Heating Camera Module That Quickly Removes Snow and Ice
Overcoming Limitations of Existing Products by Applying PTC Material
LG Innotek has developed a high-performance heating camera module for autonomous driving that quickly removes snow and frost. The company plans to mass-produce the new product in 2027 and has begun full-scale efforts to secure a leading position in the rapidly growing autonomous driving camera module market.
LG Innotek employees are introducing a high-performance heating camera module for autonomous driving. / [Photo by LG Innotek]
On the 20th, LG Innotek announced that it has developed a high-performance heating camera module for autonomous driving applying ultra-precision optical design technology and is currently promoting it to global customers. Following the first unveiling of the new product at CES 2024 held last month in Las Vegas, USA, the company has started full-scale business preparations.
The heating camera is a product that integrates a heater into an existing advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) camera. It solves the problem where vehicle cameras may fail to detect obstacles around the vehicle when frost forms or snow accumulates on the lens during severe winter conditions. This is why automakers consider heating cameras essential for safe autonomous driving.
The high-performance heating camera module developed by LG Innotek uses a method of directly heating by installing a heater under the lens, consuming low power (up to 4W) while quickly removing snow and frost. According to the company, the time required to defrost the lens has been reduced by half compared to existing products.
To install the heater at the position under the lens where snow and frost can be quickly removed, LG Innotek applied a high-efficiency PTC material to the new product. The PTC material reduces the amount of current when the temperature rises above a certain level, maintaining an appropriate temperature. This reduces performance degradation issues that could occur while directly heating the lens.
High-performance heating camera module for autonomous driving developed by LG Innotek / [Photo by LG Innotek]
LG Innotek explained, "Because the PTC material heater is installed in the empty space inside the camera module and the power input for the camera and heater is integrated into one, the module size is similar to existing ones," adding, "Customers can apply the heating camera module directly to the location where camera modules were previously installed without separate design changes."
Unlike the PTC material, previously released products used heating wire materials without built-in temperature control functions, requiring an additional temperature control circuit for overheating prevention to be installed in the module. This caused the camera module size to increase and forced customers to change their designs, creating difficulties.
The company plans to mass-produce the heating camera module in 2027 and announced plans to actively target the related market. Moon Hyuk-soo, CEO of LG Innotek, said, "We will strengthen our sensing solution business for autonomous driving based on our unique camera module technology," and "accelerate our pursuit of the future mobility parts market."
Meanwhile, according to market research firm S&P Global’s forecast and LG Innotek’s internal analysis, the global vehicle camera module market size is expected to grow from $6.437 billion last year to $10.03 billion by 2030 due to the advancement of autonomous driving technology. The compound annual growth rate is expected to reach 7%.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
