Provides accurate and robust depth data using ToF (Time-of-Flight) technology
Real-time 3D recognition of the surroundings, key component of the industry's smallest 3D camera module

Infineon Technologies (Korea CEO Seung-soo Lee) announced that its REAL3 image sensor chip has been adopted in ASUS’s Augmented Reality smartphone, which has recently garnered much attention.

The ASUS Zenfone AR smartphone, unveiled at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, is the world's thinnest smartphone equipped with a 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera, enabling it to perceive its surroundings in 3D in real time. Augmented reality provides a greater sense of realism and additional information to the actual environment by embedding text and accurately scaled, realistic virtual objects.

▲ ASUS augmented reality phone

The REAL3 image sensor chip is a core component of the industry's smallest 3D camera module for smartphones. It uses the time-of-flight (ToF) principle to measure the time it takes for an infrared signal to travel from the camera to an object and back, and this elapsed time is called the "time of flight." Compared to other 3D sensing technologies, ToF offers advantages in terms of performance, size, and power consumption for battery-operated mobile devices.

The REAL3 camera module is only 5.9mm tall, allowing it to be used in the smallest smartphone form factors. Additionally, this 3D camera module consumes very little power, requiring less than 150mW during operation, which can be easily supplied by the Zenfone AR's advanced 3,300mAh battery. ASUS's Zenfone AR smartphone will be available in stores starting in the second half of this year.

Four out of the top five smartphone camera module manufacturers are already using

Currently, four of the top five suppliers of camera modules for mobile devices and smartphones are already designing camera modules using Infineon's REAL3 image sensor. Two of these companies are already supplying them in mass production. These module designs were developed inspired by pmd Technologies' advanced ToF camera reference design.

Infineon and pmd Technologies (Siegen, Germany) jointly developed the REAL3 family of 3D image sensor chips and provide joint technical support. pmd Technologies' contribution to the REAL3 chip family is the ToF pixel matrix. Infineon provided all functional blocks necessary for System-on-Chip (SoC) integration and developed the manufacturing process. The 3D image sensor chips are produced at Infineon's Dresden plant. They utilize a CMOS process optimized for ToF using microlens technology.