Digital Color Camera Resides On Single Chip

Claiming to be the first single-chip digital color camera, the ICM-532A delivers CIF (320 x 288-pixel) resolution for still or full-motion video operation of 30 frames/second, as well as supporting QVGA (320 x 240-pixel) and QCIF (176 x 144-pixel) formats to provide a higher frame rate of 37.5 fps. The camera integrates on-chip a 1/7" CIF-resolution CMOS image sensor for high picture quality and low lux performance together with a proprietary compression engine and USB control and transceiver. The new IC also packs digital output and USB PC interfaces. In addition, advanced color tuning can be performed through use of proprietary software, making it easier to customize image processing functions (auto exposure, sharpening, etc.) and decompression capabilities. Entire PC cameras measuring merely 3 cm x 1 cm x 0.8 cm high can be implemented by combining the chip with a miniature lens. The ICM-532A chip supports Windows platforms and provides support for WDM USB drivers, TWAIN, DirectShow and VFW extensions. The IC is housed in a 48-pin plastic or ceramic LCC package and costs $15 each/100K. For more details, contact IC MEDIA CORP., San Jose, CA. (408) 451-8838.