CSEM LAUNCHES MINIATURE VISION SENSOR SYSTEM FOR REAL TIME ANALYSIS AND RESPONSE

Low-Cost ViSe Impervious to Rapidly Changing Light Conditions, Broad Application Base

SAN FRANCISCO and NEUCHATEL, October 9, 2006 - The Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), a leading electronics R&D center, today launched a miniature vision sensor system that enables broad-based monitoring and interpretation of visual data in real time, in any light conditions. The low-cost system, called ViSe, allows original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop application-specific image analysis and response systems aimed at automotive, security, building and home automation, and industrial markets.

The ability to rapidly process data in real time and at low cost -- regardless of changing lighting conditions -- gives the system broad applicability for markets where vision sensing was previously not an option. Additionally the system addresses privacy issues through an option that identifies human forms but not facial or body detail. Application-specific algorithms have already been developed to enable human versus animal differentiation, automobile seat occupancy, lane departure warning systems, intruder alert systems, motion sensing and tracking of movement.

The ViSe camera is composed of a vision sensor and a digital signal processing chip (DSP) that can run identification algorithms. The system speeds throughput of visual data by enabling the vision sensor chip itself to extract key image features needed for interpretation -- prior to sending it for software processing on the DSP.

"CSEM research and development is driven by commercial requirements, and therefore a key focus for our microelectronics activity is low-power and low-cost technologies for safety, security and industry," said Dr. Christian Enz, vice president of the microelectronics division, CSEM. "The ViSe system offers customers a highly flexible vision sensing platform that can increase safety and productivity through computer-based identification and response, reducing the visual monitoring by human eyes that can cause fatigue."

"Vision sensing technology will become more accessible with the advent of application-specific IC implementations, since today's machine vision implementations generally still cannot meet the flexibility, low-cost and low power requirements needed for expansion to volume markets," said Nello Zuech, president, Vision Systems International, a Yardley, Penn.-based market research and consulting firm. "The CSEM vision sensing implementation seems to make it possible to deploy cost-effective solutions for high-volume applications outside of traditional industrial markets, such as automotive, intelligent security/surveillance, and disease-specific diagnostic medical."

Faster Processing for Real-Time Analysis
The conventional approach to processing image information involves acquiring an image with a CCD or CMOS camera, converting the intensity distribution to a digital representation, and processing it by means of a digital processing device. This approach poses considerable problems in certain applications such as automotive or surveillance markets where vision tasks must be executed in real-time and at a low system cost, in environments with uncontrolled levels of lighting.

Unlike other platforms, the ViSe sensor chip captures a detailed image but extracts from the image contrast strength and orientations, permitting it to pass on to the DSP only the key features of the scene needed for analysis. This allows a drastic reduction in the amount of data transmitted off the sensor chip, enabling rapid and low-cost post-processing of imagery in real time.

Insensitivity to light conditions
Whereas other vision sensing systems can be susceptible to rapidly changing light conditions - for example, when a car emerges from a tunnel into glaring light - the ViSe contrast extraction approach eliminates sensitivity to this light environment change, ensuring greater safety and security.

Availability and pricing
A ViSe evaluation kit is available now and the technology is available for licensing and transfer. CSEM will develop customized software and algorithms for specific applications upon request. Technology licensing fees depend on application-specific criteria. For more information and for sales inquiries, please visit www.csem-devise.com.

About CSEM
CSEM SA, the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, is a privately held company carrying out applied research work, p roduct development, and prototyping and low-volume production. The company focuses primarily on the fields of micro/nanotechnology, microelectronics, systems engineering, information and communication technologies. More information is available at www.csem.ch .

For more information contact: