Binary Pixel Imager Technology

Rambus Binary Pixel technology enables professional-quality images and videos from mobile phone and consumer cameras. The technology includes a breakthrough image sensor and processing architecture that provide single-shot, ultra-high dynamic range (HDR) and improved low-light sensitivity.

How it compares

How it Works

Ultra-High Dynamic Range

Binary Pixel technology produces professional-quality images by capturing details in the full spectrum of a scene - from brightest highlights to the darkest shadows. The sensor is optimized at the pixel level to deliver DSLR-level dynamic range from mobile and consumer cameras.

Single-Shot HDR Photos & Videos

Operating in a single exposure period at high-speed frame-rates, Binary Pixel imagers capture HDR images in real-time with on-the-fly processing, enabling hand-held photo and video capabilities with zero post-capture processing.

Improved Low-Light Sensitivity

Temporal oversampling technology improves the sensor's signal-to-noise performance in low-light conditions to reduce noise and graininess for better indoor and nighttime photography.

Works with Current Mobile Platform

Rambus binary pixel imagers fit in a comparable form-factor, cost and power envelope as today's CMOS imagers. They are designed to be integrated in existing SoC architectures and can be manufactured using current CMOS image sensor technology.

How it's different

While the resolution and frame rates supported by mainstream mobile cameras have continued to improve, enhancements in image quality are lagging. High-contrast scenes typical in daily life, such as bright landscapes, sunset portraits, and scenes with both sunlight and shadow, are difficult to capture with today's compact mobile sensors - the range of bright and dark details in these scenes simply exceeds the limited dynamic range of mainstream CMOS imagers.

The Rambus Binary Pixel technology mimics the brilliance of human visual processing by sensing photons using discrete thresholds similar to the rods and cones of the human eye. This "binary operation" creates dramatically better videos and photos from mobile and consumer devices that include the full gamut of details in dark and bright intensities. The complete scene data enables more creative post-processing and color enhancement capabilities resulting in more "keeper" images and videos that showcase life as it was meant to be seen.