First automotive grade single-chip VGA ToF sensor announced

As the industry continues towards semi-autonomous vehicles, advances in ADAS are bringing many benefits. In-car monitoring is now being used to monitor the driver and other occupants of a vehicle, both as a user interface and a safety feature.

The introduction of the MLX75027 reinforces Melexis’ leadership in this application space, with the single-chip VGA ToF sensor.

The MLX75027 uses a modulated light source and optical time-of-flight sensing to create a three-dimensional image of the cabin, allowing it to monitor people and objects, as well detect gestures.

It can also be used to detect free space and obstacles outside of the vehicle, such as pedestrians, for collision warning and navigation applications. The MLX75027 is able to operate in an ambient temperature of -40 to +105°C.

“This is the next and perhaps most significant release in our product portfolio targeting automotive applications using ToF technology,” commented Gualtiero Bagnuoli, Marketing Manager Optical Sensors.

“Not only does it reinforce Melexis’ leadership in this space, it provides Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers with a single-chip solution that really could help revolutionise the automotive industry.”

Key features of the MLX75027 include support for modulation frequencies up to 100MHz, which allows manufacturers to take advantage of the full potential of VCSEL to achieve high distance accuracy.

In addition, the device supports a frame rate of up to 135FPS, enabling the detection and tracking of fast moving objects. It combines low power dissipation of just 230mw at 30FPS with a power supply scheme that only requires three voltage domains (2.7, 1.8 and 1.2V), which simplifies system design and helps lower the cost of the power supply unit.

The MLX75027 uses Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation’s Back Illumination technology and includes advanced features, such as programmable region of interest, continuous or triggered operation modes and horizontal/vertical flip image modes. System level interfaces include CSI-2 serial data output, MIPI D-PHY and I2C.

The  MLX75027 ToF sensor is supported by the EVK75027 evaluation kit, which represents a complete ToF camera that can be directly connected to a PC for visualisation and recording of depth map data, while allowing direct access to many of the MLX75027’s configuration settings.

The kit consists of four stacked PCBs, comprising (from top to bottom): the illumination board, the ToF sensor board, an interface board, and a processor board. It is also possible to detach the PCBs and connect  the sensor to another processor board or use a different illumination unit.

A graphical user interface for Windows is provided for live depth map visualisation, basic recording, analysis and configuration. To support custom software development, a MATLAB SDK and C API are also provided. The built-in flexibility of the evaluation kit enables any designer to quickly develop the necessary system knowledge and product experience to develop their own application.

The evaluation kit EVK75027-110-940-1 is available with 940nm VCSEL illumination and 110 deg field of view optics with built-in band pass filter. The evaluation kit is available now from Melexis’ distributors. Sampling of the MLX75027 will start in July 2019.