Next month Toshiba will sample a series of image recognition processors for cars and intends to mass produce it in September 2012.
Called the Visconti2 (TMPV7500) series, the processors use cameras to recognise lanes, vehicles, pedestrians, traffic signs and so on.
The TMPV7506XBG, incorporates Toshiba's original image processing accelerators suitable for human recognition, and is able to detect pedestrians in the daytime in addition to conventional detection of pedestrians at night.
Supporting colour cameras, the new processor recognises not only the tone of the target object but also the colour, enabling recognition of traffic lights and signs.
As it can connect up to four sets of cameras simultaneously, the TMPV7506XBG is applicable for a bird’s-eye view parking assistance system that uses images synthesized from image data captured by four cameras.
The TMPV7504XBG variant supports two colour cameras and is suitable for a forward monitoring system simultaneously detecting multiple targets, including vehicles, lanes and traffic signs.
Toshiba intends to expand the image recognition processor business by enhancing these devices for industrial and consumer applications as well as for automotive applications.