OmniVision Unveils High-Performance CameraChip Sensor for Smart Security

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. has introduced a high sensitivity digital VGA CameraChip sensor designed specifically for security and surveillance applications. The chip, the OV7720, is unlike the sensors used in conventional analog security cameras. It produces high quality digital output, thus eliminating the need for A/D converters and simplifying post processing for use in smart security systems and in Internet Protocol (IP) or 3G cameras.

Smart security systems, primarily designed for commercial applications, employ post processing applications such as motion detection to activate cameras, which provides the ability to initiate recording activity without a human interface. IP and 3G security cameras, which target the consumer side of the market, allow users to access a video stream through IP or through a mobile handset by connecting to a 3G wireless network.

"The OV7720 is one of the first high performance sensors capable of running at 60 frames per second," said Hasan Gadjali, Vice President of Advanced Products at OmniVision. "At this frame rate, the OV7720 addresses the need for a digital sensor that delivers exceptional low-light sensitivity and performance without sacrificing the speed required for advanced security applications. In fact, the OV7720 was designed to address all security and surveillance market requirements in terms of performance, quality, reliability, low power consumption and cost."

The OV7720 CameraChip is a high performance, one-quarter inch single-chip VGA video camera chip. Its design features a 6-micron pixel based on OmniVision's proprietary OmniPixel2 technology, and in CSP packaging the OV7720 enables a camera module size of just 7 x 7 x 5 mm. All required camera functions including exposure control, gain, white balance and windowing are programmable through the serial camera control bus (SCCB) interface.