Image sensor IC tracks finger movements for touchfree gesture

Infineon in cooperation with pmd technologies GmbH has developed 3D Image sensor chips for touchfree gesture feature in consumer electronics devices. The new IC integrate 3D image sensing pixel array, control logic, digital interfaces with ADCs (Analog-to-Digital Converters) and digital outputs. The Infineon 3D Image Sensor chips can track finger movements and hand gestures to generate signals for the computer in the digital device. “Gesture recognition will dramatically change the way people control computing and consumer electronic systems,” says Ralf Bornefeld, Vice President and General Manager of the Sense & Control business line at Infineon Technologies AG. “We expect touchless gesture interfaces based on our 3D Image Sensor to change the user experience and enhance productivity the same way that the mouse did decades ago with the PC.” The new chip family includes pmdtechnologies’s ToF pixel matrix and patented Suppression of Background Illumination (SBI), a feature which improves the sensor chip’s dynamic range for indoor and outdoor operations. "The consolidation of the existing and mature Time-of-Flight 3D sensing know-how at pmd and the volume-proven, mixed-signal CMOS process technology and design expertise of Infineon will pave the way to the best possible user experience for touchless gesture recognition applications,” says Dr. Bernd Buxbaum, CEO of...