Vision Components packs a 3.2 TOPS AI processor into a 65mm camera

Vision Components will show off its new VC EvoCam, a board-level camera with an onboard edge AI processor, at the European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV) in Malmö, Sweden. The event runs September 8-12, with the show floor at Malmömässan open September 10-12. The company is also bringing two new MIPI camera modules and an expanded accessory lineup for its VC MIPI Bricks System.

The VC EvoCam packs a MediaTek Genio 510 processor, two Arm Cortex-A78 cores and four Cortex-A55 cores, into a board measuring just 65 x 40mm. Its NPU delivers 3.2 TOPS, and the camera ships with a customized Debian Linux build that natively handles common image processing tasks. Buyers can configure it with an onboard image sensor or connect one or two remote-head sensors by cable from Vision Components' VC MIPI portfolio, adapting the interface board to the application at hand. Engineers building embedded vision products will care about that modularity: swapping sensors without redesigning the camera itself cuts prototyping time when moving from bench setup to series integration.

Alongside the EvoCam, Vision Components is introducing the VC MIPI IMX540, built around Sony's 1.2-inch Pregius S global shutter sensor. It captures 24.5 megapixels (5,328 x 4,608 pixels) at 22 frames per second in 8-bit mode, with a 2.74-micron pixel size the company says suits AI applications such as humanoid robots and people detection. The second new module, the VC MIPI AR2020, uses Onsemi's Hyperlux LP rolling-shutter sensor for 20-megapixel capture (5,120 x 3,840 pixels) at up to 24 frames per second in 10-bit mode. It reaches into the near-infrared range, draws low power, and comes in monochrome or color versions. Both new cameras include free source-code drivers, as with the rest of the VC MIPI line.

The VC MIPI Bricks System, a modular accessory kit for VC MIPI cameras, gets new cable options up to 50cm long plus an adapter board for trigger inputs and outputs. The kit already spans micro-coax and GMSL2 cables running up to 10 meters, FPGA accelerators that tap directly into the MIPI data stream, and custom-configured cameras with mounted, calibrated optics, all meant to shorten the path from prototype to production line.