDMI is now available or announced for cameras from Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon, Sigma and Z CAM. This is in addition to several Sony, Canon and Panasonic cinema cameras that already support ProRes RAW recording via SDI to Atomos monitor-recorders. As a result, ProRes RAW is now firmly established for RAW video capture, with many more cameras due this year.

ProRes RAW combines the visual and workflow benefits of RAW video with the incredible real-time performance of ProRes. The format gives filmmakers enormous latitude when adjusting the look of their images and extending brightness and shadow detail, making ProRes RAW ideal for HDR workflows. Both ProRes RAW, and the higher bandwidth, less compressed ProRes RAW HQ are supported. and manageable file sizes speed up and simplify file transfer, media management, and archiving. ProRes RAW is supported in Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere and Grass Valley Edius, along with a collection of other apps including ASSIMILATE SCRATCH, Colorfront and FilmLight Baselight.

These options are available immediately in a free AtomOS 10.5 update from Atomos which you can see below and firmware update 0.96 from Z CAM.

For Ninja V users update your firmware here now: https://www.atomos.com/firmware/ninja-v

So if you are (or know) anyone in South Dakota that’s a videographer/cinematographer/camera operator, this is a paid spot that could get you a fair amount of attention (+ you don’t have to do any editing). You don’t need a wide portfolio or a list of testimonials as long as I can review some of your work and see that you have what it takes. :)

We also need stock footage shot around Brookings, South Dakota, so if you have some randomly lying around, we might be able to license some of that, too.

The fines on the companies, Roland and Korg, which make, among other things, electronic drum kits and hi-tech music equipment and synthesizers, follow fines recently imposed on two other leading suppliers in the sector, Casio and Fender. All of these companies have been fined for implementing resale price maintenance (RPM) designed to restrict retailer freedom to set prices online by requiring their musical instruments to be sold at or above a minimum price. It brings the total fines imposed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for this illegal conduct in the musical instrument sector to £13.7 million.

Separately, a retailer of musical instruments, GAK, has also admitted to engaging in RPM with Yamaha and agreed to pay a maximum fine of more than a quarter of a million pounds to settle the case. This is the first time the CMA has taken enforcement action against a retailer in a resale price maintenance case.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/musical-instrument-firms-to-pay-millions-after-breaking-competition-law

All this is just preparations for huge attack on some core US companies including Apple. Stay tuned.

Sony investors have given their stamp of approval for the longtime electronics maker to embrace a new, broader identity with its first renaming in more than six decades.

Shareholders approved at Friday's annual meeting a proposal to change the name to Sony Group, effective April 2021.

The rebranding is part of the Japanese blue chip's effort to place video games and financial services on an equal footing with electronics, where Sony got its start.

"We decided to change our name to Sony Group because we wanted to take advantage of the diversity of our portfolio and promote the evolution of our businesses," CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said.

The company plans to spend about 400 billion yen ($3.73 billion) to turn the unit, which offers insurance and online banking services to retail customers, into a wholly owned subsidiary.

It is big pressure on Sony to move sensors unit into separate company. Also cameras division started bleeding money seriously in 2020, plans are in disarray for 2021. In the last moment Sony can decide to separate cameras division and may be even kill it looking at the 2020 fall results.

Sony Corp’s image sensor business aims to replicate PlayStation’s success to address its reliance on a handful of manufacturers in the fickle smartphone market: It plans to sell software by subscription for data-analyzing sensors in situ.

Transforming the light-converting chips into a platform for software - essentially akin to the PlayStation Plus video games service - amounts to a sea change for the $10 billion business, which built its dominance through hardware breakthroughs.

The effort chimes with Sony’s pursuit of recurring revenue after years of loss in the volatile consumer electronics sector. Success, analysts said, could serve as a rejoinder to activist investor Daniel Loeb’s calls for the business to be spun off.

“We have a solid position in the market for image sensors, which serve as a gateway for imaging data,” said Sony’s Hideki Somemiya, who heads a new team developing sensor applications.

Analysis of such data with artificial intelligence (AI) “would form a market larger than the growth potential of the sensor market itself in terms of value,” Somemiya said in an interview, pointing to the recurring nature of software-dependent data processing versus a hardware-only business.

For now it is for business oriented sensors, but idea is also to widen it to the consumer sensors in smartphones and cameras.

So you'll need to pay for each shot where you sued advanced eye detection focus or AI based processing.

We present a systematic characterization of wafer-level reliability dedicated test structures in Back-Side-Illuminated CMOS Image Sensors. Noise and electrical measurements performed at different steps of the fabrication process flow, definitely demonstrate that the wafer flipping/bonding/thinning and VIA opening proper of the Back-Side-Illuminated configuration cause the creation of oxide donor-like border traps. Respect to conventional Front-Side-Illuminated CMOS Image Sensors, the presence of these traps causes degradation of the transistors electrical performance, altering the oxide electric field and shifting the flat-band voltage, and strongly degrades also reliability. Results from Time-Dependent Dielectric Breakdown and Negative Bias Temperature Instability measurements outline the impact of those border traps on the lifetime prediction.

TDDB measurements were performed on n-channel Tx at 125C, applying a gate stress voltage Vstress in the range +7 to +7.6V. For each Vstress several samples were tested and the time-to-breakdown was measured adopting the three criteria defined in the JEDEC standard JESD92 [21]. For each stress condition, the fit of the Weibull distribution of the time-to-breakdown values gave the corresponding Time-to Failure (TTF). Then, the TTFs were plotted vs. Vstress in a log-log scale and the lifetime at the operating gate voltage was extrapolated with a power law (E-model [22]).

NBTI measurements were performed on p-channel Tx at 125C, applying Vstress in the range -3 to -4V. Again, several Tx were tested. Following the JEDEC standard JESD90, in this case, lifetime is defined as the stress time required to have a 10% shift of the nominal VT. The VT shift has a power law dependence on the stress time and the lifetime value at the operating gate voltage could be extrapolated.

We found that the donor-like border traps affect also the Back-Side device long term performance. Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown and Negative Bias Temperature Instability measurements were performed to evaluate lifetime. As expected, the role of border traps in the lifetime prediction is different in the two cases, but the reliability degradation of Back-Side with respect to Front-Side-Illuminated CMOS Image Sensors is evident in any case.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9060926

This can be especially important for new very dense 50-120Mp smartphones sensors.

https://camerasize.com

Renewal of the Meyer Optik Görlitz portfolio on schedule

• Optimization of the first lens completed
• Further new versions of previous lenses in progress
• First completely new development finalized / more to follow
• Cooperation with Fotomuseum Görlitz & the City of Görlitz

Meyer Optik is pushing the revision and optimization of its existing portfolio and has already completed its first projects. The developments are thus on schedule and the first Meyer Optik lenses developed and produced by OPC will be available in late summer 2019.

"We have analyzed the entire existing portfolio, identified optimization potential and categorized it according to effort. This approach now enables us to efficiently optimize lens by lens and to publish in a timely manner," explains Timo Heinze, Managing Director of OPC Optics. "We are currently in the prototype phase of the first optimized lens and are confident that we will achieve an increase in the mechanical quality and imaging performance of this and all other lenses. Depending on the individual lens, the scope of these improvements and changes will of course vary. The unique image language of every individual lens will be retained of course."

Optimization of the first new version finalized

During the analysis process it turned out that the first new edition will be the Trioplan 100. This new Trioplan 100 II is currently in the prototype phase and will be the first revised lens to be released.

"The previous Trioplan 100 is a good lens and its success proves it right. We have received an unbelievable number of enquiries about the availability of the Trioplan 100 and see many posts in the social media from satisfied photographers who proudly present their Trioplan pictures. Our technical analysis also showed that the previous Trioplan 100 is simply a good lens, and yet we were able to introduce and implement improvements here and there. This applies on the one hand to the mechanics and on the other hand to the optics itself in terms of contrast behavior and resolution. We are confident that our current prototype tests will confirm this and that we will be able to start serial production immediately after completion of the test series," explains Heinze.

Further improved, new editions in progress

Also, under development are the Trioplan 50 / 35+, Lydith 30 and Primoplan 58 / 75, which will receive a complete redesign of the mechanics and outer geometry. In addition, the optical calculations and the glass itself will of course also be put to the test and examined for optimization potential.

