KD, a fabless semiconductor company, proudly announced the first implementation of its 10GBASE-AU KD7251 optical transceiver into an optical automotive multigigabit camera, LI-VENUS-ISX031-BASE-AU, from Leopard Imaging, a global leader in embedded vision and AI camera technology. Corning Incorporated, one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, designed and developed a hybrid cable and connector system utilizing Corning’s automotive grade cables and connectors. By upgrading the existing wide angle camera system from a traditional GMSL2 copper interface to an optical fiber-based 10GBASE-AU link that is compliant with IEEE 802.3cz, the new system delivers scalable data communications up to 10 Gb/s. This provides a future-enabling solution to meet the challenging network requirements of automotive applications such as autonomous driving, assisted driving (ADAS), digital video recording, and machine vision.
David Sánchez, Hardware Designer at KD, and project manager of the technology collaboration, further highlighted the unique features of the joint solution:
“We’ve successfully integrated our KD7251 optical transceiver into the LI-VENUS-ISX031-BASE-AU camera from Leopard Imaging. This breakthrough highlights the ability of our KD7251 transceiver to operate within compact automotive camera modules (sub-20×20 mm PCB), while enabling extended link distances up to 40 meters. By leveraging glass optical fiber, we eliminate Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) challenges, reduce cable weight, and support asymmetric link speeds to optimize power consumption. This innovation is key for next-generation in-vehicle networks, where high bandwidth, low latency, and interference-free data links are critical.”
Unlimited View with Optical Camera
With the new optical link, the LI-VENUS-ISX031-BASE-AU camera from Leopard Imaging supports higher data transmission, higher resolution, and greater image depth. By replacing the copper interface with the optical KD7251 transceiver, in-vehicle connectivity has significantly increased from 3 Gb/s to now up to 10 Gb/s.
The small camera weighs only 162 grams. It’s equipped with the Sony Diagonal 7.45 mm (Type 1/2.42) CMOS image sensor ISX031 and can be used in a surround view system. Incorporating Corning’s cable and connector system allows for improved access to complex positions like the inside of a side mirror. In addition, the new solution enables cable distances up to 40 meters without loss of data transmission quality.
For more information KD7251: https://kd.tech/product/kd7251/
