Vision/Cameras – The Road Ahead in Sight

In addition to traditional visual imaging, the automotive industry is also adopting 3D imaging. This enables detailed representations of a vehicle’s surroundings, creating comprehensive “awareness” of nearby obstacles, pedestrians, or other vehicles. Manufacturers are even moving away from costly lidar systems, relying instead on “pure vision”, which enables autonomous driving functions through cameras and AI algorithms. According to Yole Group, between 2024 and 2030 the number of vehicle camera modules sold is expected to rise to more than 400 million units.

However, today’s market growth is not only driven by a greater number of cameras, but also by smarter integration, improved sensor performance, and strategic deployment aligned with vehicle intelligence.

The traditional single front-facing camera is being replaced by multiple side, rear, and surround-view cameras – a development enabled by the zonal architecture of modern vehicles and increasingly powerful sensor fusion.

Meanwhile, driver monitoring systems (DMS) are becoming a regulatory and design necessity in Europe and beyond. Camera modules are being used inside vehicles for driver attention monitoring, facial recognition, gesture detection, and occupant monitoring. RGB-IR and global shutter sensors add further value to these systems.

LFM suppresses flickering when imaging objects illuminated by LED light sources, such as traffic lights and signs. Compact size and low power consumption are also key requirements. High dynamic range (HDR) technology improves the ability to capture images across different light intensities – from very dark to very bright – without losing detail at either extreme. This ensures reliable object detection in both brightly lit and shaded areas, as well as under rapidly changing lighting conditions. LFM, HDR, and high resolution are essential prerequisites for modern automotive image sensors to achieve higher levels of autonomy.

Trends in Imaging Systems at a Glance

• ADAS front and side cameras are increasingly equipped with 8 MP sensors – improving detection range and the quality of sensor fusion.
• HDR and LFM architectures, such as split-pixel and LOFIC HDR, are now standard in key applications.
• DMS will increasingly adopt RGB-IR sensors, with 3D ToF and global shutter options used for smart airbags and biometric monitoring.

iBGA (interposer Ball Grid Array) packages are leading solutions in ADAS and DMS thanks to their thermal and signal stability. They provide the large number of pins required for advanced image sensors, offering a reliable, compact, and high-density interconnect solution.

Advanced Chip Scale Package (aCSP) continues to be used in cameras where cost optimisation is crucial. In aCSP, the sensor is directly integrated into a chip-scale package, resulting in an extremely small, flush design with minimal distance between chip and contact surface. Ceramic packaging, by contrast, is in decline due to higher costs and limited scalability.