Mirae Company Launches Industry's First ToF Dedicated ASIC Chip

ASIC chip 'MR1000' released by Mirae Company.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Mirae Company (CEO Kim Jungoo) announced on the 18th that it has become the first in the industry to launch an ASIC chip (product name hereafter ‘MR1000’) with true VGA-level resolution (640X480 pixels).

The MR1000 is an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chip that internalizes the distance calculation algorithm, a core technology of ToF 3D Depth cameras, and has the capability to process vast and complex depth data in real time on its own.

Existing ToF 3D cameras have utilized FPGA (a type of programmable non-memory semiconductor) chips or resources such as AP or CPU. In contrast, using an ASIC chip like the MR1000 enables the production of more compact 3D camera modules compared to 3D camera modules applying relatively large FPGA, and significantly reduces power consumption and heat generation through optimized computation processing.

Additionally, it reduces the burden on key resources (AP, CPU, etc.) in various environments, creating opportunities for ToF 3D Depth cameras with higher performance than before to be utilized in a wider range of applications.

A representative from Mirae Company stated, “The MR1000 is optimized for the high resolution required in facial recognition and home appliance markets, and as a companion chip for Samsung Electronics image sensors, the potential application fields are limitless.”

The MR1000 can output more than 30 frames per second (FPS), enabling accurate recognition of moving objects such as motion detection and gesture recognition without afterimages. It also includes coordinate transformation for point clouds and image post-processing filter functions, which are expected to greatly contribute to enhancing the usability and precision of ToF 3D Depth cameras.

Kim Jungoo, CEO of Mirae Company, expressed confidence, saying, “The MR1000, developed and launched over about two years, is a next-generation ASIC chip that consolidates the ToF 3D Depth camera technology and calibration know-how accumulated by Mirae Company over the past seven years, and will change the paradigm of ToF 3D Depth cameras.”

He added, “Through the launch of the MR1000, we will do our best to lead the full-scale blooming of the 3D camera market in various application fields such as smart home appliances, facial recognition, and robotics.”