Sony Unveils the Smallest and Lightest Lidar Depth Sensor

Sony announced the AS-DT1, the world’s smallest and lightest miniature precision LiDAR depth sensor. Measuring a mere 29 by 29 by 31 millimeters (1.14 by 1.14 by 1.22 inches) excluding protrusions, the Sony AS-DT1 LiDAR Depth Sensor relies upon sophisticated miniaturization and optical lens technologies from Sony’s machine vision industrial cameras to accurately measure distance and range. The device utilizes “Direct Time of Flight” (dToF) LiDAR technology and features a Sony Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) image sensor. As Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation describes, a SPAD sensor promises exceptional photon detection efficiency, ensuring the sensor can detect even very weak photons emitted from the light source and reflected off an object. This efficiency is crucial, as reflected light is precisely how LiDAR works. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measures distances by measuring the time it takes for emitted photons to bounce off an object and return to the sensor. T ... Read full article.