Analog Devices is working with Microsoft to leverage Microsoft’s 3D time-of-flight (ToF) sensor technology, allowing customers to easily create high-performance 3D applications that bring higher degrees of depth accuracy and work regardless of the environmental conditions in the scene. Analog Devices’ technical expertise will build upon Microsoft Azure Kinect technology to deliver leading ToF solutions to a much broader audience in areas such as Industry 4.0, automotive, gaming, augmented reality, computational photography and videography.
Currently, the industrial market is seeing a push for 3D imaging systems that can be used in harsh environments where cutting-edge applications such as human-collaboration robots, room mapping, and inventory management systems are required to bring Industry 4.0 to life. ToF applications are also needed to create safer automobile experiences for drivers and passengers by outfitting vehicles with occupancy detection and driver monitoring capabilities.
“Our customers want depth image capture that ‘just works’ and is as easy as taking a photo,” said Duncan Bosworth, general manager, Consumer Business Unit, Analog Devices. “Microsoft’s ToF 3D sensor technology used in the HoloLens mixed-reality headset and Azure Kinect Development Kit is seen as the industry standard for time-of-flight technologies. Combining this technology with custom-built solutions from Analog Devices, our customers can easily deploy and scale the next generation of high-performance applications they demand, out of the box.”
Analog Devices is designing, manufacturing, and selling a new product series of 3D ToF imagers, laser drivers, software and hardware-based depth systems that will provide the best depth resolutions in the market with accuracy down to the millimetre. It will start building full systems wrapped around CMOS imagers to deliver imaging with greater 3D detail, operating over farther distances, and performing robustly regardless of what is in the line of sight. This platform will provide customers with plug-and-play features for fast and large-scale deployment.
“Analog Devices is an established leader in translating physical phenomena into digital information,” said Cyrus Bamji, partner hardware architect, Microsoft. “This collaboration will expand market access of our ToF sensor technology and enable the development of commercial 3D sensors, cameras, and related solutions, which will be compatible with a Microsoft ecosystem built on top of Microsoft depth, Intelligent Cloud, and Intelligent Edge platforms.”
ToF 3D sensor technology projects precisely controlled laser light in durations of nanoseconds, which then reflects from the scene onto a high-resolution image sensor, giving a depth estimate for every pixel in the image array. Analog Devices’ new CMOS ToF products based on Microsoft’s technology enable highly accurate depth measurement, low noise, high robustness to multipath interference, and calibration solutions for ease of manufacturing.
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