Prophesee, a Paris-based startup that makes camera chips influenced by how the human eye works, announced earlier this week that it had finalized a multi-year deal with Qualcomm for integration into the giant’s product. of smartphone technology. Prophesee is rolling out a development kit to help integrate Metavision sensor technology into devices with next-generation Snapdragon systems. Metavision’s “event-based” technology claims to enable smartphone cameras to capture fast-paced action. The announcement was made in conjunction with Qualcomm at the Mobile World Congress 2023 event in Barcelona.

Prophesee’s camera chips will be used in the development of smartphone technology by the two companies, the Paris-based startup has announced. State-of-the-art chips, modeled after the human eye, only process changes in the scene, such as motion or light, instead of the entire image frame. Prophesee’s camera chips are faster and require less computational power due to this distinctive property, which makes them suitable for use on smartphones.

Each Metavision sensor pixel contains a logic core that allows it to function like a neuron, the company explains. They each activate intelligently and asynchronously depending on the number of photons they detect. An event occurs when a pixel activates.

Prophesee co-founder and CEO Luca Verre described that their camera chips use pixels that only transmit data to the processing unit if tampered with. Pixels that detect no change remain unchanged.

Prophesee’s most recent chips have one million pixels. Qualcomm intends to use the additional Prophesee chip alongside traditional camera chips in a model for smartphones to be released at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The Prophesee chip will be subcontracted for production to the Sony group. Verre said “we are really combining the two key players in the space”, referring to Qualcomm and Sony, but did not reveal the financial terms of the deal. The chips are expected to go into mass production next year, when they’re bundled into smartphone units.

The additional Prophesee chip, the announcement says, will help resolve some of the blurry visuals in current smartphone camera processes. The chips are said to improve customer experience and help create innovative smartphone technologies by improving image quality.