CMOS technology used to make most of the world’s semiconductors in being used to bring vision to automotive application.
CMOS imagers are getting inexpensive and rugged enough to meet automotive requirements, so the chips are being employed in many emerging safety applications Companies like STMicroelectronics, Toshiba, Micon Technology have leveraged the huge investment made in CMOS technology to shrink the size of imagers with lower cost.
CMOS is expected to dominate the alternative imaging technology.
As this growth occurs, system designers and OEMs are expected to add functions.
For example, instead of performing one task, one chip may handle lane-departure-Warning, Headlamp Recognition and Pedestrian Detection.
Mounting by the rear-view mirror is currently the primary location for forward-looking cameras;
Imagers are now small enough to fit in bumpers, so they can replace the ultrasonic sensors now used to alert drivers when they are backing up, said Jacob Pankovsky from Mobileye.
