Marshall Electronics Inc, is selling the first US-made CMOS sensor camera on a chip, developed in San Jose by Omnivision Inc. Marshall no longer distributes UK-based VLSI Vision Ltd’s camera, and has signed a non-exclusive marketing agreement with Omnivision. Omnivision claims its sensor is higher quality and less noisy than that of market leader Vision. Vision says it has looked at Omnivision’s technology and says that it is an earlier version of what Vision now offers. Culver City, California-based Marshall’s optical systems division will market the complete miniature camera using Omnivision’s sensor to the industrial video and security industries. The company will build the finished camera, including a series of microminiature lenses, housings and cable systems to support the Omnivision sensor. The analog camera uses a 0.33 format with 72,000 pixels and resolution is rated at 225 television lines, the company says. It outputs composite video. The camera includes built-in video output switching, which enables an unlimited numbered of cameras to be connected in series with a single co-axial cable. It also has on-chip auto exposure for automated light compensation, which uses low-cost fixed iris lenses. Marshall reckons ideal applications for the camera are door cameras, portable security devices, light sensors, industrial machine monitoring, process control, toys, and infant monitoring. Vision’s commercial director Roy Warrender told Computergram: As far as we can see, the Omivision sensor equates to an early generation of our product. Omnivision’s Swan Chen maintains that his company’s sensor offers more integration and higher quality. Marshall’s chief executive, Leonard Marshall, says the Omnivision chips have been designed by former Intel Corp and Motorola Inc employees, and are far more robust for industrial applications such as security. He said Marshall was highly impressed with the quality. Also, he said, Omnivision was in a position today to deliver real product for the mass market. Omnivision will sell direct on the OEM market to the likes of IBM Corp and Compaq Computer Corp, and Marshall will market the cameras to everything outside the consumer market, including the industrial and security markets. Marshall said the firm was currently producing sample quantities, but expects to be in full production within a month. A complete sensor board from Marshall with built-in lens holder will cost $40 each in 500-up quantities. A complete camera with lens and housing will be $80.
