Toshiba Electronics Europe has announced it will launch a new series of image recognition processors for automotive applications. The Visconti2 (TMPV7500) series of image recognition processors is designed for camerabased vision applications used in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). These include applications for lane departure warnings, vehicle and pedestrian awareness, traffic signal recognition and parking assistance.

The Visconti2 (TMPV7500) series of image recognition processorsThe TMPV7506XBG incorporates Toshiba’s original image processing accelerators suitable for human recognition and can detect pedestrians in the day in addition to conventional detection at night. Support for colour cameras allows recognition of both tone and colour of target objects, enabling recognition of traffic lights and signs. As it can connect up to four sets of cameras simultaneously, the TMPV7506XBG is also applicable for ‘bird’s-eye view’ parking assistance systems that use images synthesized from image data captured by multiple cameras.

The Visconti2 series also includes the TMPV7504XBG, which supports up to two colour cameras. This IC is suitable for forward monitoring systems where it can simultaneously detect multiple targets including vehicles, lanes and traffic signs.

Toshiba will start sample shipments of the new series in November this year, and mass production in September 2012.The company intends to expand its global image recognition processor business by enhancing these devices for industrial and consumer applications alongside automotive applications.

Background

In line with the expansion of advanced driver assistance systems and digital signage, the market for image recognition processors is expected to grow to 75 to 100 billion yen in fiscal 2015, which is about 1.5 to 2 times the market size in fiscal 2010 [2]. Toshiba commercialized an image recognition processor, Visconti, in 2004, which is incorporated in in-vehicle equipment for recognizing pedestrians at night and in surveillance cameras. The Visconti2 (TMPV7500) series offers enhanced performance.