Jon Peddie Research (JPR) launched its quarterly report on the Visual Processing Unit (VPU) market. Capturing, and quickly processing tens of megapixels of 10 to 12-bit data at 60 to 120 frames a second, in all kinds of environments is a daunting task, and providing such processors for sub $100 is a modern miracle of engineering and manufacturing.
The applications for VPUs ranges from super-smart prosumer cameras to automobile license readers at bridges and gateways, to airport security and nozzle monitoring of a satellite launching rocket. With high-resolution cameras being employed in every aspect of our lives, making autonomous vehicles of all types possible, drone surveillance and crop assessment affordable and reliable, and face recognition at ATMs a new normal in our lives, the demand for high-performance front-end processing of the myriad of image-processing functions has never been greater.
JPR’s new quarterly VPU service analyses the suppliers, the technology, the processors, and the market opportunities. The firm has identified 20 suppliers of VPU, and eight IP suppliers, plus ten start up that haven’t produced any silicon yet. As robust as the market is, there will be consolidation through either failures or acquisitions, and JPR thinks there will be just a half dozen suppliers, three major companies, and three niche players by 2020.
