RBTS.co's Chunky Camera Module Packs a 50-Megapixel Samsung ISOCELL GN2 Sensor for CV and More
Designed around the same sensor as found in the Google Pixel 8 Pro, this high-end camera module packs in the features — and pixels.
British and Finnish robotics concern RBTS.co has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a camera module designed to bring 8k-resolution video footage and 50-megapixel stills to the NVIDIA Jetson, Raspberry Pi, and Rockchip RK3588-based single-board computers (SBCs): the C50M Camera.
"Experience the world from new heights and see the unseen in the minute details with our state-of-the-art C50M camera module equipped with the Samsung ISOCELL GN2 image sensor (also powering the Google Pixel 8 Pro)," RBTS.co crows about its new camera module design. "This sensor is designed to deliver superior performance that is ideal for applications in drones, machine vision, industrial automation, and more."
Built around the Samsung S5KGN2 image sensor, the camera module — brought to our attention by CNX Software — measures 1/1.12", ten times the size of the sensor in the Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera Module, with 1.4μm pixels and an overall resolution of 8,160×6,144 or 50 megapixels behond an 4/1.82 lens with a 15cm (around 6") to infinity focal range. Despite its high resolution, though, the module also delivers a more than usable framerate of 30 frames per second at full resolution, 120 frames per second at 4k, and 480 frames per second at 1080p — providing the connected device can keep up, of course.
The camera uses a four-lane MIPI Camera Serial Interface 2 (CSI-2) port to connect the sensor to a host machine, with RBTS.co focusing on compatibility with the NVIDIA Jetson family of systems-on-module as well as the Raspberry Pi single-board computer range and any rival SBC built around a Rockchip RK3588. Driver development, however, is ongoing, with the company admitting that it's currently working with a limited supply of just eight prototypes. "We expect most features working," RBTS.co writes, "by the time we ship out the first batch of production modules."
Those features make for an impressive list: the cameras will come with a smart auto-focus system, wide dynamic range (WDR) support including RAW12 and RAW14 outputs for high-dynamic range (HDR) stacking, while a frame sync system will allow multiple modules to synchronize their frame captures in hardware — a feature, the company admits, currently missing from the prototypes.
The camera module is funding on Indiegogo now at $97 for "Early Bird" backers, rising to $130 for latecomers — itself a claimed 50 per cent off the company's planned retail price. Initial batches are scheduled to ship in September with later batches in November, an aggressive schedule for RBTS.co's first crowdfunding campaign.