Toshiba Introduces Line of Automotive Image Recognition Processors

Toshiba has announced that it will make new processors for image recognition in cars. The electronics manufacturer expects to deliver the first chips in January, while mass production for the automotive industry is expected to start in December.

The processors are part of the so-called TMPV760 line, which Toshiba introduced this week. The chips help car manufacturers develop equipment that can monitor the environment for a car, for example, at night.

According to Toshiba, the processors use full-HD cameras to analyze color gradients, in order to be able to observe pedestrians in particular as well as during the day. Furthermore, they can recognize non-moving objects through 3D reconstruction. For this, the processor uses the input of a one-eyed camera.

Toshiba has been active in the automotive market for some time with image recognition chips. Pedestrian recognition in cars is therefore certainly not a new feature: Volvo, Toyota, BMW and Mercedes, among others, already offer such systems in models. In 2018, pedestrian recognition, like other systems supporting motorists, will be part of EuroNCAP, a standard for crash testing in cars.

Finally, the Japanese manufacturer is moving forward with a power management system, which is called TC9580FTG. This should provide the processors in the TMPV760 line in cars more efficiently with power. Production of this system will start at the end of this month, while mass production is planned for exactly one year.