Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS) and Raspberry Pi Ltd. have just released the Raspberry Pi AI Camera. This camera comes with the SSS’s IMX500 intelligent vision sensor, which lets it use on-chip image processing. This removes any need for additional hardware like GPUs or accelerators.
The Raspberry Pi AI Camera is the first product that comes from the collaboration between SSS and Raspberry Pi Ltd. The Raspberry Pi AI Camera is compatible with all Raspberry Pi single-board computers, including the latest Raspberry Pi 5. It integrates with the popular libcamera and Picamera2 software libraries, which gives the buyer a familiar development environment if they’re used to other Raspberry Pi devices. The camera is pre-loaded with the MobileNetSSD model and supports other neural network models through Sony’s AI tools. Both companies have stated they are excited about this new product’s potential and are looking forward to further collaborations. One collaboration mentioned was the integration of Sony’s AITRIOS edge AI solution development and operations platform.
The Raspberry Pi AI Camera has a 12.3 MP Sony IMX500 Intelligent Vision Sensor, which includes a neural network accelerator. The camera offers two sensor modes: a full resolution of 4056×3040 pixels at 10 frames per second (fps) and a 2×2 binned mode of 2028×1520 pixels at 30 fps, both with 10-bit color depth. The sensor’s physical dimensions are 7.857 mm, with a pixel size of 1.55 μm x 1.55 μm. It features a 78-degree field of view (FoV) with manual/mechanical adjustable focus, and a focal ratio of F1.79. The camera module itself measures 25 x 24 x 11.9 mm. In other words, it’s incredibly small.
One of the main challenges in this kind of product is the massive amount of data involved, particularly with vision data. Traditional solutions often use powerful hardware to process this data. The Raspberry Pi AI Camera instead integrates the AI processing capability directly into the sensor. This should make it much easier to get data to the computer without the need for multiple chips, which would force the camera to be bigger.
The Raspberry Pi AI Camera is available on the official website for $70.
Source: Raspberry Pi, PR Newswire
