News: Optoelectronics
27 June 2023
Coherent and TriEye demo laser-illuminated SWIR imaging system for automotive and robotic applications
Materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA (formerly II-VI Inc before it acquired Coherent in July 2022) and TriEye Ltd of Tel Aviv, Israel — which claims to have pioneered the first CMOS-based shortwave infrared (SWIR) image-sensing solutions — have jointly demonstrated a laser-illuminated SWIR imaging system for automotive and robotic applications.
The growing number of use cases for SWIR imaging, which expands vision in automotive and robotics beyond the visible spectrum, is driving demand for low-cost mass-market SWIR cameras. The companies leveraged TriEye’s spectrum enhanced detection and ranging (SEDAR) product platform and Coherent’s SWIR semiconductor laser to jointly design a laser-illuminated SWIR imaging system that is claimed to be the first of its kind to reach lower cost points while achieving very high performance over a wide range of environmental conditions. The combination of these attributes is expected to enable wide deployment in applications such as front and rear cameras in cars as well as vision systems in industrial and autonomous robots.
“This new solution combines best-in-class SWIR imaging and laser illumination technologies that will enable next-generation cameras to provide images through rain or fog, and in any lighting condition, from broad daylight to total darkness at night,” says Coherent’s chief marketing officer Dr Sanjai Parthasarathi. “Both technologies are produced leveraging high-volume manufacturing platforms that will enable them to achieve the economies of scale required to penetrate markets in automotive and robotics,” he adds.
“We are happy to collaborate with a global leader in semiconductor lasers and to establish an ecosystem that the automotive and industrial robotics industries can rely on to build next-generation solutions,” says TriEye’s CEO & co-founder Avi Bakal. “This is the next step in the evolution of our technology innovation, which will enable mass-market applications. Our collaboration will allow us to continue revolutionizing sensing capabilities and machine vision by allowing the incorporation of SWIR technology into a greater number of emerging applications.”
The SEDAR product platform integrates TriEye’s CMOS-based SWIR sensor and illumination source with Coherent’s 1375nm edge-emitting laser on surface-mount technology (SMT). The laser-illuminated imaging systems is said to enable the next generation of automotive cameras that can provide HD SWIR imaging and accurate deterministic 3D sensing through any inclement weather. They can also enable autonomous robots to operate around the clock in any ambient lighting conditions and move seamlessly between indoor and outdoor environments.
The imaging system are being exhibited in Coherent’s stand (B3.321) at Laser World of Photonics 2023 in Munich, Germany (27–30 June).
