PROPHESEE FORESEES EVENT-DRIVEN CIS, LIDAR

 In the fast growing markets for factory automation, IoT, and autonomous vehicles, CMOS image sensors appear destined for a role capturing data not for human consumption but for machines to see what they need to make sense of the world.

CMOS image sensors “are becoming more about sensing rather than imaging,” said Pierre Cambou, activity leader, MEMS & Imaging at Yole Développement. The Lyon, France-based market research and technology analysis company boldly predicts that by 2030, 50% of CMOS image sensors will serve “sensing” devices.

Paris-based Prophesee SA (formerly known as Chronocam) styles itself as a frontrunner in that revolution. A designer of advanced neuromorphic vision systems, it advocates an event-based approach to sensing and processing. Prophesee’s bio-inspired vision technology has been deemed too radically different from conventional machine vision — and perilously “ahead of its time.” But Luca Verre, co-founder and CEO of Prophesee, told us that this is no longer the case.

In a one-on-one interview here, Verre said that his company has secured its Series B plus funding (the startup raised $40 million in funding in the last three years). It now has a partnership deal with a large unnamed consumer electronics company. Most importantly, Prophesee is now advancing its neuromorphic vision system from the usual technology concept pitch to promoting its reference system for tinkering by developers.