Accelerate Time to Market with Arm Approved ISP Service Partners - Announcements...

Whether you are a silicon vendor or an OEM, if you use one of Arm’s Mali Camera Image Signal Processor (ISP) products, getting help from Arm Approved ISP Service Partners will accelerate your time to market. By using their expertise in the camera industry, they provide mature ISP tuning solutions to both start-ups and established OEMs. They will meet your specific product needs and enhance your product with their years of experience in the industry.

Program introduction 

Advances in image processing, computer vision, and artificial intelligence over the past decade have caused significant disruptions in the IoT and automotive markets. As for mobile phones, cameras have emerged as differentiating features in IoT devices including smart home devices. In the automotive industry, they are now a critical component of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). They hold an immense value for the development of future autonomous vehicles. Also, they are vital elements of the in-cabin experience for drivers and passengers. Many new players have joined the industry in recent years, from silicon start-ups to OEMs with a significantly increasing number of cameras in their products. Together with the rapid product iteration, the need to shorten time to market is critical for these companies. This is also true for the traditional players in the industry, who are increasing their investments in camera systems development.

Arm offers a range of ISP products for these fast-growing markets. For smart home or surveillance applications, partners can choose from Mali-C55, Mali-C52 or Mali-C32 IP. Automotive applications are targeted by the Mali-C78AE and Mali-C71AE family. Image quality is key to product success. Its optimization takes massive effort throughout the product lifecycle, from design to product demo, and on to customer support. It is not enough to integrate hardware and develop low-level software stack. To bring up a camera you need to set up an imaging lab, hire image quality engineers, and run an Image Quality (IQ) tuning project. A tuning project starts with a selection of components: optics, image sensor and ISP. Because of the mainly analog nature of image sensors and lenses, each combination of sensor and lens responds to light slightly differently. Image quality engineers:

1. Perform initial sensor and lens characterization
2. Continue with calibrations and tests in the controlled lab environment
3. Then go to “the field,” subjecting the camera system to a variety of lighting conditions, representative of the intended use cases

For automotive projects this means capturing outdoor images in day and night, sun and rain, summer and winter. These projects might take a few years to complete, as multiple iterations are necessary. Even for highly experienced image quality engineers, when they encounter a new ISP product, they still need to invest a lot of time to learn and familiarize themselves with the product. They can then start the related work.

To address the increasing demand for ISP expertise, Arm has established the Arm Approved ISP Service Partner program to help Mali ISP users speed up their time to market. The Arm Approved ISP Service Partners deliver:

• ISP lab tuning
• ISP field tuning
• Camera modules design
• Camera driver and system software development
• Customized imaging algorithm development
• Help for Arm ISP uses to set up imaging labs by providing advice on lab equipment

What benefits can this program bring to Arm and Mali ISP users?

The ISP Service Partner Program brings significant benefits to both Arm and Mali ISP users. This program helps to enrich its ecosystem through a network of Arm Approved ISP Service Partners with extensive experience in the camera industry and with our products. For Mali ISP users, both silicon vendors and OEMs, it offers several advantages:

• The program enables Mali ISP users to shorten development time and costs, thereby staying ahead of the competition.
• Arm Approved ISP Service Partners have many years of production experience in the imaging industry. They optimize camera performance efficiently, achieving better image quality and enabling differentiation from competition.
• By working with Arm Approved ISP Service Partners, users of Arm's ISP products can be assured of a high level of support, helping them to overcome any technical challenges they may encounter along the way. In addition to accelerating time to market, users gain valuable insights and knowledge in the field of cameras. Users can also tap into their wealth of experience to enhance their understanding and capabilities in the camera domain.

The working mode between Arm, Mali ISP users, and Arm Approved ISP Service Partners

Arm offers all the necessary materials to the ISP Service Partners, including technical documents, software drivers, 3A algorithms, ISP development platforms and ISP software models. Arm arranges several ramp-up sessions to introduce Mali ISP products and coach them to use the demo platform and models. Arm and the ISP Service Partners meet to address any questions or concerns during the learning process or later delivering a tuning service to Mali ISP users. The ISP Service Partners leverage these materials and demo platforms to familiarize themselves with Arm ISPs and achieve a high level of expertise in Mali ISP before commencing production tuning projects.

Arm introduces Mali ISP users to the ISP Service Partners or they can directly contact them through the Arm website. The ISP services are delivered in multiple ways, depending on the users’ preferences. It can be performed on the users’ platforms or Arm’s FPGA-based development kit, or use bit-exact software model of ISP. This enables a tuning project to start before first silicon samples become available. Arm is not involved in the business operation, but supports ISP Service Partners during a tuning project. Arm also reviews the final tuning report to meet the Arm standards of image quality and performance.

Meet the Arm Approved ISP Service Partners

Currently we have three partners signed up to the Arm Approved ISP Service Partner Program, covering most regions:

• KPIT is based in India and offers services globally. They have 16 years' experience in embedded software and electronics, with a focus on cameras, imaging, and compute platforms for markets such as automotive. KPIT offers specialized engineering services including camera bring up on embedded SoC, sensor/optics calibration, ISP tuning to achieve best in class image quality, camera drivers and system software development, custom camera imaging algorithm development with a dedicated expert team of engineers and researchers in the field of computer vision, imaging, and camera technologies.
• InnoWave has offices located in US and Israel, and offer services globally. They have unmatched expertise in the world of vision, firmware development for video processing and embedded systems, providing a complete solution including software drivers, 3A libraries (auto-exposure, auto-white balance, and auto-focus), calibration and image quality tuning services. They develop, port and optimize custom imaging algorithms and deliver the most optimal solutions for various use-cases.
• ArcherMind is located in China and offers services globally. ArcherMind Computer Vision Group integrates a complete ecological chain, with full technical capabilities from hardware to software. They have established 5 professional imaging labs to provide services such as image tuning, differentiation processing, and testing. Proficient in vision-related software technologies from underlying chips to algorithms to third-party applications, their business covers chip and OS customization. They also specialize in commercial AI algorithms and AIoT platforms. Additionally, they provide full stack ISP solutions for different industries such as consumer electronics, automotive, AIoT, and industry.

What happens next?

Arm is engaging with ISP Service Partners, providing sufficient support to build their capability on Arm ISP products. The next stage is expanding the network of ISP Service Partners to offer a broader range of ISP-related services beyond IQ tuning. These include engagements in ISP or sensor driver development, sensor module design, ISP board design and build, among others.

So, what are you waiting for? Contact one of the Arm Approved ISP Service Partners today and take your camera performance to the next level. With their expertise and knowledge, you'll be able to deliver cutting-edge products with exceptional image quality, all while accelerating your time to market and reducing development costs.

Find an Arm Approved ISP Service Partner

Alternatively you can contact the Arm team on [email protected].