Ambarella CV72S Targets Security

Ambarella has launched the new CV72S, incorporating its third-generation CVflow architecture with a neural-network accelerator and hardware image signal processor. The chip targets high-end security cameras and adds radar support.

Anand Joshi

Ambarella is betting on the incorporation of radars into enterprise-grade security cameras with its new CV72S. The chip allows the processing of multiple neural networks simultaneously to enable a range of security applications such as person detection, object tracking, and distance measurement. A key feature of the chip is the support for a radar sensor. Popular in automobiles, radar can accurately measure the distance, speed, and direction of objects over a long range. Ambarella believes this capability will permit a range of new uses for low-light tracking and distance measurement.

The company has won designs in video cameras, beginning with GoPro. It has since diversified into security cameras and is now offering new sensor and AI capabilities in the CV72S. That chip is a toned-down version of the CV3-AD685, which Ambarella announced earlier this year for Level 2+ to Level 4 autonomous vehicles.

The CV72S incorporates a neural-network (NN) accelerator and hardware image signal processor (ISP). It can process a single 4K stream (4,096x2,160) at 60 frames per second (fps) or four 5 MP streams (2,560x1,920) at 30 fps. It’s built in 5 nm technology and consumes 3 W (typical). The chip is sampling and scheduled to reach production in 2H23.

Although the trend in enterprise-grade security cameras is toward greater resolution and intelligence, the market is experiencing tremendous competition and price pressure. Ambarella’s CV72S aims at high-end cameras, but they’re a small-volume segment. The company must therefore target low-end cameras as well and face the swarm of low-cost competitors from Asian vendors.