IN Brief:
- The 5 MP OG05D uses 2.2 µm backside-illuminated global shutter pixels and reaches 146 fps in linear mode.
- Single-exposure DCG HDR operates at 60 fps, while Nyxel technology raises sensitivity at 850 nm and 940 nm.
- OMNIVISION says the new sensor reduces power consumption by 30% compared with its previous 5 MP generation.
OMNIVISION has introduced the OG05D, a 5 MP global shutter CMOS image sensor using 2.2 µm backside-illuminated pixels and capable of reaching 146 frames per second in linear operation for industrial machine vision and robotics.
The sensor combines a stacked BSI architecture with OMNIVISION’s Nyxel near-infrared technology and dual conversion gain HDR. It is aimed at factory automation, barcode scanning, compact AI cameras, robotic vision and image-capture systems used to collect training data for robotics.
Global shutter operation exposes the complete image array over the same interval rather than reading different rows at progressively different moments. Fast machinery, moving components and mobile robots are therefore less likely to appear geometrically distorted because their position changed while the frame was being read.
The OG05D reaches 146 fps in linear operation, which OMNIVISION says is 143% faster than its previous generation. A higher frame rate reduces the interval between observations and gives downstream vision processing more samples from which to track motion, although the usable rate of a complete camera still depends on exposure time, interface bandwidth and processing capacity.
The device uses 2.2 µm pixels within a 5 MP array. Smaller pixels allow a more compact optical format but collect less light geometrically than larger pixels, increasing the importance of quantum efficiency, backside illumination and noise performance. The BSI structure exposes the light-sensitive region without requiring incoming photons to pass through as much front-side circuitry.
Nyxel technology raises sensitivity in the near-infrared region, with OMNIVISION specifying quantum efficiency above 55% at 850 nm and above 35% at 940 nm. Those wavelengths are commonly used with active illumination where a machine vision system needs a controlled source independent of changing visible ambient light.
The sensor supports RGB, monochrome and RGB-IR configurations. Its RGB-IR processing includes on-chip remosaicing, allowing colour and infrared information captured through the pixel pattern to be rearranged before the data leaves the sensor and reducing some of the processing required elsewhere in a compact camera.
OMNIVISION specifies more than 70 dB of HDR capability and supports dual conversion gain HDR at 60 fps using a single exposure. Three-exposure HDR at 60 fps is also available, giving designers a choice between extracting additional brightness information from one exposure or combining information captured under different exposure conditions.
Single-exposure HDR is useful when the scene is moving because conventional multi-exposure methods capture bright and dark information at slightly different times. Combining those exposures can create artefacts around moving edges, whereas dual conversion gain derives different gain responses from the same exposure interval and reduces the temporal separation between highlight and shadow information.
OMNIVISION also specifies a 30% reduction in power consumption compared with its previous 5 MP generation. Lower sensor power reduces the heat that has to be removed from a compact optical assembly, where rising temperature can increase noise and force the camera designer to allocate additional space to thermal management.
The 1/2.5-inch optical format allows the 5 MP array to be paired with comparatively compact lens assemblies. Lens resolution, field of view and aperture still have to match the sensor if the additional pixel density is to translate into useful spatial detail rather than simply producing a larger image file.
The OG05D will sit alongside the larger-pixel OG12S10 announced by OMNIVISION on the same day. The OG05D places greater emphasis on compactness, HDR and frame rate, while the 12 MP device uses 3.45 µm pixels and a larger optical format for applications demanding more resolution and sensitivity.
OMNIVISION is sampling the OG05D now and plans mass production during the fourth quarter of 2026. Camera developers can therefore begin optical, interface and image-processing work before volume availability, with final machine vision performance still determined by the sensor, lens, illumination and processing chain as a complete system.
