Sound Vision Reference Design Enables Delivery of 1.3 Mega-Pixel CMOS Digital Camera With Motorola DigitalDNA CMOS Image Sensor.Business & Technology Editors WAYLAND, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2001 Sound Vision Inc., a developer of versatile integrated circuits and production-ready designs for a new generation of signal-processing products, today announced the M1 digital camera reference design - the foundation for an exciting new 1.3 mega-pixel CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor See CMOS. (integrated circuit) Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor - (CMOS) A semiconductor fabrication technology using a combination of n- and p-doped semiconductor material to achieve low power dissipation. ) digital camera. The M1, which utilizes Sound Vision's Clarity 2 ASIC image processor and Motorola's 1.3 mega-pixel CMOS image sensor A CMOS-based chip that records the intensities of light as variable charges similar to a CCD chip. Although initially used in less expensive digital cameras, the quality of CMOS sensors has improved steadily. CMOS sensors have advantages over CCDs. , provides true mega-pixel quality at an attractive price - through advanced CMOS sensor technology. This technology is now available to any manufacturer or brand company through Sound Vision's M1 camera design. "As the imaging market grows, brands and manufacturers are increasingly using a standard design for both hardware and software," said Bob Caspe, Sound Vision Chairman. "The M1 production-ready design is the first of a new breed. Not only does this save money for the consumer, but more importantly, it allows smart OEMs and brands to gain a major time-to-market advantage". The M1 digital camera production-ready design - one of several designs based on Sound Vision's Clarity brand signal-processing ASIC - includes a functional prototype camera and build kit; camera firmware and host software in object code; microcontroller code; technical user manual, schematics, net list and bill of materials The list of components that make up a system. For example, a bill of materials for a house would include the cement block, lumber, shingles, doors, windows, plumbing, electric, heating and so on. ; and complete manufacturing instructions and support. The M1 features 8MB of internal SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) A type of dynamic RAM (DRAM) memory chip that has been widely used since the late 1990s. SDRAM chips eliminated wait states by dividing the chip into two cell blocks and interleaving data between them. , CompactFlash memory card, status LCD and USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. (Universal Serial Bus See USB. (hardware, standard) Universal Serial Bus - (USB) An external peripheral interface standard for communication between a computer and external peripherals over an inexpensive cable using biserial transmission. ) support. In addition, the M1 is a multi-mode camera, offering still image, tethered video and movie-clip capability. Building on experience in proprietary single processing software, Sound Vision has enabled optimum image quality from their CMOS-based designs. Sound Vision allows manufacturers and brands to create a new category of digital cameras with high quality imaging, fast time-to-market capability, and affordable point-and-shoot pricing. In the United States, the M1 camera - under the model name G3 - will be distributed by World Wide Licenses Limited (WWL), the Hong Kong based development and marketing arm of The Character Group Plc. The camera, which is expected to sell for under US$150, and its packaging will also feature the Motorola DigitalDNA(TM) sub-brand, which promotes Motorola's leadership in embedded technology solutions - in this case, the 1.3 mega-pixel CMOS image sensor. "This Sound Vision design delivers superior performance at a very low price - sure to be a market success," says Giovanni Tomaselli, Founder of WWL and company director of Far East Operations for The Character Group Plc. "We fully expect to sell more than 20,000 units in the US during the first week of product availability." Sound Vision, Inc. is a leading developer of highly integrated software and silicon solutions enabling digital imaging and audio signal processing Audio signal processing, sometimes referred to as audio processing, is the processing of a representation of auditory signals, or sound. The representation can be digital or analog. to be incorporated into a variety of products such as digital cameras, toys, wireless communications devices and other consumer and business products. Sound Vision's depth of image processing experience and its virtual company business model provide fully-functional production ready designs to product designers and OEMs enabling them to rapidly bring entire families of imaging and audio products to market at reduced cost. Information about Sound Vision can be found at http://www.soundvisioninc.com World Wide Licenses Ltd. is a Hong Kong-based wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of The Character Group. Founded in 1991, The Character Group Plc is listed in the Main board of the London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange London marketplace for securities. It was formed in 1773 by a group of stockbrokers who had been doing business informally in local coffeehouses. , Media and Photography Sector. Motorola, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector offers multiple DigitalDNA technologies that enable its customers to create "smart" products and new business opportunities in the networking and computing, wireless communications, transportation, and home networking markets. Motorola's worldwide sales were $37.6 billion (USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) in 2000. Information about Motorola DigitalDNA embedded electronic solutions can be found at http://www.motorola.com/semiconductors/ Motorola and Motorola DigitalDNA are trademarks of Motorola, Inc.(R) Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion