AIStorm and Tower Semiconductor Launch Cheetah HS AI-in-Imager Chip for High-Speed Robotics and Inspection

AIStorm and Tower Semiconductor announced the availability of Cheetah HS, a 120×80-pixel imager with integrated AI capabilities, capable of capturing up to 260,000 frames per second. The chip, built on Tower’s charge-domain imaging platform and AIStorm’s analog AI neurons, operates at 2,000 to 4,000 times the speed of conventional CMOS sensors.

The Cheetah HS targets applications in robotics, drones, vibration and structural health monitoring, high-speed security, surveillance, manufacturing, assembly lines, barcode readers, PCB inspection, biometric systems, vehicle-speed detection, and sports analysis, such as golf-swing monitoring. Its charge-domain architecture converts photons to charge, processes the first neural-network layer in analog, and outputs a pulse stream for downstream neural networks or raw high-speed video, reducing power consumption and system costs compared to traditional high-speed cameras that rely on costly data converters and interfaces.

Key features include an adjustable frame rate up to 260,000 fps, an integrated LED driver programmable up to 40 mA, enhanced low-light performance, and a charge-domain neuron layer for pulse stream output. The programmable capture rate supports lower frame rates for faster processing or higher frame rates for precise measurements and slow-motion analysis.

Cheetah HS is available ...