Dynamic range and precision of hybrid vision sensors | Nature

Nature volume 642, pages E7–E8 (2025)Cite this article

Metrics details

The Original Article was published on 29 May 2024

arising from: Z. Yang et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07358-4 (2024).

Biological eyes have many output cell types that provide different representations of a visual scene. Hybrid vision sensors with multi-pathway readout have emerged over the past decade for enhanced vision compared with conventional complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors. Yang et al.1 recently reported the frame-based vision sensor Tianmouc, which offers the combination of linear-dense colour images and linear-sparse temporal and spatial difference output. We appreciate the hard work that went into building the Tianmouc sensor and demonstrating its features. However, we call into question the novelty of the conceptual underpinnings and the claimed superior performance against the state of the art reported in the work by Yang et al.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

$32.99 / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Yang, Z. et al. A vision chip with complementary pathways for open-world sensing. Nature 629, 1027–1033 (2024).

Article ADS PubMed Google Scholar

Posch, C., Matolin, D. & Wohlgenannt, R. A QVGA 143 dB dynamic range frame-free PWM image sensor with lossless pixel-level video compression and time-domain CDS. IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 46, 259–275 (2010).

Article ADS Google Scholar

Brandli, C., Berner, R., Yang, M., Liu, S.-C. & Delbruck, T. A 240×180 130 db 3 μs latency global shutter spatiotemporal vision sensor. IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 49, 2333–2341 (2014).

Article ADS Google Scholar

Li, C. et al. An RGBW color VGA rolling and global shutter dynamic and active-pixel vision sensor. In 2015 International Image Sensors Workshop https://doi.org/10.60928/mcuq-n7ak (IISS, 2015).

Guo, M. et al. A 3-wafer-stacked hybrid 15MPixel CIS + 1 MPixel EVS with 4.6GEvent/s readout, in-pixel TDC and on-chip ISP and ESP function. In 2023 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 90–92 (IEEE, 2023).

Kodama, K. et al. A 1.22μm 35.6Mpixel RGB hybrid event-based vision sensor with 4.88μm-pitch event pixels and up to 10K event frame rate by adaptive control on event sparsity. In 2023 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 92–93 (IEEE, 2023).

Ma, S.-Y. & Chen, L.-G. A single-chip CMOS APS camera with direct frame difference output. IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 34, 1415–1418 (1999).

Article ADS Google Scholar

Gruev, V. & Etienne-Cummings, R. A pipelined temporal difference imager. IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 39, 538–543 (2004).

Article ADS Google Scholar

Young, C., Omid-Zohoor, A., Lajevardi, P. & Murmann, B. A data-compressive 1.5/2.75-bit log-gradient QVGA image sensor with multi-scale readout for always-on object detection. IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 54, 2932–2946 (2019).

Article ADS Google Scholar

Niwa, A. et al. A 2.97μm-pitch event-based vision sensor with shared pixel front-end circuitry and low-noise intensity readout mode. In 2023 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 94–95 (IEEE, 2023).

Park, G. et al. A 2.2μm stacked back side illuminated voltage domain global shutter CMOS image sensor. In 2019 IEEE International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM) 378–381 (IEEE, 2019).

Jinno, T. & Okuda, M. Multiple exposure fusion for high dynamic range image acquisition. IEEE. Trans. Image Process. 21, 358–365 (2011).

Article ADS MathSciNet PubMed Google Scholar

Lichtsteiner, P., Posch, C. & Delbruck, T. A 128×128 120 dB 15 μs latency asynchronous temporal contrast vision sensor. IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 43, 566–276 (2008).

Article ADS Google Scholar

Sakakibara, M. et al. A 6.9-μm pixel-pitch back-illuminated global shutter CMOS image sensor with pixel-parallel 14-bit subthreshold ADC. IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 53, 3017–3025 (2018).

Article ADS Google Scholar

Inose, H., Aoki, T. & Watanabe, K. Asynchronous delta modulation system. Electron. Lett. 2, 95–96 (1966).

Article ADS Google Scholar

Yang, M., Liu, S.-C. & Delbruck, T. Analysis of encoding degradation in spiking sensors due to spike delay variation. IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. I 64, 145–155 (2017).

Rebecq, H. et al. High-speed and high dynamic range video with an event camera. IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell. 43, 1964–1980 (2021).

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Finateu, T. et al. A 1280×720 back-illuminated stacked temporal contrast event-based vision sensor with 4.86µm pixels, 1.066GEPS readout, programmable event-rate controller and compressive data-formatting pipeline. In 2020 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 112–114 (IEEE, 2020).

Download references

Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau, France

Minhao Yang

Institute of Neuroinformatics, UZH&ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland

Rodney Douglas & Tobi Delbruck

inivation AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Chenghan Li

Google, Mountain View, CA, USA

Andreas Suess

Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

Hyunsurk Ryu

Prophesee, Paris, France

Christoph Posch

GlanceVision Technology (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Singapore, Singapore

Shoushun Chen

EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

Raphael Berner

Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

Tetsuya Yagi

OMNIVISION, Santa Clara, CA, USA

Boyd Fowler

You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

M.Y., R.D., C.L., A.S., H.R., C.P., S.C., R.B., T.Y., B.F. and T.D. contributed to the conception and writing of the article.

Correspondence to Tobi Delbruck.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Reprints and permissions

Yang, M., Douglas, R., Li, C. et al. Dynamic range and precision of hybrid vision sensors. Nature 642, E7–E8 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08991-3

Download citation

Received: 17 July 2024

Accepted: 08 April 2025

Published: 04 June 2025

Issue Date: 05 June 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08991-3

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative