PMDTechnologies ramps 3D CMOS imager for mass market usage
PMD PhotonICs® 19k-S3 imager available on demand: High quality 3D image perception for everyone
Press Release
January 10, 2012
January 10, 2012 – Las Vegas, USA – PMDTechnologies announces at Consumer Electronics Show
2012 in Las Vegas that the companies 160x120 pixel 3D CMOS imager is ready for mass market
usage. The PMD PhotonICs® 19k-S3 is the first commercially available 3D-ToF (Time-of-Flight) chip
for camera developers and system integrators. Using the most mature 3D-ToF CMOS technology
available worldwide, as it is used for the manufacturing of PMD products since 2005, the PMD
PhotonICs® 19k-S in its 3rd generation gives customers a high quality level to start their unique
application development and thus paves the way to new and innovative 3D perception based end
products.
The 19k-S3 imager enables real-time capturing of distance and gray scale information. Due to the
sensitivity and improved performance of the new PMD PhotonICs ® 19k-S3, high accuracy with
extremely low power consumption is achievable. Read-out clocks of 15MPixel/s are possible. Thanks
to the integrated SBI (Suppression of Background Illumination) technology, a well known PMD feature,
this innovative product can be deployed in indoor and outdoor environments. The resistance to motion
blur allows detecting fast moving objects. A Region-of-Interest (ROI) function enables a flexible and
application specific lateral resolution. The 160x120 pixel resolution is optimized for close range
human-machine interaction up to 2 meters.
The PMD PhotonICs ® 19k-S3 can be used for various use cases like Human Machine Interfaces
(HMIs) for notebooks, tablets, mobiles and automotive applications, games and consumer electronics,
automotive environmental perception, factory automation and mobile robotics, digital signage, security,
surveillance and medical technology.
The PMD[vision]® CamBoard nano with dimensions of 37x30x25mm is the smallest depth sensor
reference design available worldwide. Using just one infrared LED as an active illumination source and
being USB powered, the CamBoard nano is a perfect starter kit to explore PMD technology for near
range applications where the limitation of the installation space is obvious. However, the use cases
can easily be extended by varying camera parameters such as optics, illumination power, frame rate,
or modulation frequency among others.
Providing a frame rate of up to 90fps at full resolution of 160x120 pixel with a 90° Field-of-View, the
CamBoard nano is suitable for HMIs based on gesture detection. It delivers depth maps and gray
value image data simultaneously. Therefore, it is possible to analyze scenes based on 3D data only or
in combination with 2D gray value information. This reference design equips our customers with an
operational platform which facilitates the development of application-specific depth sensor systems,
enabling them to reduce innovation cycles. To support use-case evaluations we offer our API
PMDSDK2 for Linux and Windows (32bit/64bit) along with the latest generation of our visualization tool
LightVis and our MATLAB for Windows interface PMDMDK supporting customers to turn their ideas
into reality. The ready-to-use software package also enables the exploration of multi-camera use
cases.
"We are convinced that the availability of the 19k-S and the CamBoard nano reference design will
initiate a 3D-ToF community, enabling applications, demos and product solutions we all don’t think of
so far", says Dr. Bernd Buxbaum, CEO of PMDTechnologies. “The opportunities and use cases are
endless as the PMD technology is very scalable in terms of size, performance and cost.”
"Natural touchless user interfaces based on depth sensing require a vision of the user experience and
the right tools", adds Jochen Penne, Director Business Development at PMDTechnologies. “We are
happy to provide the sensor tools to let the visions of next-generation user interfaces become alive.”
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