Lumentum Holdings Inc. and Ambarella, Inc. announced a new joint reference design that uniquely combines edge artificial intelligence (AI) with privacy, enabling new possibilities for smart building applications. Called Vision-D, this groundbreaking design combines Lumentum’s flood illuminator module for extremely accurate time-of-flight (ToF) 3D sensing, with Ambarella’s CV22 edge AI SoC, which provides industry-leading AI performance per watt. This combination allows small AIoT sensors with local processing to be blanketed across buildings for applications such as occupancy monitoring, intelligent space management, and smart retail. Additionally, ToF 3D sensing maintains privacy by generating a point cloud with granular 3D information, but without any personally identifiable information, for applications such as healthcare and eldercare.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the occupancy sensor market is projected to grow from $1.9 billion USD in 2020 to $3.6 billion USD by 2025, at a CAGR of 13.3% during the forecast period. The vast majority of these systems are based on passive infrared sensors (PIRs) that provide only basic information about occupants and the building environment, while a small number are using cameras that capture identifiable features. This new joint reference design opens up tremendous possibilities for adding intelligent sensing with AI processing smarts at the edge while offering privacy and avoiding the high cost of cloud computing. Integrating intelligence directly onto these sensing nodes allows functionality and scalability, such as the creation of digital twins for automated real-time space utilization or hot-desking in shared workspaces. Other applications include traffic-based hospitality staffing, cleaning and maintenance alerts to address the labor shortage, and maximized energy efficiency through the fine-tuned usage of HVAC and lighting systems.

In addition to supporting multiple image sensor inputs, Ambarella’s CV22 SoC also offers a rich set of peripheral interfaces for a broad range of other sensors—including humidity, temperature, and audio—to enhance environmental perception. The Lumentum 10 W flood illuminator module incorporates a high-performance, three-junction vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array for ToF 3D sensing.

The Vision-D reference design provides a versatile platform for a wide range of applications in smart building automation, healthcare, smart retail, and home security. Examples include smart PIRs for home security that is able to differentiate pets from intruders; hotel environmental and scheduling systems that can intelligently adjust the HVAC temperature in reserved rooms based on real-time occupancy; and remote monitoring of aging parents without invading their privacy. Regardless of the location, AI algorithms running on this reference design can monitor occupants for sudden falls or medical events, intelligently and immediately trigger a request for emergency services.

Customers can also leverage the broad set of tools and ecosystem partners from both companies to further accelerate time to market.

The new Vision-D joint reference design is available now.