DIGITIMES Research's latest study on automotive components shows that automotive CMOS image sensors (CIS) have become the automotive industry's mainstream choice for cameras due to their advantages of low power consumption and high processing speed and can help greatly in accelerating autonomous driving popularization.
With the advancements in related technologies, high-resolution automotive CIS have seen significant improvements in image quality and long-distance recognition capabilities. These sensors integrate high dynamic range (HDR) and LED flicker mitigation (LFM) technologies, making them widely applicable in autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), DIGITIMES Research's study shows in its latest report.
Demand for automotive CIS is growing every year. According to research firm Yole's estimates, global automotive CIS revenue is expected to increase from US$2.3 billion in 2023 to US$3.2 billion in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.7%.
With the rapid increase in the penetration rate of autonomous driving and ADAS, along with various countries pushing to establish regulations for autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems, there is a combined impetus driving the rapid growth of global automotive CIS revenue.
Automotive CIS plays a critical role in autonomous driving technology by providing vehicles with high-resolution image data, enhancing the ability to perceive and understand the surrounding road environment. It is anticipated that in level 5 driving automation, a single vehicle will be equipped with more than 12 cameras.
As consumer demand for safety increases, the number of cameras installed per vehicle is rising every year and driving the growth in CIS demand.
According to observations by DIGITIMES Research, the number of cameras equipped per vehicle is expected to reach nine units in 2024 and is projected to further increase to 13 units by 2027.
In addition, various countries have started establishing regulations for AEB systems in recent years. Since AEB systems can identify potential collisions and automatically apply brakes, they effectively reduce the chance of occurrence of traffic accidents, thereby protecting the safety of drivers, passengers, and other road users.
In the development trends of automotive CIS technology, LFM, HDR, high resolution, long-distance recognition, and multi-functional cameras have become mainstream directions. These advancements assist vehicles can operating stably in all sorts of complex and dynamic environments.
In terms of LFM technology, it is primarily used to address the flickering issues that occur when capturing LED light sources with a camera, such as traffic lights, road signs, and vehicle taillights, ensuring the stability and consistency of image recognition.
The HDR technology can capture rich image details in high-contrast scenes, becoming a key factor in enhancing the performance of automotive CIS.
Industry players are actively developing 8-megapixel automotive CIS, with the next phase focusing on advancing the resolution to 12-megapixels and higher.
