Raspberry Pi and Sony have partnered to create the Raspberry Pi AI Camera module, which is available for $70 today.
Eita Yanagisawa, General Manager, System Solutions Division, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation confirmed the partnership in a news release.
As the business claims, this module includes onboard processing capabilities, making it easier for “edge AI solutions” created using SBCs to handle visual data.
“AI-based image processing is becoming an attractive tool for developers around the world,” said Raspberry Pi CEO, Eben Upton, in the press release.
“We are looking forward to seeing what our community members are able to achieve using the power of the Raspberry Pi AI camera.”
This is also the first time Raspberry Pi has officially launched an AI-powered camera module for its tiny devices. The module itself includes the Sony IMX500 Intelligent Vision Sensor. This image sensor has a resolution of 12.3 MP and is linked to the RP2040 microcontroller.
The new camera expands Raspberry Pi’s efforts to provide chips and add-ons for AI developers, having previously launched many non-AI camera modules since its initial 5-megapixel offering in 2013.
“I’m very excited to share SSS edge AI sensing technology with the world’s largest development community as the first fruits of our strategic partnership.
“We look forward to further collaboration with Raspberry Pi using our AITRIOS™ edge AI solution development and operations platform. We aim to make the most of AI cameras equipped with our image sensors in our collaborative efforts with Raspberry Pi,” said Yanagisawa.
This combination removes the requirement for a GPU to handle visual data by leveraging the IMX500’s neural network accelerator. The AI camera module can take footage at 4056×3040 pixels at 10 FPS or 2028×1520 pixels at 40 FPS.
There is the option of manual focus, and the field of view is 76 degrees. The AI camera module is 25x24x11.9 mm, which is the same size as the Camera Module 3 that the business released last year, making it simple to integrate into Raspberry Pi applications.
We earlier reported that Google and Volkswagen have partnered to include cutting-edge AI in a mobile app made just for Volkswagen drivers.
