Sony Corp touted on May 14 the world’s first image sensor with artificial intelligence built in. Calling it the first of its kind, Sony said the technology was intended for retail and industrial applications and has the potential to perform various data-gathering tasks more securely and much faster than existing methods.

The new IMX500 and IMX501 sensors incorporate a logic processor and memory, turning each module into a tiny computer. The key benefit of this approach is that the chip can perform AI tasks - such as identifying, analysing or counting objects of interest - without offloading information to a separate chip. Sony said this self-contained method provides increased privacy and data security while also making it possible to do near-instantaneous analysis and object tracking.

Sony’s new sensors are capable of capturing a regular 12-megapixel still image, 4K video at up to 60 frames per second - or neither, sending out just metadata about what the sensor has seen. Among the applications suggested by Sony are the counting and tracking of visitors to public spaces, heat and congestion mapping and measuring shopper behaviour in retail locations.

The Japanese tech giant is the world leader in providing image sensors for smartphones such as Apple Inc’s iPhone and dedicated photo and video cameras from the likes of Nikon Corp. Its sensor division has been its most reliable growth driver over the past few years, boosted by the proliferation of multi-camera phones. The new products are in line with the company’s long-term goal, as articulated by chief executive officer Kenichiro Yoshida, of expanding the variety of sensing solutions it offers and pursuing more forms of recurring revenue.

Sony said it has already shipped samples of its new sensors to potential customers, who are mostly in the business-to-business segment, including factory automation.

 - Bloomberg