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TIER IV, an open source autonomous driving startup, is pleased to announce that it will start mass production of new Automotive HDR Cameras optimized for autonomous driving applications in October 2022. Sales targeting a wide range of customers in the market will be consigned to five distributors: Aisan Technology, ASMEC, Okaya & Co, PALTEK CORPORATION and Ryoden Corporation.

Camera technology plays a crucial role in advanced driver assistance systems and Level 2 autonomous driving systems. It is also indispensable for the invention of Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous driving systems.

TIER IV has been engaged in the development of automotive cameras that outperform standard vision cameras in autonomous driving systems by applying extensive knowledge and advanced software design know-how acquired through a number of international flagship projects. Tests conducted for more than a year on this newly developed camera have demonstrated outstanding performance with regard to object detection and scene understanding in particular, which has ushered in its use as a standard camera for autonomous vehicles. TIER IV has been receiving many inquiries about its possible use not only in the area of autonomous driving but also for various purposes such as autonomous mobile robots, security and surveillance systems.

Product Features

In addition to image quality, this camera boasts superb performance compared with existing commercially available cameras. TIER IV also offers an extensive array of support that will enable users to easily develop applications on their own.

• High dynamic range (HDR) enables users to get images without blown out highlights or crushed shadows even in high-contrast scenes with high dynamic range of up to 120dB.
• High sensitivity and low noise suppress noise even in low-light environments for high-quality images.
• LED flicker mitigation. Mitigates flicker caused by LED traffic lights that have become more common in recent years.
• Optical design and pre-shipment adjustments for high-quality automotive lenses that minimise defocusing owing to temperature changes. The lens is fixed by enabling high-precision adjustment of the focal position as well as the centre, rotation and tilt of the lens and the image plane using a five-axis active alignment system. Additional work such as individual focal adjustment is not necessary because the camera is shipped while uniformly maintaining high optical performance.
• Built-in image signal processor (ISP) capable of white balance adjustment and HDR rendering, which reduce processing load on the host side. It also supports various kinds of correction, including lens distortion correction.
• External synchronisation function that enables shutter control according to synchronisation signals from the host (supports synchronisation by FSYNC signals based on GMSL2 protocol)
• Superior environmental durability guaranteses operating temperature range of 40°C to 85°C. It also boasts waterproof and dustproof performance equivalent to IP69K.
• Maintenance of automotive quality uses parts that meet AEC standards (Q100, Q101, and Q200). Automotive grade manufacturing management is ensured and shipment inspections are conducted, both of which conform to IATF16949 and ISO26262 standards.
• Driver support includes Linux Kernel Driver (supporting major Jetson products manufactured by NVIDIA, ROScube-X manufactured by ADLINK Technology, and other industrial ECU products). It also supports ROS1/ROS2 Driver
• Image quality adjustment guided by image processing parameters adjusted on the basis of data from diverse practical environments such as public road tests, and simple image quality adjustment via API is also supported.
• Connectivity with Autoware enables smooth cooperation with camera-based recognition functions included in Autoware and Web.Auto, the development and application platform offered by TIER IV.

Future Development

In the future, in order to respond to a wide range of customer needs, TIER IV will commercialize a GMSL2-USB3 conversion kit so that customers can use this camera through a USB connection just like conventional Web cameras.

The company will also add to its product lineup a new 5.4 megapixel high-definition model (C2) that uses Sony’s IMX490 CMOS image sensor. Furthermore, TIER IV is developing autonomous driving system development kits that are integrated with LiDARs and ECUs. By providing these products to the market, the company will step up initiatives to realize its vision “The Art of Open Source, Reimagine Intelligent Vehicles.”

For more information, go to https://sensor.tier4.jp/automotive-hdr-camera.

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