Sony Aims to Make Image Sensors Smarter to Expand Beyond Smartphones

Sony said it has developed the world's first image sensor with an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) processor.

By Reuters | Updated: 15 May 2020 00:50 IST

Sony Aims to Make Image Sensors Smarter to Expand Beyond Smartphones

On Wednesday, Sony said profitability of the business could deteriorate this year

Highlights

Sony has developed the world's first image sensor with integrated AI chip
Sony chip business earns about 90 percent revenue from smartphone cameras
Sony said profitability of the business could deteriorate this year

Sony on Thursday said it would make its cash-cow image sensors smarter to broaden their application, as the Japanese electronics maker seeks to reduce reliance on a saturated smartphone market.

The company said it has developed the world's first image sensor with an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) processor, which can perform tasks such as determining the size of a crowd, scanning bar codes and monitoring a driver's drowsiness - all in a single chip.

As an AI processor is stacked on an image-sensing chip, the complete package can extract and process data without sending it to the cloud or elsewhere, eliminating transmission latency and reducing power consumption, Sony said.

The move underscores how the Japanese giant, whose once-dominant position in consumer electronics has been eroded by Asian rivals, still has a strong arsenal of sophisticated technology in areas like sensors and robotics.

Sony's chip business earns roughly 90 percent of revenue from image sensors for smartphone cameras, capitalising on smartphone makers' recent focus on camera features as their biggest differentiator.

On Wednesday, Sony said profitability of the business could deteriorate this year as the coronavirus outbreak has clouded the outlook of the already saturated smartphone market.

The company therefore aims to boost the percentage of its sensing solutions business, including the latest AI-embedded chip, to 30 percent of the chip division from 4 percent by the year ending March 2026.

© Thomson Reuters 2020

Which is the bestselling Vivo smartphone in India? Why has Vivo not been making premium phones? We interviewed Vivo's director of brand strategy Nipun Marya to find out, and to talk about the company's strategy in India going forward. We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.