In recent years, with the continuous evolution of Internet of Things technology, smart home applications have gradually integrated into people's daily lives. Common smart home devices on the market, such as smart visual doorbells and home cameras (IPC), are mostly wireless battery powered cameras (hereinafter referred to as "wireless battery cameras"). Due to their small size, no need for wiring, flexible installation, and support for WiFi network viewing, they are widely sought after in the consumer market. According to Yole's latest forecast, the shipment volume of this type of equipment will increase to 190 million by 2028. At the same time, the limitations of wireless battery cameras in terms of battery life cannot be ignored: they are generally powered by lithium batteries or dry batteries and require regular charging or battery replacement. Therefore, a high-performance and low-power camera system design solution is urgently needed.

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How can wireless battery cameras save power?

To reduce system power consumption, advanced mainstream smartphones are usually equipped with the function of "raising the hand to light up" or "staring at the light up", which activates the phone from resting to fully turning on through internal sensor detection to reduce phone power consumption. So, can low-power designs like this be used for wireless battery cameras?

In fact, common wireless battery cameras also have power-saving modes, usually using passive infrared sensors (PIR) as triggers for system wake-up, suitable for situations where recording is only needed when someone is present. When someone enters the detection range of the sensor, the PIR generates a high-level signal, triggering the camera system to start from sleep or standby mode and recording events within the visible range; When no one appears within the sensor's detection range, the camera system remains in sleep or standby mode. This energy-saving mode design can greatly save system power consumption and storage capacity, thereby improving the battery life of wireless battery cameras.

Quick start, why has it become an essential black technology for wireless battery cameras?

Traditional low-power wireless battery camera systems are generally composed of image sensors (CIS), main control SoC chips, PIR sensors, and other components. When the camera system is triggered by an event to start, the CIS first receives the ambient brightness value detected by analog photosensitivity, and then relies on the image signal processor (ISP) on the main control SoC chip to adjust to the appropriate image shooting state. Even in stable normal lighting conditions, the complete startup time of CIS can reach over 250ms (>0.25 seconds). Therefore, when shooting events where personnel or animals move rapidly within the visible range, the long response delay of the camera system can lead to situations where the brightness and image quality of the event image have just reached the appropriate state but the target has already left.

To address this issue, SmartSens, a technologically advanced CMOS image sensor supplier, has launched a low-power fast start solution for intelligent IoT applications - SmartAEC technology. This technology combines the two major performance advantages of high-speed wake-up and extremely low power consumption, and achieves millisecond level wake-up of CIS through built-in functions such as AEC (automatic exposure control)/AGC (automatic gain control)/AWB (automatic white balance).

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01 Speed Awakening

With the support of ultra-high startup frame rate, equipped with STW SmartAEC? The SmartAEC fast start CIS technology (hereinafter referred to as "SmartAEC? Quick start CIS") starts from sleep mode in normal lighting environments as low as 40ms (<0.04 seconds), and starts in extremely dark or bright lighting environments as low as 60ms (<0.06 seconds). Compared with traditional CIS in the industry, the startup time is saved by about 60% and 67%, respectively, which can bring a more stable and accurate first frame image to the camera system and capture clear images of the entire event in a timely manner.

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02 Extremely low power consumption

Thanks to the built-in functions such as AEC, SmartAEC? Quick start CIS not only has faster startup speed, but also excellent low-power performance. SmartAEC? The working power consumption of the fast start CIS is as low as 60mW or less; Compared to traditional CIS in the industry, completing a single CIS fast start can save more than 85% of power consumption; Its standby power consumption is as low as 10 μ Below W. SmartAEC? The fast start CIS, combined with the backend low-power fast start main control SoC chip, jointly reduces the overall power consumption of the camera system, ensuring that wireless battery camera devices have longer battery life.

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03 Cost advantage

Equipped with SmartAEC? The low-power fast start camera design scheme of Quick Start CIS has achieved effective cost control:

Compared to the traditional low-power fast start CIS in the industry, SmartAEC fast start CIS has significant advantages in chip size and cost.

This low-power camera design scheme subtracts analog photoresistors, saving the entire system corresponding costs and power consumption.

The low-power fast start control SoC chip that needs to be used in conjunction with SmartAEC fast start CIS has a cost advantage over traditional fast start control SoC chips in the industry.

It is worth mentioning that in order to meet the demand for low-power cameras to continuously record 24 hours a day, Sitewe has collaborated with the main control SoC chip factory to develop a second-generation SmartAEC? The low-power fast start solution of Quick Start CIS supports full-time recording (AOV) function, which can record at an ultra-low frame rate of 1 frame per second without event triggering. When triggered by an event, it quickly wakes up for normal recording, achieving 7 * 24 hours of all-weather recording. It is not only suitable for battery powered camera devices such as smart doorbells/locks, driving recorders, hunting cameras, etc, It can also solve the problem of insufficient energy storage and energy-saving work for solar energy 4G monitoring and other non grid equipment due to weather conditions.

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As an enterprise dedicated to the creation and research of high-end intelligent imaging technology, Sitewe has witnessed and participated in the rapid rise of the Internet of Things industry. With its technological advantages in intelligent security and continuous attention to market demand, Sitewe has successively launched the IoT Series image sensors since 2020, integrating SmartAEC? The combination of fast start function, low power consumption, built-in HDR, high sensitivity, and high signal-to-noise ratio has won the trust and positive evaluation of market customers with excellent imaging performance.

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As of now, the STW 3MP to 4MP resolution IoT series image sensors have been mass-produced, and new products of the 5MP resolution IoT series image sensors have been officially released. With the vigorous development of Internet of Things technology, the era of the Internet of Things is one step closer to us. In the future, STW will gradually launch more high-performance IoT application series products to help upgrade the performance of IoT application terminals and inject new technological impetus into the high-quality development of the industry.

About SmartSens Technology

SmartSens Technology (stock abbreviation: SmartSens, stock code: 688213) is a high-tech enterprise engaged in the research and development, design, and sales of CMOS image sensor chip products. Its headquarters are located in Shanghai, China, and it has research and development centers in multiple cities and countries.

Since its establishment, Sitewe has always focused on innovation and research and development of high-end imaging technology, and has been recognized and favored by many customers with its own performance advantages. As a CMOS image sensor product enterprise committed to providing multi scenario applications and full performance coverage, our company's products have covered the full performance requirements of multiple scenario application fields such as security monitoring, machine vision, intelligent vehicle electronics, and smartphones.

About The Author

This is reported by Top Components, a leading supplier of electronic components in the semiconductor industry. They are committed to providing customers around the world with the most necessary, outdated, licensed, and hard-to-find parts.

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Name: John Chen

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