Sensors

Introduction

The core of any camera is the image sensor. The image sensor is the limiting factor for many of the image quality parameters.

There are only two manufacturers that sell through mainline distributors that are available for the maker. OnSemi Omnivision

Omnivision has done an excellent job of producing super affordable (<1$) image sensors. Many of their datasheets have also been leaked online. However, there isn't much improvement that can be made over the standard USB webcams using these sensors. This project can't compete on cost with the $5 webcams churned out on Aliexpress.

OnSemi are more expensive and most of the sensors do not have a public datasheet. For this development I will use the OnSemi sensors, as the full datasheets are available with an NDA.

AR0144

The AR0144 is a 1/4" sensor from OnSemi. This is the sensor currently used in the project.

• 720 60fps
• Global Shutter
• MIPI / Parallel output
• 12bit Dynamic Range

This sensor is often available from distributors at single-quantity prices of less than $10 USD.