Image sensor enables HPD, AON and facial recognition

Omnivision has launched its OV01D1R intelligent CMOS image sensor for human presence detection (HPD), infrared (IR) facial authentication and always-on (AON) technology. It features a mono-IR color filter array with an HPD capability in a single sensing camera.

(Source: Omnivision)

The OV01D1R is the first sensor for the computing industry to address HPD, IR facial recognition and AON technology with a single sensing camera, Omnivision said, and it retains low power consumption and operates independently from the laptop’s RGB camera.

Omnivision said HPD has traditionally been powered by AON streaming from the RGB sensor. The challenge: HPD is disabled when the RGB sensor is blocked by the physical privacy shutter.

The company has solved this problem with a new sensor design with an integrated camera solution. It is comprised of a mono-IR color filter array plus AON, so even when the RGB sensor is blocked, the HPD and facial recognition features are still available by the separate OV01D sensor.

“The device maintains ultra-low-power streaming for AON while the 2-µm pixel has a high performance in terms of sensitivity and MTF [modulation transfer function], allowing it to maintain the HPD and facial authentication functions,” said Jason Chiang, staff marketing manager computing, Omnivision, in a statement. “In addition, cost and module design complexity are reduced due to our ability to combine the capabilities of three to four sensors into a single device.”

(Source: Omnivision)

(Source: Omnivision)

Based on PureCel pixel technology, the OV01D1R is a raw 1-megapixel, low-power—4.7 mW @ 3 frames per second (fps)—image sensor in a 1/6.13-inch optical format. It delivers 1280 × 720 resolution at 30 fps. Applications include cameras embedded in notebooks, tablets, monitors and webcams, as well as doorbell and home security cameras.

The OV01D1R is available for sampling now, and it will be in mass production in the fourth quarter of 2024. The device will be designed into 2025 model laptops and beyond.