Valens, Imavix offer MIPI A-PHY-based platform for machine vision

Israeli company Valens Semiconductor and Czech Republic’s imavix engineering s.r.o (Imavix) have announced the first production-ready MIPI A-PHY-based platform for implementing the high-performance A-PHY connectivity standard in machine vision. The platform will allow camera vendors to design products that are smaller, more robust, and lower cost than traditional machine vision cameras, according to a media release.

In addition, based on this platform, Japanese imaging solutions leader CIS Corporation has announced the first A-PHY camera module for machine vision. At just 22mmx22mmx22mm, the new camera is less than half the size of widely used machine vision cameras on the market, while offering major improvements in EMC robustness, the media release said.

The platform is based on Valens’ A-PHY chipsets and Imavix’s IP, supported by machine vision software HALCON from MVTec and designed on an FPGA from Efinix. The solution inputs A-PHY and outputs 10Gbps GigE Vision (v3.0 based on RDMA), allowing for connectivity to IPCs widely used in machine vision. The IP core is now available, complete with a validated reference design for rapid product integration and development.

“The demand for our standard-compliant chipsets is undeniable,” said Gili Friedman, Head of the Cross-Industry Business Unit at Valens Semiconductor. “With MIPI A-PHY, integrators now have the best of all worlds: Sufficient bandwidth to support high resolution cameras on the market, long enough link distances for most machine vision applications, unprecedented noise immunity, and a host of other important benefits.”  

“MIPI A-PHY offered everything that the machine vision industry needed, except for the ability to connect to an Industrial PC (IPC),” said Jan Pech, CEO of imavix engineering s.r.o. “With our IP, developed alongside Valens, we’ve removed that obstacle. The market has been ready to shift away from legacy standards, and with our solution we are facilitating this transition using standard machine vision software.”

“We’re proud to be the first to deliver an A-PHY-compliant camera for machine vision,” said Yusuke Muraoka, President, CIS Corporation. “We are confident that our customers will begin implementing this technology in their machine vision systems before long, enabling flawless, high-resolution vision for a variety of applications, including machine vision, factory automation, logistics/robotics, intelligent transportation systems, and more.”