Of these lenses, the Trioplan 50 will now be completed next, followed by the Lydith 30 and the Primoplan 75. The optimization work will then be completed with the Primoplan 58 and the Trioplan 35+.

With the Trioplan 50, the mechanics and outer geometry as well as the optical calculation were completely revised so that a better haptic and a considerably improved imaging performance are to be achieved. These theoretical optimizations must now be verified in real use. The necessary prototypes are currently in production and will then be extensively tested.

The selling prices of the new versions are not yet fixed. However, we are working hard to optimize production and internal processes so that the new lenses can be offered at realistic and attractive prices without compromising quality and precision.

First completely new development finalized / more to follow\

As already announced, Meyer Optik will also launch completely new lenses on the market. Under the venerable name "Primagon", a completely new lens will probably be launched this year. The elaborately constructed design consists of 8 lenses in 6 assemblies and will appear as Primagon 50 f2.0. Further details such as an exact publication date, prices, available mounts, technical details, etc. will be published in due course.

Cooperation with Fotomuseum Görlitz and the city of Görlitz

Meyer Optik will work closely with the Fotomuseum Görlitz and the city of Görlitz in the future. Among other things, the 5th Photo Festival in Görlitz (30.08. - 22.09.2019), which is organized by Fotomuseum Görlitz e.V., will be supported by Meyer Optik. As a part of this event, employees of Meyer Optik / OPC Optics will be on site during the opening weekend and will be happy to talk to anyone interested.

About Meyer Optik Görlitz

Meyer Optik Görlitz has a long history as a German manufacturer of high-quality lenses. Founded in 1896, Meyer Optik Görlitz has been in almost continuous existence for around 120 years. Thanks to the creativity which makes the Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses possible, the brand enjoys huge popularity worldwide -- today as much as always.

About OPC Optics

OPC Optics was founded as a company in 2016 and is based in Bad Kreuznach. In addition to providing technical advice for projects and contract measuring of optical components, OPC Optics is primarily known as a specialist in high-precision aspheric and spherical lenses, as well as double aspheric lenses, achromatic lenses and assembly units. Its customers include companies involved in photography, medical technology, automotive and laser technology. With state-of-the-art machines, OPC Optics focuses on providing the highest possible quality and precision in the manufacture of glass lenses. As a result of comprehensive documentation of the entire process, from molten glass to raw glass processing, right through to the finished lens, OPC Optics is trusted by customers all around the world.

Dear Valued Customers and Partners,

With the global outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), and the increased risk to those in close quarters and to those who travel, we regret to inform you that we have made the difficult decision not to attend PhotoPlus 2020, taking place October 24-26, in New York City.

The health and well-being of our employees, customers and communities is a top priority. Therefore, we have decided to undertake these precautionary measures in the interest of keeping our staff and customers safe in the midst of the pandemic.

We appreciate your understanding and we hope to see everyone at later events and shows!

Situation with Olympus in US and EU market is very bad according to rumors I am getting privately. It can start to pull out as soon as October exactly, hence this is why it is not handy being present.

Seems like Nikon will continue focusing on more expensive lenses and approach Z mount with big care, looking only on actual sales and actual profits.

Light has confirmed to Android Authority that it’s “no longer operating in the smartphone industry.” The comment suggests that we won’t see future smartphones with Light technology in them.

The firm’s website promoted smartphone-based use-cases on its front page until July 31 2019, according to the Wayback Machine. From August 2019, it featured automotive use-cases instead.

The company attracted attention in 2015 when it launched the Light L16 camera, a compact camera that actually featured 16 lenses. Light touted numerous benefits for this tech, including improved HDR and higher resolution shots.

All of their products showed big issues stitching multiple images. And it seems like ptoblem is unsolvable in present time.

Going into auto industry they can use only parts of images that can be stitched good, and tell the algorithsm to ignore other parts.

Sound United, which owns such brands as Polk Audio, Definitive, Boston Acoustics, Denon, Marantz and Classe Audio, said it has filed a preliminary letter of intent to acquire B&W company for its growing stable of premium home audio brands.

