3D vision sensor in cars does driver monitoring and gesture sensing

Image processing based three-dimensional gesture sensors for automotives now can help drivers to activate some non-driving functions such as adjust the temperature and radio, or make a phone call through motion gestures, so that the driver not required to physically touch the device/switch/or the touch panel. Melexis and SoftKinetic have combined their physical device and software capabilities to make available a solution based on time of flight (ToF) 3D sensor for automobile safety and infotainment markets. MLX75023 sensor powered by SoftKinetic technology manufactured in Melexis’ Automotive grade CMOS mixed signal process, is the highest resolution 3D sensor available, claims Melexis. The device works in full sunlight, which can be used for natural 3D gesture recognition and driver monitoring, bringing a new level of infotainment navigation control and safety features. Both companies to showcase the technology at the CAR HMi event June 26-27, 2014 in Berlin. The MLX75023 is a QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) resolution optical ToF camera sensor powered by SoftKinetic’s patented DepthSense 3D Imaging technology, and SoftKinetic’s advanced image processing software. The sensor reads the subtle human gestures as well as the shape, size and behavior of objects and people inside the car. Not only gesture sensing, this sensor also monitors the drivers behavior and context awareness to ...