Sony announced yesterday that it has developed the world's first image sensor integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) processors. Industry insiders said that Sony has been working to make image sensors smarter to broaden the range of applications to reduce dependence on the smartphone market.

Sony said that the AI image sensor is suitable for retail and industrial applications. It can extract and process data without sending it to the cloud or other places, reducing data transmission delay and reducing energy consumption.

In recent years, with the continuous upgrading of smartphone camera functions, the demand for cameras in the smartphone market continues to increase. At present, about 90% of Sony's chip business revenue comes from image sensors used in smartphone cameras. However, as the Covid-19 epidemic has brought uncertainty to the smartphone market, the profitability of the company's sensor business may decline significantly this year. Nevertheless, Sony still plans to increase the proportion of its sensing solutions business in the entire chip business from 4% to 30% by 2016.