Automakers are increasingly adding advanced safety systems to vehicles to help prevent accidents. But car makers want to do this without having to change the vehicle’s platform, which results in a hefty price tag at a time where rising costs are pricing many drivers out of new ownership.
In-cabin sensing is a driver and occupant monitoring safety feature that promises to help alert travelers to issues inside the vehicle — falling asleep, distracted driving, health-related emergencies and more. Increasing safety is one reason automakers are adding advanced safety systems, but regulatory mandates are also rising across many regions, requiring carmakers to equip future vehicles with the technology.
Chipmaker STMicroelectronics said its latest image sensor, dubbed the SafeSense VD56GA, is designed to simplify the inclusion of in-cabin sensing in future vehicles and not break the bank for OEMs or consumers. The sensor is a compact solution with high infrared sensitivity and embedded image-processing features, which the company claims simplifies camera integration into vehicle platforms.
According to market research firm IDTechEx, the global market for in-cabin sensing — which runs the gamut of driver monitoring, occupant monitoring, gesture control and vital sign monitoring — is forecast to grow 11-fold from 2020 to 2034.
This is in part due to Europe, China, U.S. and Japan mandates for the technology and many automakers integrating in-cabin sensing before being forced to do so, IDTechEx said. BMW, for example, equipped its X5 vehicle back in 2019 with driver attention cameras to observe the driver's eyes and head position.
“In-cabin sensing is moving beyond premium platforms, and carmakers need cost-effective solutions they can deploy broadly,” said Alexandre Balmefrezol, executive vice president and general manager of the Imaging Sub-Group at STMicroelectronics. “With VD56GA, we focused on the system-level tradeoffs that matter most: Image quality in infrared conditions, compact integration and a cost structure that supports high-volume programs.”
Some of the features of the VD56GA compared to the previous generation sensor:
- Backside illuminated pixel architecture
- 35% higher modulation transfer function (MTF) sharpness
- 60% higher quantum efficiency
- Increased infrared sensitivity
- 1.1-megapixel architecture
- A 3.7 mm x 3.2 mm chip-scale package (CSP)
“As driver and occupant monitoring systems move into a broader range of vehicle platforms, OEMs are increasingly focused on solutions that can be deployed at scale, with volumes set to exceed 70 million units by 2031,” said Anas Chalak, market and technology analyst for imaging at market research firm Yole Group. “Success in this market depends not only on imaging performance, but also on reducing system cost, simplifying integration, and enabling adoption across high-volume vehicle programs.”
The VD56GA features image processing functions like:
- Mirror
- Crop
- Dark calibration
- Auto exposure
- Piecewise-linear processing
