SmartSens Technology today announced the SC500AI widescreen smart image sensor, the latest product in the company’s AI Smart Sensor family.
The majority of 5MP security camera sensors offer a 4:3 aspect ratio that is not optimized for the widescreen format of modern LCD displays. The SmartSens SC500AI addresses this shortcoming with 1620P 16:9 5MP video output in the same form factor. This next-generation sensor presents a marked improvement over previous designs — narrowing the gap between image output and natural human vision.
SmartClarity Technology in the SC500AI increases the number of pixels by 20% compared to many 5MP products on the market—leveraging the full resolution of the sensor rather than cropping a 5MP 4:3 image down to 4MP to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio. This effectively reduces dark edges and distortion on both sides of the image due to uneven scaling while achieving a true 16:9 aspect ratio that includes an additional 10% of the horizontal viewing area. The SC500AI achieves this crucial upgrade to match the majority of LCD displays on the market in applications such as security video and surveillance, which benefit from the sensor’s low dark current under high-temperature conditions, enhancing sensitivity and reducing read noise.
In a side-by-side comparison with SmartSens’ previous generation sensor, the new SC500AI reduces the dark current from 389 e- at 80˚C to 210 e-. The total RN, or Read Noise, is reduced from 0.75e- to 0.63e-. And the sensitivity level also shows a noticeable improvement, growing from 2800 mV/lux-sec to 3680 mV/lux-sec.
These improvements are made possible by SmartSens’ unique SFCPixel™ technology, which takes advantage of the close proximity between the source follower and the photodiodes to increase the sensitivity level, producing high-quality night-vision images. SmartSens’ proprietary PixGain® technology additionally enables the sensor to achieve excellent HDR performance even under glaring sunlight.
Existing customers of SmartSens’ previous-generation products of P2P will see a hassle-free system upgrade to the SC500AI, which is compatible with 1/3-inch 5MP lenses in a wide array for professional security products.
“SmartSens continues to build on its AI series of sensors, offering our customers a range of solutions utilizing the latest photosensor technologies to address the most challenging lighting conditions,” said Chris Yu, Chief Marketing Officer of SmartSens. “We continue to strengthen our portfolio to match new applications and our customers’ quickly-evolving needs.”
The SC500AI Image Sensor is available for testing immediately. For more information on the SC500AI or to request a sample.