“Over the course of five decades Bowers & Wilkins built one of the most prestigious brands in the global speaker market with industry-leading acoustical engineering, iconic design and marketing, B&W is a transformative brand and we look forward to the opportunity to finalize the transaction. This reflects Sound United’s unwavering focus to achieve its mission of bringing joy to the world through sound,” stated Kevin Duffy, Sound United CEO, said in a statement.

Bowers & Wilkins and Sound United were said to be exploring the consolidation of their premium brands “into a new group offering even better consumer opportunities. If our discussions are successful, combining Bowers & Wilkins’ engineering and manufacturing expertise in the premium category

We'll see how it develops, B&W can be one of the last brands that will be killed by marketing departments replacing any original engineering.

The outbreak of pandemic Covid-19 has disturbed all major economic sectors of the whole world. During this difficult time, COMPUTEX looks forward to seeing you on June 1-5, 2021 and drive the resilience in the global ICT ecosystem together.

https://torrentfreak.com/publishers-sue-the-internet-archive-over-its-open-library-declare-it-a-pirate-site-200601/

CEDIA Expo 2020, the annual trade show for the custom electronics designers and installers industry, was officially canceled as a physical event for this year Thursday by show organizers facing on-going COVID-19 complications.

The show, which is operated by Emerald Expositions for the CEDIA industry, was previously scheduled to have taken place Sept. 8-12th at the Denver Convention Center. But the center continues to be used as a medical care facility for non-emergency cases related to the coronavirus, by order of governor of Colorado. That among other issues related to the virus made it impossible for the show to continue, organizers announced.

Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that.... ....happen again. Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!

Twitter has now shown that everything we have been saying about them (and their other compatriots) is correct. Big action to follow!

Hope he could at least rip them apart enough. Good for all.

“After nearly four years at GoPro where Danny was instrumental in transforming our design function, Danny decided to take his career expertise and family back to his native New Zealand to begin a new chapter of his life,” a spokesman for San Mateo, California-based GoPro told Bloomberg News. Coster’s last day at the company was in February, the spokesman added.

In April, GoPro cut more than 20% of its workforce, shifted its sales strategy away from physical retail to direct-to-consumer, and cut its 2020 financial guidance due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Still, action camera hardware is key to GoPro’s future, and the departure of Coster means the loss of an influential product and design leader.

Read more: GoPro Cuts More Than 20% of Workforce, Changes Sales Strategy

Coster joined GoPro in 2016 as vice president of design, and his departure from Apple’s famed industrial design team was one of the first for the Cupertino, California-based technology giant. After he moved, several other veteran team members left, including longtime leader Jony Ive.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-26/gopro-design-head-danny-coster-left-company-earlier-this-year

“Focused on IFA’s core functions, the IFA 2020 Special Edition supports brands, manufacturers, media and retailers to connect and celebrate innovation across consumer electronics and home appliances,” IFA organizers announced.

The invite-only event will put strict limits on the number of attendees and focus on IFA’s four global core functions, which include: an innovation showcase for brands; a platform for cutting-edge technologies; a sourcing event for OEMs and ODMs; and a marketplace where retailers and brands can come together, IFA said.

“IFA 2020 will be the first opportunity for the consumer electronics and home appliances industries to present new products and services directly to media and – by extension – to consumers and trade,”

2020 IFA will not be open to the general public. Instead, the event will allow in a total of 5,000 people. Only 800 invited journalists from 50 countries will be allowed to attend the event in person. Exhibitor presentations will take place from just two event stages.

Intel has been investing and contributing to the evolution of Wi-Fi for more than 20 years, and today we’re excited to announce another leap forward. We are acquiring Rivet Networks, a leader in software and cloud-based technologies for networking connectivity.

Rivet Networks is a terrific complement to our existing Wi-Fi products and helps us further our vision of delivering PC platforms that power every person’s greatest contribution. Rivet Networks’ products deliver speed, intelligence and control for gamers and performance users. Its products maximize Wi-Fi bandwidth utilization and optimize the wireless network connection on your platform. In addition, Rivet Networks’ products can also utilize the combination of Ethernet and Wi-Fi to prioritize traffic over both connections.

