# Vision chip

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A '''vision chip''' is an integrated circuit having both image sensing circuitry and image processing circuitry on the same [die](/source/Die_(integrated_circuit)). The image sensing circuitry may be implemented using [charge-coupled devices](/source/charge-coupled_devices), [active pixel sensor](/source/active_pixel_sensor) circuits, or any other light sensing mechanism. The image processing circuitry may be implemented using [analog](/source/Analogue_electronics), [digital](/source/Digital_electronics), or [mixed signal](/source/Mixed-signal_integrated_circuit) (analog and digital) circuitry. One area of research is the use of [neuromorphic engineering](/source/neuromorphic_engineering) techniques to implement processing circuits inspired by biological neural systems. The output of a vision chip is generally a partially processed image or a high-level information signal revealing something about the observed scene. Although there is no standard definition of a vision chip, the processing performed may comprise anything from processing individual [pixel](/source/pixel) values to performing complex image processing functions and outputting a single value or yes/no signal based on the scene.

== Types of processing performed in a vision chip ==
There is no standard definition of what constitutes a vision chip and thus the type of circuitry that may be performed. Below is a sample list of processing steps reported in vision chip designs, as reported in several books.:<ref>Analog VLSI and Neural Systems, by Carver Mead, 1989</ref><ref>Vision Chips: Implementing Vision Algorithms With Analog Vlsi Circuits, Ed. by Koch and Li, IEEE, 1995</ref><ref>Analog VLSI Circuits for the Perception of Visual Motion, by Alan Stocker, Wiley and Sons, 2006</ref><ref>Vision Chips, by Alireza Moini, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000</ref>

=== Light sensing techniques ===
*Active pixel sensors (APS)
*[Charge-coupled device](/source/Charge-coupled_device)s
*Logarithmic compression pixels
*Micro[bolometer](/source/bolometer)s for thermal imaging

=== Spatial processing techniques ===
*[Lateral inhibition](/source/Lateral_inhibition)
*Artificial [silicon retina](/source/silicon_retina) circuits
*[Contrast enhancement](/source/Contrast_enhancement)
*[Edge](/source/edge_detection) or other static feature detection

=== Temporal processing techniques ===
*Intensity change detection
*Detection of visual motion / [optical flow](/source/optical_flow)

=== Other techniques ===
*Cellular nonlinear networks

== Commercially available vision chips ==
The overwhelming majority of vision chip designs were executed largely by academic institutions as part of research projects. However several designs have, at one point or another, been commercialized as a product.
*Optical mouse sensor: The sensor chip used in an [optical mouse](/source/optical_mouse) is a vision chip.
*Mitsubishi silicon retina chip<ref>E. Funatsu, K. Hara, T. Toyoda, J. Ohta & K. Kyuma, ''Variable-sensitivity photodetector of pn-np structure for optical neural networks,'' Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 2 (Letters), Vol. 33, No. 1B, pp.  L113-L115, January 1994.</ref>

== See also ==
*[Optical flow sensor](/source/Optical_flow_sensor)
*[Active pixel sensor](/source/Active_pixel_sensor)
*[Charge-coupled device](/source/Charge-coupled_device)
*[Neuromorphic engineering](/source/Neuromorphic_engineering)
*[Vision processing unit](/source/Vision_processing_unit), a class of processor for accelerating [machine vision](/source/machine_vision), possibly including camera interfaces, but not directly including photosensitive elements

== References ==
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== External links ==
* http://www.iee.et.tu-dresden.de/iee/analog/papers/mirror/visionchips/

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Category:Optoelectronics

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vision chip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_chip) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_chip?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.