STMicroelectronics has introduced the VD55G4 monochrome and VD65G4 RGB color global-shutter image sensors as the latest additions to its ST BrightSense portfolio. The sensors are now available to early adopters. The new sensors are designed for compact, battery-powered or energy-harvesting personal electronics and smart devices, including wearables, AR/VR and XR headsets, smart home appliances, and medical devices. They feature an ultralow-power detect-and-wake architecture, a small global-shutter optical format, and interfaces optimized for low-power microcontrollers and cost-effective systems on chips (SoCs).
According to the announcement, the VD55G4 and VD65G4 can consume up to 10 times less power than conventional global-shutter sensors in operating mode at around 800×700 resolution and 10 frames per second. They support always-on vision by watching for scene changes and waking the main processor only when needed, enabling event-driven operation instead of continuous streaming.
Target applications include:
- Wearables for glance detection, presence sensing, and contextual alerts
- AR/VR and XR headsets for tracking and spatial awareness
- Smart home appliances, IoT devices, and medical products for local intelligence with reduced cloud dependence and standby power
- Energy-harvesting-powered vision nodes
The sensors are produced on 300 mm wafers using a 3D-stacked 65 nm / 40 nm architecture at ST’s Crolles plant. They offer a small footprint and integrated image processing to simplify design and reduce system cost.
STMicroelectronics is providing a companion ecosystem that includes development boards for STM32 and Raspberry Pi platforms, turnkey camera modules, evaluation software, platform drivers, and a software development kit.
Alexandre Balmefrezol, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Imaging Sub-Group at STMicroelectronics, stated that always-on vision is becoming essential for next-generation personal electronics. The new sensors are intended to enable smaller, lighter products that run for extended periods on tiny batteries while supporting embedded vision and edge AI.
Pricing information and sample requests are available from STMicroelectronics sales offices. Further details on the ST BrightSense portfolio are available at the company’s website.
