Camera front engine targets smartphones

Recently, it is common to find cameras in smartphones or other mobile devices that are configured with APs equipped with built-in ISP functionalities. These APs can directly process output from image sensors, and help reduce the footprint and cost of camera modules. The MB86S29 supports this trend as a camera front engine that replaces conventional ISPs. Connected in between an image sensor and an AP, it is specialised for Bayer data processing, so users can configure their APs with the same interface directory connected to image sensors, and to make full use of phase detect auto focus or high dynamic range.

The device has four lanes each of 2.1Gb/s MIPI Rx / Tx. It can process 16M pixel images at 30fps. The MB86S29 is also applicable for noise reduction, shading correction, and 3A (AE/AF/AWB) detection. It is available in the smallest package of any member of the Milbeaut series, at 4x4mm.

The device has been designed to utilise ‘Hybrid AF’, which combines the accuracy of contrast AF and the speed of phase detect AF, enabling four times faster AF, in comparison with the previous Milbeaut products.

The MB86S29 also supports Sensor HDR. Conventional HDR imaging, which generates a picture from multiple frames taken with different exposures, has disadvantages, such as images blurs caused by the difference between the frames, and time needed to take those multiple frames. The device can process data with different exposure settings within one image so it can process the HDR images with higher visibility in 16M pixel, at the speed of 30fps.