Its team will join our Wireless Solutions Group within the Client Computing Group. Rivet Networks’ key products, including its Killer brand, will integrate into Intel’s broader PC Wi-Fi portfolio. With the addition of Rivet Networks’ software, we will license its software to customers and develop new solutions for broader PC connectivity enhancement. With Rivet Networks’ and Intel’s leading Wi-Fi products, we can scale our PC Wi-Fi portfolio to better serve our customers, ecosystem and channel partners.

https://newsroom.intel.com/editorials/intel-acquisition-may-2020/#gs.6z4n7b

Rivet Networks is known for making marketing based shitty Killer adapters aimed at gamers. With horrible driver support and lot of strange bugs.

It seems like Intel wants known brand to increase margins and being able to market their own adapters on gaming market.

Sony Corporation today announced the upcoming release of two models of intelligent vision sensors, the first image sensors in the world to be equipped with AI processing functionality. Including AI processing functionality on the image sensor itself enables high-speed edge AI processing and extraction of only the necessary data, which, when using cloud services, reduces data transmission latency, minimizes any privacy concerns, and reduces power consumption and communication costs.

These products expand the opportunities to develop AI-equipped cameras, enabling a diverse range of applications in the retail and industrial equipment industries and contributing to building optimal systems that link with the cloud.

The spread of IoT has resulted in all types of devices being connected to the cloud, making commonplace the use of information processing systems where information obtained from such devices is processed via AI on the cloud. On the other hand, the increasing volume of information handled in the cloud poses various problems: increased data transmission latency hindering real-time information processing; security concerns from users associated with storing personally identifiable data in the cloud; and other issues such as the increased power consumption and communication costs cloud services entail.

The new sensor products feature a stacked configuration consisting of a pixel chip and logic chip. They are the world's first image sensor to be equipped with AI image analysis and processing functionality on the logic chip. The signal acquired by the pixel chip is processed via AI on the sensor, eliminating the need for high-performance processors or external memory, enabling the development of edge AI systems. The sensor outputs metadata (semantic information belonging to image data) instead of image information, making for reduced data volume and minimizing any privacy concerns. Moreover, the AI capability makes it possible to deliver diverse functionality for versatile applications, such as real-time object tracking with high-speed AI processing. Different AI models can also be chosen by rewriting internal memory in accordance with user requirements or the conditions of the location where the system is being used.

Main Features

• World's first image sensor equipped with AI processing functionality
  The pixel chip is back-illuminated and has approximately 12.3 effective megapixels for capturing information across a wide angle of view. In addition to the conventional image sensor operation circuit, the logic chip is equipped with Sony's original DSP(Digital Signal Processor) dedicated to AI signal processing, and memory for the AI model. This configuration eliminates the need for high-performance processors or external memory, making it ideal for edge AI systems.
• Metadata output
  Signals acquired by the pixel chip are run through an ISP (Image Signal Processor) and AI processing is done in the process stage on the logic chip, and the extracted information is output as metadata, reducing the amount of data handled. Ensuring that image information is not output helps to reduce security risks and minimizing any privacy concerns. In addition to the image recorded by the conventional image sensor, users can select the data output format according to their needs and uses, including ISP format output images (YUV/RGB) and ROI (Region of Interest) specific area extract images.
• High-speed AI processing
  When a video is recorded using a conventional image sensor, it is necessary to send data for each individual output image frame for AI processing, resulting in increased data transmission and making it difficult to deliver real-time performance. The new sensor products from Sony perform ISP processing and high-speed AI processing (3.1 milliseconds processing for MobileNet V1*2) on the logic chip, completing the entire process in a single video frame. This design makes it possible to deliver high-precision, real-time tracking of objects while recording video.
• Selectable AI model
  Users can write the AI models of their choice to the embedded memory and can rewrite and update it according to its requirements or the conditions of the location where the system is being used. For example, when multiple cameras employing this product are installed in a retail location, a single type of camera can be used with versatility across different locations, circumstances, times, or purposes. When installed at the entrance to the facility it can be used to count the number of visitors entering the facility; when installed on the shelf of a store it can be used to detect stock shortages; when on the ceiling it can be used for heat mapping store visitors (detecting locations where many people gather), and the like. Furthermore, the AI model in a given camera can be rewritten from one used to detect heat maps to one for identifying consumer behavior, and so on.