STMicroelectronics Debuts Ultra-Low-Power VD65G4 and VD55G4 Sensors

STMicroelectronics introduced two new ultralow-power global-shutter CMOS image sensors, the VD65G4 (RGB Bayer) and VD55G4 (monochrome, visible-to-NIR), according to ST's product pages, its press release, and CNX-Software. Both sensors deliver 0.56 MP (804 x 704) resolution, a 1/9-inch optical format, a 2.16 um global-shutter pixel, 68 dB dynamic range, and RAW8/RAW10 output, with frame rates up to 184 fps at full resolution, 271 fps at VGA, and 480 fps at QVGA. ST reports typical power consumption of 35 mW at 60 fps, dropping to 1-2 mW in an event-driven "auto wake-up" mode and 0.8 mW in standby - which ST's press release frames as up to 10 times less power than prior designs. "Always-on vision is becoming essential for the next generation of personal electronics, from smart glasses and AR/VR headsets to intelligent home appliances and medical devices. With VD55G4 and VD65G4, we are bringing this capability to smaller, lighter products that must run for a long time on a tiny battery," said Alexandre Balmefrezol, Executive Vice President and General Manager of ST's Imaging Sub-Group.

The sensors combine back-side illumination, CDTI and 3D stacking to reach a 2.73 x 2.16 mm bare-die footprint, and support MIPI CSI-2 (1-lane), I3C or SPI for data with I2C or I3C for control. On-chip features include hardware autoexposure, automatic dark calibration, defective-pixel correction, background removal via frame-difference comparison, 4x4 programmable frame statistics, and context management for up to four configurations - intended to offload preprocessing that would otherwise run on a host MCU or NPU. ST is developing CAM-65G4/CAM-55G4 Promodule camera modules and VD65G4/VD55G4 S-Boards for evaluation, alongside a forthcoming SDK with STM32 and Raspberry Pi drivers; the STEVAL-CAM-M0I1 P-Board (about $38) and STEVAL-EVK-U0I1 USB evaluation kit (about $161) are already available, though the sensors themselves remain in preview and are not yet available through distributors (CNX-Software).

The 1-lane MIPI CSI-2 plus I3C/SPI control paths simplify wiring to low-power microcontroller platforms, and the on-sensor statistics and background-removal modes are real levers to cut host wake-ups for simple presence, glance, or face-detection tasks - but validate end-to-end latency and false-positive rates in your own environment before relying on the auto wake-up mode as a PIR replacement, and note the parts are not yet in mass distribution.

Evaluation-kit and SDK availability as ST moves the sensors out of preview, early reference designs that quantify real system-level battery gains from the auto wake-up mode, and low-light/NIR performance data for the monochrome VD55G4 variant.