LG Innotek & Microsoft To Increase Cloud-Connected 3D Sensing Camera

• LG Innotek develops 3D sensing modules based on Microsoft ToF technology
• LG Innotek and Microsoft collaborate to commercialize cloud connected 3D camera.
• The collaboration will provide easy access to create 3D vision applications for multiple industries.

SEOUL, South Korea, March 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — LG Innotek announced last week that it will work with Microsoft to unblock access to 3D vision technology and unleash innovation across multiple industry verticals such as: fitness, healthcare, logistics and retail using LG Innotek’s ToF (Time of Flight) technology-based 3D camera modules and Microsoft’s Azure Depth Platform.

Locating the position of objects is an increasingly crucial aspect of scene analysis in the industry and obtaining this information directly from a 3D ToF camera rather than inferring it from one or more 2D cameras simplifies the analysis and enhances robustness.

Yet, 3D camera design and manufacturing require special technology in illumination, strong sensor level understanding and optical design capability which is currently limited to very few camera module makers.

LG Innotek has combined its superfine drive techniques and optical technologies to create high performance and ultra-slim multi-camera modules using its own product design, production capacity, and state of the art quality control and technologies for core components such as light source and lens.

Microsoft meanwhile is bringing over 20 years of experience in the 3D sensing field, spanning from pixel to chip, from modules to cameras, from algorithms to software, from characterization to calibration and manufacturing process tuning to the table.

This Microsoft 3D sensing knowhow was used to build Microsoft Hololens and Azure Kinect Devkit.; the Azure Depth Platform program created to proliferate Microsoft 3D sensing technology and drive large scale innovation via an ecosystem of Semiconductor, IHVs (Independent Hardware Vendors), ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) and SIs (System Integrators) building cameras, 3D vision software & cloud services and business customers.

As such, by way of this collaboration, the two companies are looking to drive customer value to the Azure ecosystem across multiple industries including LG Innotek’s 3D ToF cameras to be used with Azure in fitness to more precisely measure motions.

In healthcare, they can be used to measure patients’ posture and body shape and conduct robot-assisted surgery.

Partners in the retail or logistics industries can use the technology to manage inventory and analyze customer traffic. In factories, these cloud-connected cameras can monitor and analyze production lines to prevent accidents.

Daniel Bar, head of business incubation for the Silicon & Sensor’s group at Microsoft, said, “LG Innotek brings world class manufacturing expertise in complex optoelectronic systems. We are excited to welcome LG Innotek to our ecosystem and accelerate time to market for 3D cameras. This is a key step towards providing easy access for computer vision developers to create 3D vision applications.”

Jongyun Eun, Head of the Optics Solution Product Planning Division at LG Innotek meanwhile, said, “Microsoft’s Azure Depth Platform program has selected LG Innotek as a scaling partner due to its leading-edge technologies and production capability. Our collaboration with Microsoft will enable LG Innotek to help ecosystem partners on new designs and expand the application areas of 3D sensing modules beyond smartphones.”